GBlog

2006-11-11T21:18:00.000-04:00

Lest We Forget

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep,
though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

- John McCrae, May 1915

I know that I have posted this poem before, but with this being Remembrance Day, I thought it was again appropriate. I had the honour and privilege today of performing in a mass choir for our local Remembrance Day ceremonies. It was very well attended with over 6,000 people there. It was a great experience to be able to honour those who served my country in a tangible way. The best part I think was the two minutes of silence that is traditionally observed at 11:00am. It was very emotional to be among 6000 people who are completely silent at once.

I was thinking today about where we would be if those guys and gals had not given everything they had to protect the blessing of freedom that we have (and so often take for granted). Our world would definitely be a different place.

I for one remember them....

2006-11-04T23:20:00.000-04:00

Epilogue

I just wanted to add a few final thoughts about the trip to Nepal and my recent travelogue. This trip was the "experience of a lifetime" for me. Unlike most vacations, it actually changed forever my view of the world and my place in it. It was truly amazing and edifying to be exposed to such new and different cultures and I really feel that I came away from it a better person. Reliving it through my journal entries and these blog postings over the last few weeks has been a great experience for me, and has helped me remember and reflect back on the things I learned. It's interesting that as wonderful as the scenery may appear to be, when I look at these pictures it is the faces of my friends, old and new, to which my eye is drawn. I consider myself so fortunate to have shared the experience with two close friends, and as well to have met people on the trip that are some of the best travelling companions ever!

I want to thank everyone that has been reading these postings, too - I know they probably weren't very inspiring, but to me they mean a lot.

Thank you for sharing the experience with me while I lived it all over again.

Now, for the next big trip.... Mt. Kinabalu in Borneo, the Inca Trail, or the Annapurna region of Nepal.. choices, choices....

2006-11-02T21:49:00.000-04:00

Oct 31-Nov 2, 2005 - Kathmandu, Hong Kong, Home!

The last entry was actually the last day that I wrote in my journal, since this day was a VERY long one! I'll give some details here though for completeness.

We just kicked around during our last morning there - all our new friends had already left for their various destinations or home. We spent some time in the Kathmandu Guest House Garden to soak up some last peaceful moments before our long trip home.

We left the hotel about 10:30am and headed for the airport. After a looong series of security checks we finally got to the final boarding area. Where we waited and waited.. We left Kathmandu (:() about an hour late and thought we were going to miss our connection in Bangkok, but luckily that was ALSO late and we made it with lots of time. Not so our luggage however, and we arrived in Hong Kong late and missing most of our stuff. After reporting it missing (most of the people on the flight that had come from Kathmandu were in the same "boat") we blew off our original hotel reservation which was way downtown, and stayed at the airport hotel instead. It wasn't cheap, that's for sure!!

Our luggage arrived okay the next day (we slept in until quite late, since our flight didn't leave until about 3:30pm). We had Big Mac combos for lunch in Hong Kong and they actually were delicious! Our flight to Toronto left right on time - it was a quiet but looong flight (once again) back to Toronto. We all arrived VERY tired. After our short stopover, it was on to Saint John and home. It sure seemed weird to be back in Canada!! Everything seemed so different.

I'll post a few final thoughts tomorrow.

The tired but intrepid explorers arrive home!!

2006-10-31T21:23:00.000-04:00

Oct 30, 2005 - Kathmandu

Today was a nice lazy day hanging around the KGH. After a breakfast with everyone, Matt and Freya left for their hotel and Dave, Mike, and I just hung out and read in the garden. After lunch, Anna went with us to go shopping and I picked up a few more scarves, etc. Afterward, I went with Anna to find posters and once again met up with Matt and Freya. Hung out with them for a while (met up with them again in the evening) so it was nice overall. Went to dinner with just Mike & Dave back to "New Orleans" and had Rosemary Chicken. It was a nice relaxing day, but it was sure sad to see everyone going their separate ways. We also got to see Kamal briefly and also Gambu, who was getting ready to go again to Everest. His new group didn't look as fun or as fit as we did!! :) One fellow asked is if it was hard. Um, yeah. Yes, it is...

This was "our" table at the cafe at the Kathmandu Guest House. Good thing nobody's using it!!

2006-10-31T20:55:00.000-04:00

*apologies for the delay in posts - Blogger was not working for me the last couple of days*

Oct 29/05 - The Monkey Temple

Today we had breakfast and then rented some mountain bikes to drive to the Monkey Temple. What an experience! The drive there was thrilling with the people and traffic - it was an adrendaline rush! After a while, you start to get the feel of it though and just go for it. The Monkey Temple was interesting - a mix of Hindu & Buddhist places of worship/ritual all at the summit of a hill. A few monkeys around, but not a lot. Lots of beggars and sellers, though.

On the way back, we went a different way and went through some of the back streets - the poverty was staggering. We went along a river which smelled like... uh, it smelled. Matt said he saw a dead girl lying by the street. Anyway, the group got separated and Roly and I were lost!! We got stuck in a big traffic jam, then had to start asking directions from various people. It was like being on The Amazing Race!! We finally found some military guys to ask and the pointed us toward Thamel. Then we met a traffic guard and a bystander, who argued about which way to go. We followed the advice of the bystander! And then we started to recognize stuff so we knew we were on the right track. We made it back to Kathmandu Guest House and withing a few minutes Gambu arrived back and was greatly relieved. Everyone else was relieved as well! It was a real adventure! But everything turned out well in the end.

After, we just relaxed for a while and then went to dinner at "New Orleans" which was a very nice restaurant just down the street. It was amazing how peaceful and nice it was, just yards from the craziness of the streets of Thamel. It was Matt's birthday and Anna had bought a cake, etc. for him, so it was very nice.

2006-10-28T21:01:00.000-03:00

Oct 28, 2005 - Lukla to Kathmandu

Today we left Lukla by air back to Kathmandu. The Lukla airport was chaos - people waiting for flights, no one at the check in counters - it seemed like a free for all. It was amazing how many planes manoeuvered in such a small space, all the while the "clipboard guy" was running between them. We finally left and had a smooth flight back - we got a special bus back to the Kathmandu Guest House and checked in and had a shower, which was GREAT! Just relaxed and then had dinner together at the Everest Steak House which was a nice change after so long. Went to "Tom & Jerry's" bar afterward, but I didn't stay long & went back to check email & go to bed.

Answer to Gambu's riddle: The fourth caterpiller is lying! I know - Sherpa humour, I guess...

2006-10-27T22:58:00.000-03:00

Oct 27, 2005 - Phakding to Lukla

Today was a short trek from Phakding to Lukla. I wasn't feeling too well this morning as this was the worst day of my cold. Freya gave me a cold tablet which worked well - almost TOO well - it works like Contac C, so I feel kind of stoned. We arrived in Lukla to improving weather, so the planes are flying, which is a good sign.

The hike was only about 3 hours, so we were in Lukla for lunch. I had some good onions and an odd grilled cheese. For the afternoon, we went for a walk and went to watch a plane take off, then we went and played snooker with Gambu and Kamal. It seemed odd playing snooker with chickens clucking outside. I had a nap this afternoon (to shake off the narcotics) and now we're sitting down to supper. (Pizza and tomato soup - we'll see how that turns out!)

Saw Sherpa coin trick and thinking about Gambu's caterpillar question - 1st caterpiller says 3 behind, 2nd says 2 behind, Third says 1 behind, but the fourth says four behind. Why?

(I'll tell you tomorrow)

2006-10-26T22:48:00.000-03:00

Oct 26, 2005 - Namche to Phakding

Today we left Namche pretty late after a bit of shopping and so on. Bought a couple of yak bells. Then we left in partly cloudy skies, but the clouds seemed to descend and it was fairly damp for the rest of the day. We hiked until about 3:30, when we reached Phakding. I am still not feeling well, (my cold) so I had a little nap before dinner. It's been a pretty uneventful day so there's not a lot to report. It's too bad for a lot of the people going up today, since the views are very restricted. We had our last glimpse of Everest through the clouds on the way down from Namche. No more views!
Tomorrow, we will leave for Lukla for the last full day of our trek - if the weather is okay! If it is very cloudy, we may have to stay over another day.

Dave, trying to pick up a 200+lb. porter load

2006-10-26T22:28:00.000-03:00

Oct 25, 2005 - Orchos to Namche

Today, we really hiked a long way today - all the way from Orchos to Namche. It was a long day, but having a hot shower in Namche was well worth it. The scenery was beautiful today especially in the morning when it was clear. As the fog (clouds) descended, the hillsides really started to look like home, with the river at the bottom and the Fall foliage on the hillsides. We arrived at Namche about 4:30pm and after getting the rooms together, Dave, Mike and I went to get money changed and send some emails. Then we came back and ordered dinner and had a shower. For dinner, we had a small birthday party for Freya. It was fun and I think she really enjoyed it. Tonight we went and played pool at the "Paradise Bar" which is what is considered a hotspot in Namche! It even had flashing lights around the sign!! Just reading a bit tonight and we are allowed to sleep in a bit.

The Tengboche Monastery

2006-10-24T22:13:00.000-03:00

Oct 24, 2005 - Gorak Shep to Orchos

I didn't go to Kala Pattar this morning, since no one else wanted to go. However, in the end, it was a good thing, since I was feeling terrible and was anxious to get to a lower elevation. I had to terrible feeling of malaise, which I attributed to the altitude and to a cold which seems to be worsening. I have had sniffles all day and now feel generally terrible. It was a fairly easy walk today back to Orchos, though. However, it was very windy and I think that bothered me even more. It does feel good to get down to a lower elevation, though. I am looking forward to having a hot shower and clean clothes in Namche. I wish I had something more inspiring to write. If anyone ever reads this besides me, I'm sure it is a terrible disappointment - It's more to jog my own memory than anything else. I do find myself today missing a lot of things from home - family, Bart, even my Jeep. Only another week, I suppose...

2006-10-23T19:41:00.000-03:00

*****************************************************
Oct 23, 2005 - Everest Base Camp, Elevation 17,600 ft.
*****************************************************

This is the day! We made it! All 8 of us made it to EBC, but it was one of the hardest things.. no, THE hardest thing I have ever done. We started out with a pretty long, tiring hike from Lobuche to Gorak Shep, where we had brunch and then headed for Base Camp. The trail was rocky & rough, although I've seen worse, but the altitude was taking all my energy. Every footstep was an effort. I had to reach down to depths I didn't know I had, just to get there. Then we had to make it back!! I was a great relief and event to make it to Base Camp, but our elation was tempered by our altitude fatigue. I don't know if I've ever felt so bad. The effect of 49% oxygen, I suppose. We did make it back though, but I didn't feel like having dinner. I cannot remember now, a day later, even what I had. But, all in all, we can say that we did it!

Here's a couple of videos that Dave took just before and at Base Camp.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4RSBNMbH98
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLXGAHtXYaw

2006-10-22T21:10:00.000-03:00

Oct 22, 2005 - Lobuche

Today we left for Lobuche, and it have to say it was one of the hardest days of my life, physically. I am really starting to feel the effects of altitude, but I did manage to take a couple of Advil which made me feel some better. However, toward the "end" of the hike, I really felt terrible, especially during the last 1/2 hour. I was really thinking that I wasn't going to make it. We did though, and after a break and lunch I felt much better.

In the afternoon, we walked up to the ridge and looked down the Khumbu Glacier. It was amazing! You could see up to the Khumbu Icefall, Base Camp, and Kala Pattar. As you looked around, you could see nothing but mountains. I really had a tear in my eye. Also, I felt greatly strengthened that our goal was in sight. We're almost there! Tomorrow it is on to Base Camp! Maybe it is just the altitude, but I'm almost giddy with excitement. Everyone on the team had a pretty bad day, but everyone seems pretty good now, it would be great if everyone makes it to Base Camp. I should add an interesting note from a few days ago - Dave introduced the concept of "pull my finger" to the Sherpas!! Uh-oh!

Margin note: "We saw an avalanche on this day!!

2006-10-21T16:42:00.000-03:00

Oct 21, 2005 - Day Hike Nangkar Tshang

Today we did an acclimatization hike to Nangkar Tshang, which had a summit height of 5100m or about 16,800 ft! The sky cleared a little so that the views were actually quite good. It was a very hard climb as it was all very steep, and it had snowed through the night, so the trail was quite slippery in spots. The last part of the ascent was very rocky, like Mt. Adams (New Hampshire), and it was very slippery though (sic). I was more than ready to reach the summit as I was very winded. No real altitude sickness issues though (I don't think). I did have a headache, but it was more of a muscle tension thing, I think. Matt had given me a pill which took it away straightaway. Returned back for lunch and had a nap afterward. Now playing cards with Gambu and Kamal, and waiting for dinner. I am feeling pretty well at the moment. Hopefully, I will make it on Sunday!!

Just an extra interesting thought - who would believe that I would ever be playing cards with a bunch of Sherpas in the Himalayas! What an experience! As an added note, everyone seems to be handling the altitude okay. I hope the whole team makes it!

One of our assistant guides, Dill, near the top of Nangkar Tshang

2006-10-20T21:12:00.000-03:00

Oct 20, 2005 - Hike to Dengboche

Started off with a beautiful morning hike from Phortse. The trail wasn't too bad. It started off steeply, but moderated. We saw some climbers that were actually at the summit of Ama Dablam! However, the clouds soon started to move in and it got quite cool Stopped at a Buddhist monastery and "toured". As we climbed to where we had lunch, the weather turned worse & started raining/snowing. Also, I was feeling quite unwell from not having eaten since breakfast. I feel I just made it to where we had lunch. However, I felt much better after and had little problem making it to the hotel where we were staying in Dengboche (4400m, 14,500 ft). We are staying at a very new teahouse which is really quite nice! The bunks are the nicest so far. We volunteered to participate in a Stanford study about the effectiveness of Diamox vs. Advil on AMS (altitude sickness). An oxygen test showed my level at 71%, which concerned me a lot, but I feel fine and Matt (who is a doctor) said not to worry about it. Everyone else's was in the 80's. Well, we'll see what happens... Playing Crazy 8's with Anna, Mike and Dave... going to bed soon. The trail today once again reminded me of Grand Canyon, but the snow this afternoon reminded me of home!

2006-10-19T21:01:00.000-03:00

Oct 19, 2005 - Namche to Phortse

We left Namche and immediately strated climbing. Most of the first part of the trail was like the Tonto Trail in the Grand Canyon. In fact, the scenery today was really varied and when we walked by the river it even reminded me of Fundy National Park a little. We had lunch in Mong la, which is actually higher (3975m) than Phortse (3850m), where we are staying the night. Phortse is very different from Namche - very rural - definitely a lot quieter. The rooms are basic but seem comfortable. The toilet is outside and is basically a shed with a hole inside. The walls are insulated with yak dung! It may be a new decorating trend. Or not.

About to go out for a little walk around before dinner. Dave and Anna almost had a "yakcident" when 2 yaks were fighting right beside them along the trail.

Elevation: 12,672 ft!

Notes: Saw what looked like Mtn. cranberry along the trail. I will need to look that up to see if it really was.

2006-10-18T22:07:00.000-03:00

Oct 18, 2005 Above Namche

This was an acclimatization day in Namche, so we just day hiked up a very steep trail to a ridge overlooking Khumjung, with a great view of Everest and Ama Dablam. It was tiring and I was feeling the altitude. A slow & steady pace worked though. We made it up and then descended a steep trail back to Namche, where we went to the museum. Then back to the lodge (Kala Pattar Lodge) and lunch. After lunch we just talked and then did some "shopping" along the streets. It was fun. I bought a prayer wheel and some prayer flags. I also bought a tasty cinnamon roll! We talked for a while this evening with "Gerry", who was about to make a summit attempt of Ama Dablam. Very interesting. Learning a few phrases:

jom jom - "Let's go!"
Bola manche - "crazy man"
Bolia manche - "strong man"
ruh-roh - good
Doku - basket used by porters
Dah-nee-baht - Thank you

We had a very filling dinner and then were talking to a returning group. They said it was difficult, but I am not letting that discourage me. I live for challenges!

I feel very well this evening and don't seem to feel any altitude effects. Here's hoping for nothing new on that front. One thing that I have noticed (again) is that people really are the same everywhere. There are nice ones, loud ones, quiet ones, funny ones, reserved ones, rude ones, whether in a big city or a quiet village in Nepal. It really helps me to view people as brothers and sisters because of this.

Tomorrow, on to Phortse!!

2006-10-17T22:36:00.000-03:00

Oct 17, 2005 - "To Namche"

11,355.3 ft altitude!

Had a good breakfast today of egg & Tibetan bread. The first part of the hike was along the river and we crossed a number of bobbing, swaying suspension bridges. The last one was a couple of hundred feet above! Met some very cute kids along the way who posed for some pictures. After the last suspension bridge, we started to climb in earnest, and soon had our first view of Everest! Then we climbed and climbed - up to 3400 metres at Namche! Namche is a bustling town with many shops and teahouses. Our teahouse is quite nice with regular flush toilets! No elevation problems so far, although we had to climb pretty slowly for the last while. It's hard to describe how amazing the scenery is here - I can't believe I'm here!

2006-10-16T19:53:00.000-03:00

Oct 16, 2005 - Start of the Trek!

We met at 8:00 after breakfast and had a good bus ride back to the airport. The airport was the domestic terminal, where it was very much like the rest of the city - bedlam! Hundreds of people and lots of confusion. Security was pretty strict - we got frisked 3 times! We got on the (rickety) Twin Otter aircraft but the flight was good - as we climbed, we actually got very close to some of the hillsides of the valley. And then the landing at Lukla! It was amazing. At the last minute, it looks like you're going to run into the runway, which slopes up. They suddenly pull up, the stall warning goes off, and you touch down - and everyone applauds! We get out and the place is amazing. The views even from here are incredible. The village of Lukla is an interesting place, too. The children are soooo cute. A couple of kids yelled "Namaste" to us as we walked by. It seems much cleaner here than in Kathmandu. We hiked to a small settlement for lunch where I had Tibetan bread w/egg, and then on to Phakding. Our teahouse is quite nice. Now just getting ready to have dinner and am chatting with our group - a nice evening.

2006-10-15T18:14:00.000-03:00

Oct 15, 2005 Kathmandu

Had a relaxing day at the Kathmandu GH, went shopping in the late morning and it was quite an experience, with shopkeepers persuading you to come in, beggars, a sahdu who "painted" Mike, rickshaws, cars, it was sensory overload! Bought a couple of Pashmina scarves and a "Tiger Game" for folks at home. Went back to the hotel and relaxed in the garden, with a late lunch. Met up with the Intrepid group at 5:00pm and they seem to be a great bunch! Matt, Freya, Mark and Roly from OZ, and Anna from Brunei. Matt is really funny and is quite a character. Got some money changed and packed for the start of the trek. Finally got everything together!

2006-10-14T17:46:00.000-03:00

Oct 14, 2005 Hong Kong to Kathmandu

Did not do much in HK last night, since we were all very tired. We did go "shopping" around the shopping district and it was amazing with the crowds and the incredible variety of shops. People everywhere! Our limosine service guy from last night picked us up this morning. Flight from HK to Bangkok & on to Kathmandu was very different from Air Canada. Great service and great food. Arrived in Katmandu a little late (about) 2:45 and went through immigration pretty quickly. Some strange things - had to put hand baggage through x-ray LEAVING the airport - not sure why, but it didn't seem like anyone there cared anyway.

Stepped out of the airport to get our pre-paid cab and started to get an idea of Kathmandu. I just felt like I was on TAR!! The streets are noisy and filled with cars, bikes, people, cows, dogs, you name it. The difference from HK is striking, going from an area of extreme wealth to one of obvious poverty. Horns are also used instead of brakes here apparently!

Arrived at Kathmandu Guest House which is an oasis of calm in the midst of Bedlam. An old Rana palace, it still has a certain regal air, even if our own room is more hostel than hotel. The grounds are very nice, with gardens and cafes. It's a fascinating place, really - I have never been anywhere like Kathmandu.

We haven't really done much tonight - still pretty tired, so we just hung around the cafe, ate a bit and have gone to veg - or sleep. It's only 6:30 pm!!

2006-10-12T20:27:00.000-03:00

Oct 12-13, 2006
Saint John to Hong Kong

Everything went pretty smoothly today, flights were all on schedule and no problems! Flew from Toronto directly North over the pole and then down through Russia, Mongolia, and China. Going over the Pole was interesting - The Sun was low & almost red for a long time, Nothing but ice & snow beneath.

The flight to HK was looong! We were all very glad to get off the plane. Watched Batman Begins & Mr & Mrs Smith. Hong Kong is fascinating - really busy but very different. Our great limo driver gave us a bit of a tour on the way into town. Checked in with no problem, (the service was great) NOT sure what we are doing tonight...

"Shin chow chin chee" - Watch your step! This is what we heard at every escalator in the HK airport.

Hong Kong Shopping

2006-10-11T22:09:00.000-03:00

Long Time, No Post

Hey everyone! It's been a while! I'm going to start blogging again for a bit - starting on Oct 13th, I'm going to post from my trip journal that I made in Nepal. Oct 13th was the date of the start of our trip this year, so this is kind of a way for me to mark the anniversary of such a remarkable experience. The posts are going to be word for word, including the altitude induced "typos" and bad grammar. I'll throw some pics in too!

Reading back over it, I don't think I was all that insightful or inspirational, but it does give some clues as to my frame of mind at the end of each day.

Keep checking back!

2006-06-24T22:06:00.000-03:00

More pics..

Hi folks - sorry for such a long break. I've posted a couple more sets of pics from my April Grand Canyon trip and my volunteer training trip down to New Hampshire in May. They're at my flickr site at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gforce2002/

2006-04-26T12:03:00.000-03:00

Is it just me, or is this terribly lame?

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/04/25/life.gas.reut/index.html

Wouldn't the inconvenience of it all vastly outweigh the extra cost of gas??

2006-04-18T22:16:00.000-03:00

More Everest Pics

I've uploaded some more Everest pics to my Flickr site -

Check them out!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gforce2002/

I've also got some pretty good shots of the Grand Canyon from my recent trip. I will post those soon...

2006-03-23T21:33:00.000-04:00

The Fifth Dimension..

First off, my BIG news for today is that my new washer and dryer arrived. My old one, which was here when I moved into my house (13 years ago) was old then, so its age was indeterminate. However, earlier in the week in finally (and somewhat spectacularly) gave up the ghost when it started leaking water everywhere. I called a local used appliance store to see if they would come pick it up. They said they would, but may have to charge me $30 if they couldn't use it for anything. Anyway, when they saw it they immediately went "Wow. THAT is old!" Of course, I had pay to have it removed. So, now I have a nice new front-loading washer - they are cool!

In other and odder news, this evening I was packing for my trip to AZ and opened my suitcase and found... my passport. The thing is, this little item has been missing for nigh on five months or so... since I arrived home from Nepal. I have been searching high and low for it, since I KNEW that it was in the house. The last time I had seen it, it was in my bedroom, so I knew it had to be there. That being said, I have turned the place upside down looking for it, to no avail. I KNOW that I have searched that suitcase at least five times looking for it. (I kept going through it just in case I missed something.) I have even searched inside the lining! So now, suddenly, I open up the suitcase and there it is (it was in a little money belt thing along with some Nepalese Rupees) sitting innocently there, staring up at me.

It's sudden appearance is kind of freaking me out actually. I know that I had searched that suitcase multiple times before and now it just appears there??? My question - into what bizarre dimension do these things disappear to that after a certain amount of time they just reappear?? I've had the same thing happen with socks and other articles of clothing. Very, very weird.

2006-03-05T21:50:00.000-04:00

Pictures

I'm trying out the Flickr website to share some of my photos. Can you give this link a try, see what you can see, and give me your feedback? I've posted some Everest pics that I haven't posted before, so they're worth seeing too!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/67956891@N00/

2006-03-04T10:56:00.000-04:00

2006-02-13T09:20:00.000-04:00

Well, this explains a lot. And is just a little creepy...

2006-02-11T19:00:00.000-04:00

A Wonderful People

I know - a post! Anyway, I wanted to write a little bit about the people of Nepal before I blather on any further about what I got out of the trip. Despite all their political problems (but hey, who doesn't have those?), I found the diverse people of Nepal to be amazing. The Sherpas (the cultural group of the majority of people who live up in the mountainous areas), were particularly wonderful. Hard working, laughing, friendly people who seemed always to be be willing to say hello, even when bearing loads on their backs of up to 250lbs!! It was almost a given that at any house where there were children, that the kids would come running out of the house (sometimes little more than one or two rooms) smiling and yelling "Namaste!!"(pronounced 'NAH-mah-stay', a Nepali greeting). Sometimes, we would stop and talk to them for a moment or two. Here's a great shot of some kids we met along the way, where we stopped and (after getting permission from the parents) took their picture. They were AMAZED at the digital cameras and laughed hysterically at seeing their own pictures on the preview screen. They were SO cute.

Beside the kids, everyone we met there was unfailingly friendly and kind. Their work ethic is also almost unbelieveable. To see so many of the people who were acting as porters, either for trekking groups or to carry stuff from town to town for supplies, was incredible. The loads they would carry would either be huge, terribly heavy or both. It was so great to see that so many are able to incorporate the commercial aspects of catering to the trekking industry into their traditional, peaceful, unhurried way of life. What struck me particularly is how happy and content they seemed, while having very little in the way of material goods. It really showed that wealth is not necessary for happiness. I sometimes think that the (excess of) material goods is rather a hindrance to happiness than an aid.

I want to make particular note of our guide and assistant guide - in this picture is Mila, Gambu, Kamal and Dill. Mila was one of our porters. Gambu was our main guide and Kamal and Dill were assistant guides. They were unfailingly friendly, helpful and understanding (and patient!), and Gambu was very experienced in getting people up there and back - I mean after all, he got us up there!

It's interesting that in Nepal, there are two main religions and cultural groups which co-exist very peacefully. The Sherpas in the mountains are predominantly Buddhist, while in Kathmandu and the lower areas the people are mainly Hindu and seem of more Indian-Asian descent. Everywhere we went in Nepal, people appear to work on "Nepali time", which is basically whenever something happens, it happens. They don't really work to what we think of as a precise schedule. That could be frustrating for some of us, but you soon start to appreciate that way of life. The people are far from lazy, but they do definitely work by their own "clock".

Anyway, I hope to post a little bit more about the trip in a bit, hopefully sooner than last time!

2005-12-01T19:57:00.000-04:00

Getting High (on life)

I was trying to think of some way to describe the experience of being in a place like like bottom of the Khumbu Icefall at the Base Camp for Mt. Everest. I could use words like incredible and amazing, but I don't think that those are sufficient. I would like to try though, to convey some of feelings through my pictures and maybe a little narrative.

The hike up to Base Camp was for the most part not that difficult - although I did train for about 6 months beforehand for it, so that may have been some help! The trail was mostly wide and easy (I'll cover details of the rest of the hike in another post.) But the day we arrived in Base Camp, I was more than a little exhausted. It is difficult to describe the effects of high altitude (17,700 ft) to someone who has not experienced it. The exhaustion and lethargy are unbelieveable. Added to that is the effect that it has on you mentally - which leads some part of you to keep saying to yourself "just give up." That makes it sound like it was a terrible experience - rather, it was probably the most amazing experience of my life and even thinking of it now practically brings me to tears. To say it was a life changing experience may sound melodramatic, but I feel that there is something fundamentally "different" about me now, in the way I feel about everything. The strange thing is, I can't really say what the difference is - perhaps that will come when I have more perspective on the whole thing.

Anyway, that sounds like a rambling stream of consciousness, but here some cool pictures!!

Here's a great group picture of all eight of us above Namche, which was "only" about 13,000 ft. It was a great hike and there's a view of Everest far off in the distance about at the centre top of the picture. My buddies Dave and Mike are in the front row on the left. The mountain Ama Dablam rises dramatically on the far right.

Here's a picture of the trail when we were almost to Lobuche which was one stop below Gorak Shep (the highest place we stayed). This was the day before we got to Base Camp.

Team Canada with the Khumbu Glacier in the background. Feelin' fine!!

This is just before we got to Base Camp. We were all feeling pretty crappy by this point from the altitude, but pressed on! You can see Everest peeking over the mountains in the foreground. The base of Nuptse is on the right, with the peak that forms the bottom of the Western ridge of Everest beside it. The Khumbu Icefall is coming down between them..

Triumph! Here I am - it's funny because I remember when that picture was taken, I was saying "please hurry, I can't keep my arms up!" The Khumbu Icefall is in the background - this is the first major part that the people who are actually climbing Everest have to get through, and the most dangerous. Although it looks like you could almost just walk up that short snowfield, that's because perception is completely messed up there. Everything LOOKS smaller and closer than it is. The chunks of ice in the Icefall can be 100 ft high! Climbers must negotiate a series of ladders that bridge the crevasses. A fall is deadly.

Team Canada arrives! This is the three of us (Me, Mike and Dave) at Base Camp. The flag is actually one we borrowed from the lodge at Gorak Shep. We forgot to bring one!!

Anyway, it was truly an amazing experience - I will discuss the people of Nepal next post. It won't be too long, I promise!!

2005-11-21T22:07:00.000-04:00

Do Remarkable Things

Well, I realize that this is my first post in, shall we say, a rather long while. Hopefully, you guys will forgive the long recess once you hear some of my musings on my recent trip to Mt. Everest. I hope these ravings make some sense, maybe some of it is from brain cell loss due to hypoxia, I don't know. We'll see how it goes.

I have thought a lot about what to post about the trip, stories to include and so on. Rather than post a straight travelogue though, I thought I would include some of the thoughts and impressions that I have. Don't worry, there'll be pictures too!!

Now, a couple of weeks after returning from the trip, perhaps it is still too soon to really say how the trip has affected me, but I can tell you that I somehow feel "different" in a way that I can't really put my finger on. Do I feel a new perspective on how lucky we are in the West and how little we appreciate it? Yes. Do I feel different about how some things in life are important but most of the stuff we worry about is meaningless? Kind of. Do I feel more relaxed and less of a slave to self imposed schedules and deadlines and instead just do the job the best I can? I think so. Perhaps all this is a part of it, I'm not sure - but I do feel that there is more to it than that. It's interesting that my two friends that went on the trip also have similar feelings - that something is "different" but they can't really say what.

One thing that I know that I have gained is the realization of how important it is to "do remarkable things" - that life needs to be more than worrying about paying bills, drudging yourself off to work everyday, coming home, slumping on the couch, and waiting to do it all over again tomorrow.

Climbing to Everest Base Camp was remarkable, there is no doubt, and it is an experience that I will always remember. Not everyone can make it to Everest Base Camp, I realize, but the challenge is to find those things which one can do which are just a little bit different - to remind you that you are alive and not just existing.

I am reminded of a quote by Mark Twain:

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Or from Jack London:

I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.

If you have a dream, pursue it. Don't wait. Do the things that need doing, but also do the things that don't. My Mom taught me a little poem when I was a child - I don't know who wrote it originally, but I have always carried its sentiment with me:

"Be good, and let those who will, be clever.
Do noble deeds, not dream them all day long,
And let life, love and that vast forever
Be one grand, sweet song."

I hope this post hasn't been too tedious - it's been difficult to describe feelings which are indescribable. Coming up, I'll write about my impressions of Nepal in general, and about the Himalayas in particular, including both the people and the scenery. With pictures!!

2005-06-09T21:58:00.000-03:00

Jeepers!!

I know, I know!! "Where's all my blog entries??" you ask. Well, no excuses - I've been alternately busy and lazy. Anyway, here's a link to some cool pics from the Jeep Jamboree I attended last weekend. It was great fun, even with the slight damage that I inflicted on my poor Liberty. There's no commentary there, but I may pick out a few pictures to put in a separate blog entry.

And no, I haven't forgotten about the rest of my Grand Canyon pictures! I sat down to do some blogging this evening and got distracted by phone calls, etc. Oh well, there's always this weekend!

2005-05-23T11:08:00.000-03:00

The State of Chicago

I found this entertaining, and unfortunately very true, article by John Dvorak on the PC Magazine website. Has anyone else encountered people like he's described? It appears to be more and more common.

I hope to get some more trip pictures on line later this evening or tomorrow!

2005-05-14T16:12:00.000-03:00

Day 0 - Hermit Trail to Dripping Springs

Well, of course I did NOT do the easy Rim Trail on my first full day at the Canyon. Instead, I decided to do a 7 mile round trip hike down the Hermit Trail over to Dripping Springs. This is an area I had not been in since my very first backpacking trip in the Canyon in April 2001.

I left on the Hermit Trail about 8:00am after riding the free shuttle all the way from Grand Canyon Village (about a 40 minute trip). It was a great morning. There was no one on the trail yet and it was cool but with a bright early morning sun - perfect.

The view down Hermit Canyon from the trail was great - the far point that you can see about the centre of the picture is called Yuma Point, where I camped during my first trip into the Canyon in 2001. It is a spectacular spot to set up camp!

On the Hermit Trail, as you pass through the Coconino Sandstone, you can see right by the side of the trail some fossilized animal tracks - these ones were apparently made by some alligator type reptile, since the tracks straddle what look like drag marks from the body scraping along the ground. Anyway, there are tons of other little tracks all around there, from all sorts of little prehistoric critters. Very cool.

Looking back, you can see a section of the Dripping Springs Trail (which leaves the Hermit Trail a couple of miles down). Yes, it's just as scary as it looks. Slipping is not an option. Here's another shot looking over the side. Don't fall!!

Dripping Springs is a beautiful spot as a day's destination. Water which has seeped down through the porous stone actually comes out of it when it hits the bottom, making the water appear to be coming out of rock. Lush greenery has grown up (and down!) around the dripping water.

Here's an interesting view heading back up the Hermit Trail on the way back. This trail was built in the early 1900's initially to carry out copper ore (on muleback!) but a few years later carried early tourists down to Hermit Camp. As such, part of the original cobblestones are still there. However, much of the trail is fairly rough now, and it's a pretty rigourous climb.

Before reaching the trailhead again around 12:30 pm, I looked back and took a picture toward where I had hiked down. Dripping Springs is kind of toward the end of that open canyon in the middle of the picture.

Because I was finished my hike so early, I took a drive all the way to the East end of the park and visited Desert View, which has a great view of the Colorado River and the Painted Desert off in the distance.

Then I went outside the Park to visit one of the Navajo roadside craft stalls where you can buy Native made stuff about half what you would pay at a souvenir shop.

Then, back for dinner and getting my stuff ready for the next day's hike!!

2005-05-06T12:29:00.000-03:00

Simplify

I can't remember if I posted this before or not, but I believe it is a great summary of Thoreau's book "Walden". I want to read the whole book sometime, but these selections give you a good flavour for what he was trying to say. While not necessarily practical for today in its entirety, the principles are certainly still valid. Anyway, it's a good read (I may have quoted it before, I can't remember.)

And no, I haven't forgotten about my trips reports! I've just been busy - but I'll catch up on the weekend..

2005-04-28T18:41:00.000-03:00

Arrival

After a pleasant and relaxing drive up from Phoenix through Payson, and then through Flagstaff (where I bought a new hat), I finally arrived at the Canyon around late afternoon. So, after checking in at the Maswik Lodge, I ventured over to the rim to take a few pictures before sunset.

Luckily, the evening was partly cloudy, the shadows of which give a extra depth to the photos which were all taken not far from the Bright Angel Lodge.

This picture looks down into the side canyon in which the Bright Angel trail descends (or ascends, depending). You can see the Plateau Point trail down there. The shadows combined with the setting sun gives the photo a lot of visual depth, if you'll pardon the expression!

Here's another great shot looking more toward the East. You can see the pointy Zoroaster Temple just to the right of centre.

With this shot, I tried to compose the picture somewhat by using the Pinon Pine trees to frame the distant shot of the Canyon. I think I got a bit too much of the trees in, but I suppose I could crop the photo to remove the excess. We'll see if I get around to that!

Finally, I took this shot looking over toward the El Tovar Hotel (the priciest one on the rim). In it, you can just make out a couple of the ravens, which were using the air currents to soar up the wall of the Canyon. They would then tuck their wings and drop quickly, just to keep repeating the thrill over and over. It looked like fun!

After all that, I went to get something to eat and then headed back to my room to relax. My next day was a "free" day, so I wasn't sure what I was going to do - would it be a relaxing day of walking along the rim, or a 7 mile round trip excursion below the rim down into one of the quieter areas of the Canyon? Hmm... I wonder...

2005-04-24T20:20:00.000-03:00

Flora

This Winter/Spring in the Grand Canyon has been one of the wettest in recent memory. As a result, the wildflowers were out like crazy!! Even the rangers were commenting on how they had never seen anything like it for many years.

Here's a few pictures of some of the flowers I saw along the way. Keep in mind these are mostly close ups, but these things were everywhere - covering every plateau and even growing out of cracks in the rocks! It was incredibly beautiful.

Here's a nice clump of.. something.. that I saw on my day hike to Dripping Springs, about a 7 mile round trip. This flower was not in my field guide, so I'm not sure what it is. It could be an invasive plant, not native to the Canyon.

Here's a great close up of an Indian Paintbrush. These are quite common in the Canyon.

A striking clump of Prickly Pear blossoms. So very pretty, but don't touch!!

This is a rather shaded picture of a Weakstem Mariposa which has a wandering vine that crawls along the ground.

It looks rather similar to the abundant (this year) Sego Lily, of which this appears to be a perfect specimen.

Here's a nice Brittlebush, which is one of the most common flowers to see in the lower elevations of the Canyon. It was everywhere! I thought this shot captures a nice contrast between the yellow flowers and the reddish-purple Bright Angel Shale.

A nice close up of a Brittlebush blossom.

Along my day hike from Bright Angel Campground at the bottom of the Canyon up to Ribbon Falls on the North Kaibab Trail, wildflowers were still in abundance. Here's a nice clump of Globemallow surrounded by a few other colourful characters...

Finally, a delicate little Fleabane blossom, which is also a fairly common flower in the Canyon.

2005-04-24T18:55:00.000-03:00

Grand Canyon Overview

Before I start on my day to day description of my backpacking trip, I just felt like blathering a bit on a couple of things. I would like to send out a BIG kudos to the National Park Service - Of all the times I have been at the Canyon, I have yet to meet a ranger or any of the staff be anything but completely pleasant and helpful. They truly hire the best for the Canyon! There is one intrepretive ranger (Pam Cox) in particular who works out of Phantom Ranch, who is remarkably friendly and professional and whose presentational style can make the most mundane topics absolutely riveting. They also deserve credit for making the best of the relatively little funding that they get from the government.

I also wanted to comment on one of the most interesting aspects that I always find about hiking in the Grand Canyon (or any quiet area, really). There were several times during this hike when I was by myself that the silence around me was really noticeable. Well, not the silence, really, and that was what was remarkable. During our noisy, daily lives, we usually completely miss the subtleties around us. While walking in comparative silence, though, I began to notice things that I normally wouldn't. A fly buzzes lazily in the distance. A lizard overturns a small rock someplace near the trail. A Canyon Wren calls from a nearby bush. These are sounds that I cherish in retrospect to returning to the noise of the "real" world. When I feel rushed or harried by some artificial deadline, my thoughts return to these things and I find solace and perspective.

Anyway, enough of all that! I was going to post some pictures today, but Photobucket seems to be resisting all attempts to post anything for today, at least. I will try again tomorrow.

2005-04-23T17:49:00.000-03:00

A New Look

I got bored with the old blog look. What do y'all think? Unfortunately, it means I've lost all my old comments, but surely someone will comment again. Won't you?

2005-04-22T23:03:00.000-03:00

Yes. I'm Back.

Hey everyone! Well, I'm finally back from my trip to CA/AZ and the Grand Canyon hike. Actually, I've been home for a few days, but have been pretty busy catching up on stuff and, well, sleeping off the jet lag. Oh, there's been working involved somewhere there, too.

I'm going to give a more detailed version of the trip over the next few days, but I just wanted to add now some of the things at the END of my trip. I spent the last couple of days back in LA and had the good fortune to meet up with the inimitable TVJunkie to do a little hiking in Malibu Creek State Park and just generally shoot the breeze. It was a great time and I really appreciated the tour!! On my last day in LA, I just kicked around Venice Beach for a few hours before heading off to the airport to catch my flight (which was a red-eye to Toronto).

I was really quite concerned about going through security in LA, considering all the things I've heard and read over the last year or so. I needn't have worried - I breezed through with no problems at all and the staff were actually very friendly.

But, after a 4.5 hour (no sleep) flight to Toronto, I landed there and then had to change terminals from the USA flights to the domestic departures. I couldn't believe how poorly the directions are marked there to find the shuttle. I finally found a "sign", done with black marker on a white poster board (!) with an arrow pointing the way. Sheesh.

So, after all that, you have to go through security again, because you just came through Customs and had to get your checked luggage. Well, the security agent at the x-ray machine asked to see the boarding pass of the fellow that was in line in front of me. She peers at it intently, and then slowly says.. "So... where's this.. 'Charlottetown'?" (Which is, of course the capital of Prince Edward Island and the city where Canada was born! ) So, he says "Uh, it's in PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND". She, still not looking completely convinced, hands him back his boarding pass. Yes - I feel SOOOO much more secure knowing these are the people handling security. *shops online for portable parachute*

Anyway, the rest of the trip home was completely uneventful, but I sure was tired. So, I will endeavour to get the rest of the story and some of my pics up within the next few days.

2005-04-04T20:19:00.000-03:00

Away We Go!

Well, tomorrow I leave for my umpteenth trip to the Great American Southwest. I'm looking forward to it, and it's a much needed break after a long Winter. I'll be in the city, I'll be in the country, it will sure be a trip of contrasts.

Anyway, hope to get some pics and update you all later - wish me luck!!

2005-03-24T19:55:00.000-04:00

Vroom

Is it wrong that I want one of these.. as well as my Jeep. I mean, I can justify it can't I??? Well, probably not, but it's fun to dream anyway. What would I do with 425 horsepower? It's probably one of those things that you would never know until you tried it, I suppose!!!

Did I ever mention how much I hate Dell products? I mean not just dislike, or dismiss, but actively despise? Their server technology is probably about 5 years behind the competition, for one. Well, today was a reminder of what Dell's "world class service" was like. Just two weeks ago, it took me about a week and a half to convince Dell's corporate support people that, yes, we really DID need a replacement backup tape drive for one of our servers. They kept suggesting, "did you try this??"... "Did you try that??" in an attempt to apparently just make me give up trying, I guess. I finally had to, shall we say, "speak strongly" to get it through to them that I WANTED A NEW UNIT.

Anyway, today yet another of their backup tape units went bad, this time emitting a loud grinding/shrieking sound. So, I call Dell's tech "support" and got hold of "Rob", who was probably the rudest tech guy I have ever seen. After responding "no" to his question about whether we had rebooted the server several times to see if it would get the tape unit working.. (wha?? When it's the (external) tape unit that is making the noise? That makes no sense) He says (imagine the snottiest tone possible) "Well, most people would at least try a couple of reboots before they called in a problem..." Asshole. The rest of the conversation he was just rude and dismissive and I was starting to lose my cool. He did finally agree (begrudgingly) to replace the drive however.

The upshot to all this is that when I arrived at my desk this morning, what was waiting for me but a brand new laptop to replace my trusty and dependable IBM Thinkpad - which is being replaced. The new laptop's brand? Dell.

*screams*

2005-03-19T21:09:00.000-04:00

Extreme Sports

Now, I know that I like to do some things as hobbies which some may consider fairly exciting, but I recently found this, which I don't think I will be participating in. I don't even like the non-extreme version. Want to know more? Click here.

I also think I suffer from this at work...

The WordSpy site looks pretty cool, by the way, with a lot new buzzwords/expressions.

2005-03-16T20:48:00.000-04:00

Whither the Blog?

Wait a minute. I have a blog?? You woulda thought??!! Well, really, I know that I have been, uh, neglecting ye olde blog for quite a while now, but I decided that I should have a go at a post tonight.

As many of you probably know, it is now less than three weeks before I leave for my big trip to California and Arizona. I am REALLY looking forward to it, particularly the 4 day backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon.

However, in big(ger) news, some guys at work and I have finally gotten around to actually booking our trip to Nepal!! Yep, this October I will be trekking up the flanks of Everest. Don't feel bad, I'm sure it will be nothing special... HAHAHAHAHA. As if. I now still can't believe that we are actually going - it's like I'm in denial or something (even as as look at the printout of my flight itinerary as far as Hong Kong). Oh, and I'm going to Hong Kong!!! We get to spend a day (about 24hours) there on the way back.) That is just so cool.

The only thing that worries me a bit about the trip is the current political situation in Nepal, what with the Maoist insurgency and all. But, I've read quite a bit on the internet about how things are from the tourist point of view and it sounds like things are running as normal, with no problems. So, it sounds pretty good for that so far.

Interestingly, I actually feel more nervous about flying into the US than I am to Nepal - and the funny thing is I'm not worried about terrorism or anything, but rather the security people (especially at LAX). How sad is it that I'm more worried about that than the things that they are trying to prevent? I don't know, maybe it won't be so bad and you only hear the worst cases, but it does concern me a bit.

Anyway, I've got some interesting travel scheduled for this year - should be fun!

2005-02-21T18:49:00.000-04:00

Hrrmm....

Link provided without comment....

http://www.bmw-m.net/Humor/womendrivers.htm

2005-02-11T11:49:00.000-04:00

I really can't understand some people. I mean, if you don't want your kid, there are definitely adoption agencies and people who would be great parents if they could have children out there. Why resort to this??

2005-02-08T09:01:00.000-04:00

Goings on in Grand Rapids

Are they trying to lower the driving age there or something?

http://www2.cbs5.com/watercooler/watercooler_story_038090927.html

Tuna, what is it about that town?? :)

2005-01-29T16:17:00.000-04:00

Is this crazy, or is it just me?

This just seems kind of weird to me. Did she do it just to get on Oprah? I mean, I don't mind kids, but this just seems a bit crazy....

2005-01-24T20:09:00.000-04:00

This Is Brilliant..

Why is it these things always seem to keep coming out of Michigan????? :)

In other news.. Winter sucks. We've just had our third blizzard in a week!!

2005-01-17T14:26:00.000-04:00

By Any Other Name...

I'm not sure how I feel about things like this. I mean, on the one hand, it does seem to be a bit cold to have a name so associated with a tragedy, but on the other hand, are we all so sensitive that we can't bear to be reminded in any way whatsoever about something bad that has happened? If that were to be the case, there are a whole lot of words that may have bad connotations to at least somebody. I don't know. What do y'all think?

2005-01-14T14:32:00.000-04:00

Huygens Rules

Yay! I knew they could do it! Now, I can't wait to see some of the data that is being returned. I want pictures!

2005-01-11T13:26:00.000-04:00

Well, I have to say this is just crazy. I wonder what his Workmen's Compensation reps think of his bad back now?

In other news... here we are almost in the middle of January. This is probably my least favourite time of year. Christmas is a dimming memory, the weather is at its coldest (and today, windiest), and everything is just blah. Oh, and don't forget the first VISA bill after the Christmas shopping season! Anyway, here's hoping that I can come up with something to do to help me get through this Winter rut.

2004-12-31T11:30:00.000-04:00

New Year's Resolution

"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury; and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable; and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasion, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony."

William Henry Channing

2004-12-30T13:56:00.000-04:00

Making a Difference

Amid the horror of the aftermath of the tsunami in Asia, it's so easy to feel overwhelmed with a sense of powerlessness about what can be done. I've made a donation to the Canadian Red Cross and to other humanitarian organizations that I am confident will use the money wisely. However, in the face of what will be such an enormous cost, I wondered how my relatively few dollars could possibly make a difference. Then I remembered this poem, some variation of which you may have heard. It puts things in perspective. If I can help just one...

2004-12-27T13:53:00.000-04:00

The Weather Outside is Frightful...

Latest update from Environment Canada..

Heavy snowfall warning for
Saint John and county continued

This is a warning that heavy snow is expected in these regions.
Monitor weather conditions..Listen for updated statements.

An intense low pressure centre south of Nova Scotia this morning will pass to the east of Cape Breton Island this evening and move into Newfoundland tonight. The storm will give snowfall amounts between 20 and 30 centimetres. Very strong northerly winds will give whiteout conditions. The highest amounts of snow and the strongest winds is expected from the Acadian Peninsula to the Moncton area. The strong winds combined with cold temperatures will give wind chill of minus 35 to northern New Brunswick.

Coastal flooding due to a storm surge of 1 to 1.5 metres is expected this evening along the northeast shore of New Brunswick. The surge is the result of a high tide along with strong northerly winds driving rough surf over the coastal section of these regions.

Looks like Winter is here. As I look out my window, the snow is blowing horizontally, and winds are gusting to 93km/h (over 50 mph). Oh, and the wind chill is about -30C. That's about -15F. Brr.

Let's see, trip to Arizona planned in April... that's 3 months... I don't know if I can make it.....

2004-12-24T16:38:00.000-04:00

Greetings

I just wanted to wish a very, VERY Merry Christmas to all you folks, and a Happy New Year.

Feeling like tracking the big guy in the red suit? Check out this site! Make it quick though, he's already a long ways around the planet!! (The site requires Realplayer to watch the updates, but I know some of you have that installed!!)

Also, make sure to have a happy Boxing Day!! I did a little research on the origins of this mysterious day and found this. So, basically, the common theory is that it was the day after Christmas that people of higher station gave gifts or supplies to their servants or lower classes. No return gifts were expected or desired, since that would put them on an equal footing, and of course we couldn't have that.

One interesting side note is that Dec. 26th is considered St. Stephen's day, and this is the day referred to in "Good King Wesceslas" when he heads out on the "Feast of Stephen" to give goods to the poor man.

Anyway, have a happy holiday!

2004-12-21T13:21:00.000-04:00

The Christmas Spirit

When I read this story, for some reason it made me think of this, and how much different they were. I guess I was thinking that during this season of "Peace on Earth" that, whether globally or individually, we have the ability to choose whether we will love our fellow Man, or just well, try to run them off the road..

It's a matter of deciding to do one or the other. It's a reminder to me that I know that only I have to ability to decide how I am going to react to something. No one can "make" me mad. They can be jerks, yes, but they can't really force me to do anything. It's difficult, but for my own peace of mind, I try to choose to not be upset.

2004-12-10T13:05:00.000-04:00

Rebellious Parents

Any comments on this interesting story?

2004-12-07T09:16:00.000-04:00

For all you wannbe Canuckians down there....

2004-11-29T20:19:00.000-04:00

On Top of the World

Well, I'm thinking about doing this trip, maybe in a couple of years. It would require a bit of training, but I think I could do it. The only thing that would concern me a bit is the political situation in Nepal. What do y'all think? Should I go for it? Am I insane? I don't know I really don't have to commit soon or anything, but the idea of it is sure exciting.

2004-11-25T13:26:00.000-04:00

Some of you have probably heard this quote before, but it probably bears repeating nowadays....

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety".--Benjamin Franklin

2004-11-18T18:46:00.000-04:00

Big Brother's Watchin'
(And I don't mean Arnie Shaprio..)

For you Californians, are you sure you want to have the government tracking everywhere you drive? Didn't think so....

2004-11-17T14:25:00.000-04:00

Tis Better to Give....

Just in case any of you avid blog readers were wondering what to get me for Christmas (and I know it's on all of your minds ;), this would be great. If I get it, I may even send you a Christmas card... next year....

*waits hopefully at mailbox..*

2004-11-15T11:01:00.000-04:00

Think You're Having a Bad Day?

How would you like a job like this?

Or maybe something like this?

Maybe my job's not so bad after all....

2004-11-10T18:55:00.000-04:00

Lest We Forget

Tomorrow, Nov. 11, is Remembrance Day. This poem was taught to us early in school and was a centrepiece of Remembrance Day observations every year. It continues to be one of the most touching pieces of verse I have ever read. It was written by Dr. John McRae, a Canadian doctor serving in the Second Battle of Ypres in May, 1915, after a friend of his was killed.

In Flanders Fields

by John McCrae, May 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep,
though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

-----
As many of you probably know, a great many Canadians wear small poppies leading up to Nov. 11, in remembrance of those lost. So, when you're going about your daily duties today, don't forget these guys.

2004-10-13T11:47:00.000-03:00

An Uninvited Guest

We are finally getting over a spell of bad weather here brought on by the dregs of tropical storm "Nicole". Lot's of rain and wind (nothing like FL, though), enough to topple some trees and put some communities out of power for a short while.

The worst of it, though, is that it finally actually "feels" like Fall outside. Cool, damp, windy days and the Fall foliage colours are just past their peak. From here on in, it's nothing but cold weather, bare branches and probably too much snow. Luckily we had a pretty nice September and first half of October. I am going to try this Winter, though, to get outside more (even though I hate the cold) and do some stuff to enjoy the season rather than endure it. I've tried snowshoeing before and it was great fun - I may try that again. Any other ideas for great Wintertime activities? (Don't say skiing - tried that, much to my pain and embarrassment..)

2004-10-12T13:33:00.000-03:00

A Quiz!!

As an IT guy, I decided to take this quiz to determine what operating system I am, and wound up:

Heaven help me. Well at least I wasn't Windows ME.....

I agree, Windows ME is clearly evil.

Anyway, here it is:

http://bbspot.com/News/2003/01/os_quiz.php

If you want to see ALL the OS types, here is the page with them..

Oh, I haven't forgotten about my trip report from NH, just haven't had time yet... and I want to do it up right!!

2004-10-02T17:49:00.000-03:00

A Voice from the Dead

Hello? Is there anyone still out there? Have you given up on me ever posting again? Well, have no fear - Gforce is back! Well, for now, anyway....

Sorry for taking so long to post anything - it's been busy and I just haven't had the motivation. *sighs*

Anyway, tomorrow I am looking forward to going to New Hamshire for a final major hike of the year. This is the last week that the AMC huts are going to be open until June, so I am going down to spend one night at the AMC's Highland Centre, and on Monday am hiking up the Falling Waters trail and on to Greenleaf Hut for the second night. Then out the Old Bridle Path and then home. Maybe. If the weather's nice, I might just stay down there one more day.

I have done this hike before as a day hike and also as an overnighter at the hut, but always in the opposite direction. This time should be particularly beautiful since Fall foliage is at it's peak in NH right now. That is, if the weather is nice - which it often isn't on the summits. Don't worry, I will take all my wintery gear with me!

Unfortunately, I will be travelling alone as all my friends are either busy or disinterested. Oh well, more time to ponder the beauty I suppose.

I will have a full trip report when I get back!!

2004-08-16T18:37:00.000-03:00

The Blog Shall Rise Again

Well, I'm back! This was my first day back to work after having 6 weeks off. Last night, it just felt like Christmas Eve, what with all the excitement and anticipation - wondering how many new emails that Santa had left in my Inbox. I could barely sleep.

Anyway, first day back was nothing special, after I sifted through 15,365 unread messages (I'm not kidding - one of our managed devices had a problem and started sending out a LOT of automated emails to our whole section.), that was most of the day. Luckily, I just applied a deletion rule to the Inbox and got rid of most of them automatically. That left me with, oh, just about 700 to actually have to sort through.

I actually haven't forgotten the pictures fromthe rest of my Vegas/Grand Canyon trip, but of course now I have a few extra from my excursions over the Summer. I will try to get them up this week.

Anyway, nice to be back in the blog world!

2004-07-19T22:26:00.000-03:00

A Blog?

Hey, I have a blog!!! I almost forgot!!! *hangs head in shame* Anyway, I thought I should post something before I go away to NH for a few days (yay). Hopefully the weather will be good enough to do some hiking, since that is the sole point of the trip. It's looking like it might be okay.

I feel guilty, though, leaving my poor recapping comrades to their fate over at Hamster Time. How I will miss recapping this objectionable collection of dirtbags. Don't worry, I will be back soon enough.

Anyway, see ya on Saturday!! (Or... um, maybe Sunday...)

2004-07-01T12:21:00.000-03:00

Westward Bound

Well, as it turns out, I will be heading to Toronto a little bit earlier than thought, like today! Anyway, I will sorely miss the HT gang during the premieres next week, but I will be there in spirit, and will even try to watch it depending on my hosts(I have the VCR set just in case).

If any of you are going to around TO the next few days (Mike & Rappy, I'm looking at you!) give me an email at garyhyslop@yahoo.com. I will try to check my email during the time I'm away and maybe we can get together for lunch. Not sure what my schedule will be, but since I have a few more days, it should have some time free now.

Anyway, I will be back by the next weekend to start my recapping duties!!

2004-06-27T10:50:00.000-03:00

Travelogue... continued..

Just thought I'd post another entry in my trip travelogue. Oh, it's been a while since I last posted!! Sorry!! Anyway, on the last day before leaving Zion Nat. Park, we shopped around a bit in Springdale, UT. The others wanted to stop at this place, the Worthington Gallery. I wasn't really interested in getting anything, but went along anyway. Well, I wound up buying this vase for my living room. I thought it was kind of cool, and it wasn't too expensive ($48) for an original piece. The photo is only an example, since every one is different because of the glazing process the guy uses. As the glaze cools after firing, the different rates in temperature change cause the various colours.

Anyway, after that we proceeded back to Vegas for the rest of our trip. Just one more trip entry to go!!

I have to leave today for Halifax, NS for meetings for the next few days but at least today is sunny, which we haven't had for quite some time. We will be meeting with a bunch of other people from the region as well as people from our Head Office - that should be interesting, since I completely disagree with about everything they say....

2004-06-11T20:25:00.000-03:00

Helping IT Bring Efficient Service to You

As a result of a support request that I filled this week for a malfunctioning printer, I have compiled short list of ways which will ensure that you get the most prompt, efficient and courteous service from your local Information Technology support personnel.

1. When you have an IT related problem, DO NOT call the IT helpdesk right away for support. Rather, complain among your coworkers about how crappy the IT service is, how they can't fix anything quickly and that you're totally fed up. After about two weeks, place the call for the request. By holding off, you get the satisfaction of making everything you said actually be true!

2. When the IT support person arrives (approx .5 hours after you placed the call) make sure they know what you think about IT and how it is the local techs that are the cause of malfunctioning software and equipment, Microsoft's buggy software, how you can't get anything done because it's all so complicated, the federal budget deficit, and the bad case of shingles that Joe from two cubicles down has. Because, you know, these huge responsbilities give us a great boost in morale and job satisfaction knowing that our work affects so many.

3. While the IT tech is trying to fix the problem, make sure you stay with them to watch them carefully, in order to provide assistance regarding the problem or, preferably, reiterate everything that you said in #2 above. This will keep us motivated, focused and prevent us from being distracted and wandering off following after a piece of dust floating by.

4. If the tech is unable to fix the problem on the spot, but must return to their desk to call in a hardware support ticket, wonder aloud if you have to follow them down to their desk as they make the call to make sure it gets done. This provides us with extra incentive to make the call rapidly, and not be stupid dolts or liars and not do what we just said we would do 2 minutes ago.

I hope you have enjoyed these helpful hints and will find them useful in dealing with your own tech support people. I am sure they will love and appreciate you for it.

Just for further reading, here is a list of more tips:

http://jokes.hellacool.co.uk/joke/2fe909b159d034dfe303733a92b177b4.html

Until next time, the one who put the "G" in "guru"

gForce..

2004-06-09T20:09:00.000-03:00

Just thought I'd take a break from the travelogue and post some random thoughts.

Reading mheh's recent blog post about being single got me thinking about my own status, and you know? I'm okay with it, if it means not being with someone who I really don't care for. The sad thing is, of the people I know, about 9 out of 10 of them are either divorced, separated, or unhappily married. I'm even hard pressed to think of anyone that I know that is having a truly happy relationship. Colour me discouraged!

Lest this post become TOO morose, I should add that it is hot outside today! The temp today here was about 34C which is around 90F. It was a nice change though from the cool (cold!) Spring we've had so far. I don't mind the heat, but I just wish we could get something kind of in between teeth-chattering freezing and sweaty heat. Oh well, I'm still not complaining!!!

2004-06-07T20:29:00.000-03:00

Angel's Landing Hike

Here's a few pictures from our hike up to Angel's Landing in Zion National Park in Utah.

After about a 2 mile hike through a side canyon and after climbing up a set of switchbacks called "Walter's Wiggles" to get up to the "scary" part of the trail - this is the view. The trail is along the thin edge of rock up to the very top and then out a bit on the promontory.

This is the view along the side of one part of the trail. It's only about 1200' down there!! In some cases, the trail is only about 3 feet wide, with that much drop on either side.

This is a typical climb along the trail - it's not too bad at all... just don't look behind you!!

This was some loser along the trail - he looks like he's having a good time, though ;)

This is the view from the "top".. Spectacular!!

This is on the way back - it gives you a good idea of the drop behind.

Here's another view on the way back - the trail goes along the edge and you can see the ridge going down to the upper right of the picture.

Here's me going down part of the trail - it looks like I'm going to jump!! (Don't worry, I wasn't even THINKING about Alison being on TAR5...)

I should add that by the time we got back to the bottom, the temperature there was around 100 degrees F. It was actually cooler walking than if you stopped, because at least then there was a breeze. If you stopped for a rest, you just stood there and stewed in your own heat.. Yikes!

Anyway, it was a great hike, and I actually can't wait to do that one again...

2004-06-02T23:08:00.000-03:00

Bryce Canyon

After we picked up our car at Marble Canyon, we headed North up to Bryce Canyon and stayed over night at a cool B&B in Tropic, Utah (a little town of about 400 people.) The next day we headed over to the park and did a little sightseeing. I have to say it is one of the coolest areas I have ever seen. The formations in the canyon are "hoodoos" or tall spires of rock that have been eroded out of the surrounding stone. They almost look artificial. The park's web site has some other cool pictures. Here's another couple of cool shots.

We also did a day hike down into the canyon a bit. I was cool - I will have pics of that up on my next entry.

At the end of the day, we headed over to Zion Canyon NP which I have been to before, but the other two had not. It once again is a completely different type of scenery from either the Grand Canyon or Bryce. As we got to the hotel, the moon was just rising over the cliffs.

The next day would be a great hike up the Angel's Landing Trail. It was skeery!!

2004-06-01T20:06:00.000-03:00

A Few More Pics

So, are you people bored yet? I don't know if you still want to see these pictures or not, but like the poor guests who aren't allowed to leave until ALL the slides are shown, here you are!! Oh, wait, don't click the back button! There's just a few more.. really!

Anyway, here is a couple of pictures of some of the rapids we were on. The first is actually on the first day, and the second one is called Lava Falls. It is the final big rapid that we ran on the last day, just before the end of the trip. That last one was great! It may not look like all that much there, but when you're on the raft, it is really something else.

Here's some Bighorn sheep that we saw along the side of the river. We actually saw a lot of them on this trip, and I had never seen Bighorn anywhere in the Canyon before. They weren't all that shy..

On the last day (it was a Sunday), the guides read a beautiful poem called the "Boatman's Prayer". Unfortunately, I can't find the text of it anywhere on the Internet, but it was very touching. It was basically how the boatman knows that he is not perfect, but he tries to do what's right, and every day in seeing the beauty that surrounds him, he knows that God is there and loves him nonetheless.

Anyway, on the last day, after our big run of Lava Falls, we sailed a bit further down the river to our pick up point. We actually got taken out by helicopter up out of the Canyon to the North Rim, where caught a plane back to the car.

After it was all over, it felt kind of weird getting back in the car, since we had been away from "civilization" for so long (well, 6 days anyway). It was like waking up from a good dream and going... aw, darn! Oh well, we still had some fun to come.. More pics later!

2004-05-30T14:56:00.000-03:00

Out of compassion for the bandwidth-deprived among us, I have changed my blog page to include only the links to photos instead of the actual images. I can understand how it could be pretty slow after a while for dial up users... My bad!! *slaps self*

Anyway, I thought I'd drop a couple more pics from the AZ trip here...

As we went down the river, we saw quite a few little falls and cascades, but these are a few of the notable ones...

The is Elves Chasm. It was just a short hike in, and it is not a spectacular fall, but it is very beautiful and lush nonetheless. Really the picture does not do it justice as you really don't get the almost magic feel of the place.

On the first or second day, we passed by a spot called Vasey's Paradise. This was named by John Wesley Powell on his first (and THE first) running of the Colorado through the Grand Canyon. Gorgeous.

This is Deer Creek Falls, which we saw on the fourth day of the trip. It was the tallest fall that we saw and very spectacular. Some folks actually climbed up the trail to see the top of the falls, but we decided that we would just take it easy and relax on the rocks near the bottom.

On our second to last day, we stopped at Havasu Canyon, which is very beautiful (the word almost becomes redundant describing the Grand Canyon "well, it's, uh, beautiful!!") This is the area where my friend sprained his ankle, putting a damper on the rest of his trip. There are many falls and cascades here, and the water is tinted a turquoise blue by the minerals in it.

2004-05-23T12:31:00.000-03:00

A Day in the Woods

This post really is nothing to do with my GC trip, but I thought I'd post about it anyway - Yesterday, I took my parents four-wheeling in my Jeep to a place on the coast called Martin Head. The trail to get to it is technically a "road", but you sure would never be able to take a car down it. There were many places especially toward the end, where there were huge puddles (ponds, really) covering the road, washouts, large rocks sticking up, etc. I got a chance to use my Jeep in the way it was meant to be used! And, through all of it, the Jeep worked perfectly - even when going up or down steep, gravelly, washed out sections, never did we even slip a wheel. We went over that stuff like most cars would go over a speed bump. Did I mention I love my Jeep? Well, I do!! :) Also, I think my parents really enjoyed it, since they really don't get out to do much stuff like that (although even in their early 80's, they are pretty good health and are very mobile) Unforunately, I didn't get pictures of the worst stretches of road, since I was kind of occupied at those times navigating between the rocks, but I did get a few that are kind of cool... well, actually my Dad took most of these with his digital camera...

This is looking out the back window at some of the ATVers that were driving down the road behind us.

http://img33.photobucket.com/albums/v98/gforce2002/P5220001.jpg

Unfortunately, we were caught in a "traffic jam", because some other yahoos going down this road decided to take a detour into the muddy ditch and got stuck - these pictures are him and his buddies trying to get him out of the mudhole... The road itself here was actually in pretty good shape, but for some reason, he decided to try mudding it again. He was sunk in right to the floorboards of his truck...

http://img33.photobucket.com/albums/v98/gforce2002/P5220002.jpg
http://img33.photobucket.com/albums/v98/gforce2002/P5220004.jpg

Nearing the beach, we did pass the intersection of the Fundy Footpath hiking trail, which I've mentioned many a time to people. Some friends of mine & I did this hike a couple of years ago and hope to go again this Summer. This subtly marked (notice the blaze on the tree beside the trail) marks the continuation of the trail as it crosses the road. This is where we plan to start our hike next time around.

http://img33.photobucket.com/albums/v98/gforce2002/P5220005.jpg

Finally, after a big drop down, we got to Martin Head beach. This is me with Martin Head behind me. The water was very calm which is unusual for the Bay of Fundy. It had been sunny but was clouding over at this point, making it a little cool.

http://img33.photobucket.com/albums/v98/gforce2002/P5220009.jpg

A view down the coast...

http://img33.photobucket.com/albums/v98/gforce2002/P5220007.jpg

After we got back out, we went to Adair's Wilderness Lodge for lunch. It was pretty good and has a great rustic atmosphere. Here's a final pic of me with my Jeep with its mud splatter. The "Toys for Big Boys" trailer behind me was not really intentional, that's where we happened to park. The lodge was having a big ATV poker run event there that day, and a dealer had brought a bunch of new machines to view.

http://img33.photobucket.com/albums/v98/gforce2002/P5220019.jpg

Anyway, it was a fun day!!

2004-05-22T23:05:00.000-03:00

Route 66 to the Grand Canyon

On our way to the Grand Canyon South Rim, we drove along historic Route 66. Here's the spot where we stopped to have lunch. The food was actually not that bad, despite the name!!

http://img33.photobucket.com/albums/v98/gforce2002/gary-roadkill.jpg

On we went to Grand Canyon South Rim, where we stayed a couple of days. We spent part of one day doing a day hike down the South Kaibab Trail to "Skeleton Point" which is about 3 miles down. It was a great hike and not TOO strenuous. It was getting a little warm by midday though. Here's a good shot looking West in the canyon from Skeleton Point.

http://img33.photobucket.com/albums/v98/gforce2002/gary-grandcanyon.jpg

After our dayhike, we went along the West Rim Drive to a spot called Hermit's Rest. Back in the early 1900's a fellow by the name of Louis Boucher (the "hermit" in question) actually operated some accomodations down in the Canyon, which could be accessed by mule. However, after returning to the rim, clients would often stay an extra night there to recuperate from the rough trip up, thus the name. This is a building which was designed by the Architect Mary Coulter, who around 1900 was quite active in designing buildings around the area. It was particularly remarkable in that at the time, there were very few women in the profession. She was one of the first to break with the traditional European style and actually incorporate natural and native elements into her designs. This particular structure at Hermit's Rest is built of local stone and completely blends into its immediate surroundings. I should note that Coulter's style was later adopted by the National Parks Service for much of their buildings and signage and is referred to as "National Parks Rustic".

http://img33.photobucket.com/albums/v98/gforce2002/gary-hermits.jpg

Anyway, we after our dayhike and a little touring we did some gift shopping and the next day headed East toward Page, AZ and the beginning of our rafting trip. Yahoo!!

2004-05-18T19:57:00.000-03:00

The Best Dam Blog Entry Ever

Well, FINALLY I am updating my blog - yes I know it's been a while and all of you have been waiting with baited breath to see my trip pictures. (ZZZZzzzzzz....) What's that? Wake up!! Anyway, I thought I would give a kind of a chronological account of the trip and the accompanying pics. Some of it is from memory though, so a completely accurate retelling may not be possible!!

http://img33.photobucket.com/albums/v98/gforce2002/hoover1.jpg

Here is a picture of our first major stop - Hoover Dam. It really is a remarkable piece of engineering, especially for during the depression. It was built from around 1932-36, below budget and ahead of schedule. We went on the tour there and it was quite interesting. What is really cool about it is that despite its practical purpose, the designers and builders put in many nice artistic touches throughout. Even down in the generator area, the floors are marble tiled with Navajo Indian patterns. Many areas (even the dam's intake towers, visible in the picture) are in the clean Art Deco style.

http://img33.photobucket.com/albums/v98/gforce2002/hoover2.jpg

This is the downstream side of the dam - about 700ft or so down to the bottom. There are many interesting facts about the construction of the dam - the workers were paid up to 3 times the national average wage at the time, but the conditions were bad and the work very dangerous. Many lost their lives during its construction.

After leaving Hoover Dam, we headed east into Arizona. The other folks on the trip had never driven on the famous Route 66 before so we headed along there.

http://img33.photobucket.com/albums/v98/gforce2002/route66.jpg

There's not much of the old Route 66 left - it's been replaced mostly by the interstate(s), but there are a few interesting spots left - real "Americana" type places. I'll post more on that next time, as well as our Grand Canyon day hike shots...

2004-04-22T22:05:00.000-03:00

Just a quick entry to say so long for a couple of weeks to all my HT chat cohorts - I'm off tomorrow to Vegas and then immediately to the Grand Canyon for a while to hike and do the 6 day rafting trip (yay!). Then it's on to Bryce Canyon and Zion Canyon in UT and then back to Vegas for a couple of days. I'm really looking forward to the trip.

See y'all on the 9th for the Survivor finale (I get back the morning of the 9th) - I'll try to catch up on all my tapes before the final show!! :)

2004-04-14T19:23:00.000-03:00

Well, I'm back. It's been pretty busy lately (as usual), but yesterday took the cake. I had to go to Campobello Island for work (at the border crossing) to do the server rebuild from Hell. What I hoped was only going to be a couple of hours turned into about eight. It was as if nothing could possibly go right. But, all that being said, I finally got the thing up and working. Whew! But, I did get to go for a drive and got out of the office. I even got to travel through the town of Lubec, in Maine, which is the Easternmost town in the U.S.!! You have to actually travel though part of Maine to get to Campobello Island, as it is down the coast a little from New Brunswick. In the Summer, it is very scenic, but the weather yesterday stunk. Rain, fog and winds were on all through the day.

What is interesting about Campobello is that it is the home of the Roosevelt Campobello International Park, which is where FDR had his Summer home. It is jointly administered by Canada and the US.

You know it's only a week and two days until my vacation? Well, it is!! Yay!

2004-04-09T21:00:00.000-03:00

Well, today it was FINALLY nice enough out to go and do some yard work. But not before I went for a nice long walk in Rockwood Park in Saint John. It was nice enough that I was actually too warm while walking, even wearing a short sleeved shirt. It was great! And it did feel good to get out into the yard and do a little pruning. *clip, clip*

It is now just two weeks until my trip down to AZ, and my 6 day white water rafting trip in the Grand Canyon! We will also be visiting Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks on the same trip. It should be great!

Also, since I have next Monday off (gov employees get Easter Monday off) and then I leave on Friday of the next week, I only have 4 day weeks left!

I even got most of the work done on my taxes today - I hope to finish that up tomorrow. I sure hope I come up with a refund!

2004-03-31T21:02:00.000-04:00

You'll note a couple of entries below that I mentioned that my anemone in my marine aquarium was doing much better, and was well recovered, but I was concerned that it had taken to its wandering ways again. That is how in got into trouble in the first place. Anyway, my fear was well founded as I came home tonight to find it once again trapped in the filter intake. And, once again, it is NOT in good shape. I don't know if it will survive this time around, it looks like there's even more damage than last time. We'll see I guess... Stupid invertebrate....

Anyway, I thought I'd throw in another picture - this one is also from the Fundy Trail and is a nice waterfall called Fuller Falls. For a portion of the day, there is a nice rainbow that forms over it (if it's sunny of course...)

I wish I had more interesting things to say in my blog entries - on a day to day basis, my life just isn't very exciting I guess.

After my day at work today, this quote is appropriate...

"Man creates problems. Government and bureaucrats magnify them 100 times." --George Van Valkenburg

2004-03-29T13:56:00.000-04:00

To alleviate Tuna's boredom with sleeping hamsters, I mean bloggers, I thought I should make a post.

Although one of the things that P's me off the most is people who drink and drive, I have new reason to be annoyed. A drunk driver has messed up my PC!! Let me explain... On Friday night, while innocently participating in HT chat, a brief power failure caused my PC to reboot, and then it failed again for a second - causing another reboot right away. Turns out that that night a drunk driver had run into a utility pole a few miles away and caused a power failure in the immediate area and brief brownouts further away. Anyway...... Now my PC will not boot properly, but rather gets a BSoD (blue screen of death) everytime, unless I use the "Last Known Good" configuration menu. I can still get into my computer, but I will likely have to rebuild WinXP from scratch... Hmm. Maybe this is a good time to go ahead with a new hard drive and the dual boot Linux/XP setup that I've been thinking about.... and maybe a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) to go along with it...

2004-03-27T15:00:00.000-04:00

Okay, I know it's been a few days since my last post, for which I have already beaten myself up, but it was a fairly "distracting" week to say the least. In any case, things are back under control and here's another post!

Here's a great pic of yours truly doing a little scrambling in Salt Creek Canyon (a side canyon of Grand Canyon) during my April 2003 hike. It was a pretty challenging little day hike that we did on a "free" day during the backpacking trip. There were parts (like this one) where it looked fine to get down, but getting up seemed to me to be a bit dicier proposition. Everything worked out fine, although I did wind up putting my hand square into a prickly pear cactus and wound up with about 200 tiny needles in my palm. So, I spent the hour after we got back to camp picking them out with tweezers one by one... Did I ever mention that cactus needles are covered with some kind of alkyloid which is an irritant? Well... ow.

Oh - interesting side note - it was almost in this exact shot that my shorts gave up the ghost in an unfortunate tearing sound.... That's what happens to pants I guess when you slide down enough rock on your butt with them..

I should update those who know Charlotte Wormsign with "her" current condition. Some may remember Charlotte's most unfortunate encounter with the filter intake in my marine aquarium and how it lost most of its tentacles.. Well, Charlotte is still recovering well and has actually grown back a lot of the lost appendages! I need to get (or borrow) a digital camera so I can take a picture of the blobby little invertebrate and post it. "She" has taken to the tank wandering again though, so that concerns me a little bit...

Finally I just want to say thanks to ChefGrace for "listening"... :)

Do I have a quote for today? Hmmm..... How about:

"I don't think of all the misery, but of all the beauty that remains." -- Anne Frank

2004-03-21T19:15:00.000-04:00

Do any of the HT chatters remember a ways back when someone found the site for ordering a free Mr. Clean Miracle eraser, but it turned out that you could only order it from Canada, so I did. Remember your disappointment at not be able to because you lived in the U.S. Well, anyway, the eraser in question finally arrived!! And yes, it does work as advertised! Scuff marks on wall? Gone! The thing is a brilliant invention.

Anyways, today outside would be a beautiful day - if it was December 24th. My back yard looks like a Christmas Card, with sticky snow all over the tree branches. It being March 21st - bleh. However, it is supposed to get a little warmer through this week so most of the new stuff at least will probably melt away.

Well I would feel remiss if I didn't post at least one picture in my entry, so here goes. This is a "flowerpot rock" which is along the Fundy Trail. This is a multi-use trail/parkway which goes along the coast and is not far from the Fundy Footpath, where I have done some backpacking. It is beautiful scenery along here.

2004-03-18T19:43:00.000-04:00

I thought I should do a post to catch everyone up on what has been happening the last few days. Well... not much. I have been pretty busy, but mostly just with work and doing some freelance computer consulting that I do on the side. Thank goodness the Active Directory course is behind me, but that being said, I think I have actually retained of few of its major points, so perhaps it wasn't totally worthless after all.

On the weekend I went for a walk in Saint John's large municipal park, Rockwood Park.

It is really one of Saint John's gems, a very nice park where you can do hiking or even pretty challenging mountain biking on some of their trails. I just hiked along one of the main trails though, and there is still enough snow on the ground that the walking was a real good workout! It was a beautiful day, sunny and (fairly) warm. There were lots of people out though!

Here's a picture of a covered bridge which is not too far from where I live (about 10 min drive away). It was built in 1914, but is no longer used as a traffic brdge (they built a new concrete bridge beside it) but you can still walk or bike over it. There are a lot of covered bridges in New Brunswick, and most of them are still used. In the "old days", they used to be called "kissing bridges" because as you rode your carriage through it, it was an opportunity to steal a smooch from your loved one....

Quote of the day? Hmmm... How about:

"Walk on a rainbow trail; walk on a trail of song, and all about you will be beauty. There is a way out of every dark mist, over a rainbow trail." --Navajo Song

2004-03-13T18:01:00.000-04:00

I finished the painful Active Directory course yesterday, after a big delay in the start of the class. Turns out the instructor had to run off to fix a server in some legal firm that they do consulting for. So, we finally got going about 11:00 am. At least he bought us all lunch to make up for the delay. Luckily, the day was going to be short anyway, and we finished at 3:00. So, yay(!) the course is over. Now if I could just remember anything that was taught!

Here's a cool picture from a couple of years back on a hike in the White Mountains, NH on the King Ravine trail. This is part of the section called the "Subway" which is about 240 yds of going, between, under and over huge boulders. In some places it's pretty tight! There were places smaller than this, in fact you had to take your pack off and push it through in front of you.

You know, I don't have a lot of really close friends, but the ones I do have are great. I found this quote which pretty well sums it up..

"A friend might well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature." --Ralph Waldo Emerson

2004-03-10T18:43:00.000-04:00

Day 3 of the MS Active Directory course and I am still surviving! It is pretty boring though... Other than that, not too much has been going on. As far as the binary quote goes - "10" is binary for "2" in decimal notation. Just for those who may have been wondering....

Here's a morning picture of a section of the Greenleaf trail in New Hampshire's White Mountains, just before breaking the tree line. The hike was in Sept. 2002, and it was a beautiful morning, but the weather got pretty cloudy for a good part of the day, with the Franconia Ridge in and out of the clouds. It was very busy coming down the Falling Waters trail though - it was a Saturday and there were lots of people coming up. It's always funny but a little bit scary to see how ill-prepared some people are for the hikes they are trying to do, both physically, (and from seeing one group of guys coming up, I can tell you that being 20 yrs old and buff does not necessarily mean you're in shape) and also for the weather, which can turn very nasty on those high peaks. A T-shirt and shorts isn't going to cut it when it starts to rain and the wind hits 80 mph...

Oh, the woodsy quote for the day! -

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." -- Henry David Thoreau

2004-03-08T21:51:00.000-04:00

Well, today I was on the first day of a 5 day course on Microsoft Active Directory services and it was, uh, not exactly exciting. There was a lot of useful technical information there, but as a typical MS course, it wasn't presented in a way which really holds your interest. A lot of theory, very little hands on...

I thought I'd throw in another picture for all to see from my Oct. hike..

This is Ribbon Falls, just off the N. Kaibab Trail..

You can actually climb up behind the falls - this is a view from behind at the top of the falls...

Anyway, quote of the day (you may need to be a computer geek for this to make sense..):

"There are only 10 kinds of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't..."

2004-03-07T19:10:00.000-04:00

Well, I was trying to think of something else to write in here, and as TV has suggested, will probably have a complete travelogue eventually. But for now I'm throwing in a couple more pictures from my Oct. hike..

Here's a nice close up of damsel fly..

Also, a nice one of a formation viewed from the North Kaibab trail. I think this is a morning picture...

I guess I'm supposed to record my thoughts or daily experiences here, but to be honest, my life isn't all that interesting. I used to (try) to keep a handwritten journal, but after a couple of months that kind of fell by the wayside. Maybe this will be different! One thing that I would like is to keep these entries positive - maybe I'll even throw in an inspirational quote now and again! There's really enough negativity in the world that I feel ill disposed to pass any more of it around. I will keep it all in reserve for my one outlet of disdain - reality show contestants! ;)

Anyway, here's a good quote that I always thought was rather cool - it expresses my thoughts, and experiences, exactly:

"I am in love with this world. I have nestled lovingly in it. I have climbed its mountains, roamed its forests, sailed its waters, crossed its deserts, felt the sting of its frosts, the oppression of its heats, the drench of its rains, the fury of its winds, and always have beauty and joy waited upon my goings and comings." - John Burroughs

2004-03-07T00:12:00.001-04:00

Here is my attempt to paste in a picture. This is me on my Grand Canyon hike last Oct. hydrating near Ribbon Falls...

2004-03-06T23:06:00.000-04:00

Do you realize how great all those posters are at Hamster Time? And the ones in chat? Yoohoo! They are the best!!

2004-03-06T23:00:00.000-04:00

My first blog entry!!