I take my car for routine service to the Toyota dealership, and I have nothing but nice things to say about how well my car runs and the service I've had there.
But for little things, the Kal Tire near my office is ideal.
Last fall, I managed to get a flat tire, and the Kal Tire folks fixed it for free (under the Michelin warranty), even though they didn't sell me the tires.
Today, I drove in to replace the dead headlight bulb, and again, no charge for the installation, only the bulb.
They'll definitely be getting my business when I finally get around to replacing my shocks and struts...
25 April 2007
On the Stupidity of Banning Incandescent Bulbs
This morning's Globe & Mail (online) had the following headline - "Ottawa Moves to Ban Incandescent Lights"
I will spare you the diatribe, and instead share the letter I wrote to the right honorable John Baird, minister of the environment. Please write him too!
I will spare you the diatribe, and instead share the letter I wrote to the right honorable John Baird, minister of the environment. Please write him too!
Dear Mr. Baird,I'll let you know if I hear back...
I am writing to you about the government's announcement that it intends to ban incandescent light bulbs by 2012.
While I am all for conserving energy, the specifics of the ban are highly problematic.
It would be far more reasonable and progressive to instead require that light bulbs, regardless of type, produce a certain level of light per watt. While this won't get you the same spectacular headlines as "Ottawa Moves to Ban Incandescent Lights", it will solve the problem.
As a convenient example, GE recently introduced something they call a high-efficiency incandescent bulb, and according to their press release "[t]he target for these bulbs at initial production is to be nearly twice as efficient, at 30 lumens-per-Watt, as current incandescent bulbs. Ultimately the high efficiency lamp (HEI) technology is expected to be about four times as efficient as current incandescent bulbs and comparable to CFL bulbs." GE has set their target to be 2010 for these bulbs. I'm sure other companies are working on similar ideas.
It seems that it should be possible in the forseeable future to have incandescent bulbs that are, for the purposes of reducing energy consumption, on even par with the current crop of compact fluorescent bulbs.
The government's role is not to ban certain kinds of goods, but to set the standards by which manufacturers will compete. Just as California has demonstrated that stringent emissions standards will cause manufacturers to innovate and create more fuel efficient vehicles, hybrids, and electric cars, this is an opportunity for your government to show environmental leadership and encourage technological innovation.
Thank you.
23 April 2007
Tosca!
If ever one were to say to oneself, "I'd like to see a good opera, one that would definitely let me decide if it's something I might like", then one need do little more than to go see the current staging of Tosca put on by the Vancouver Opera.
Even the usually critical reviewer from the Vancouver Sun called it a "tour de force".
Even the usually critical reviewer from the Vancouver Sun called it a "tour de force".
In its splendid season-closing production, Vancouver Opera gives us the goods with this nasty thriller, set in a stunning stage design from the Milan-based Scenographie Sormani-Cardaropoli, which is spacious but feels close with dread.
Cynthia Lawrence, a soprano praised for her work in this role at the Met, is the real deal. She is fiery in a plot that is fueled by Tosca's jealousy, yet in her one great aria, Vissi d'arte, raptly removed and soliloquy-like with a feeling of being intensely caught up in a world not of her making.
This is tremendously difficult to sing, holding the high notes dramatically and for a long time, as Puccini wanted, then making a proper diminuendo -- also observing most of the grace notes, showing a firm cleanness on the marcato notes and a focus in the lower half of the voice. It was all there and thrilling to hear.
Singing actors is what Tosca must have or it's just a recital. There isn't a less than fine voice in the cast or one singer who doesn't act persuasively and naturally.
The Italian tenor Renzo Zulian as Cavaradozzi was impressive just minutes into the opera with an effortless Recondita armonia, though he didn't start it softly. He much later gave an even finer E Lucevan le stelle with fine control, power and resonance at the climax and the image of a man lost in reflection.
That's two of the three leads, which we saw early, inviting speculation as to what Scarpia would be like. And he, baritone Yalun Zhang, was wonderful too, applying extra weight to his voice to suggest bestial authority. He was very firm and consistent, though he might have changed his tone at key places to show that Scarpia can also be mellifluous and oily to get what he wants. This would only have enhanced the sense of his loathsomeness once the gloves come off.
But what a production. The minor parts were cut from the same cloth as the leads: Nicolae Raiciu as the sacristan, John Arsenault's Spoletta and John Conlon's Sciarrone.
Act II, where Scarpia interrogates Tosca, was a killer: suspenseful, dire with atmosphere and top lighting that made Scarpia look very sinister. Director Stanley Garner spares nothing and it's just what it should be. For once there's no hokiness to the moment when Tosca hurls herself from the parapets. She falls backwards, letting gravity do its work.
The chorus is terrific too, and conductor Robert Tweten gets nothing but beautiful playing from the Vancouver Opera Orchestra.
This is a dream closing for an opera company, something that should get the subscriptions going for next year.
19 April 2007
My New Macbook
My new Macbook arrived yesterday, and I have a few first impressions I thought I'd share.
First, for the propeller heads, I got the white Macbook with the 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo Intel processor, 1GB of RAM, 80GB hard drive - in other words, I took all the default options. ALso comes with built in iSight camera, Bluetooth, wireless, firewire, USB, and a DVD burner. Full specs at the Apple site.
Second, I bought a Macbook both to complement my iMac and to have available to take with me wherever I go so I can work on my thesis papers. It will also allow me to surf the internet when my wife is using the iMac.
I would have bought a refurbished one because they're cheaper, but since none were available when I ordered, I used my student discount (there are some perks to being a grad student).
In strictly aesthetic terms, the laptop is very attractive. The white housing is made of a slightly opalescent hard plastic that looks like it will be quite durable. The unit is very light (a bonus for carrying around), and small - less than an inch thick! The 13.3" screen doesn't feel small and looks great.
One of the things Apple does well is think about what their end users need and therefore they put a lot of effort into design. The keyboard has a really nice tactile feel to it, and the touchpad is pretty nice although I prefer using an external mouse. Speaking of mice, Apple still uses the single button mouse concept in its design, so the touchpad only has a single button. Since I use a two button scroll-wheel mouse on the iMac, I'll be using one with the laptop whenever reasonable.
A cute and useful design feature is that the power cord connects with a magnetic clip - if the power cord is tripped over, it'll merely pull off without either destroying the power connection or hauling the laptop to the floor. Another nice touch is that there's an AC extension cord for the power adapter, although it requires pulling out the flip down power plug, which I could see losing.
The pleasant surprise came when I turned the laptop on. During the inital "welcome to your new Mac" process, it asked me if I had and existing Mac and if so if I wanted to synch it up with my current one. Well, yeah!
A few minutes later, after borrowing my existing iSight's firewire cable, my Macbook was busily transferring everything over from my iMac - applications, user accounts, music, photos, etc. This is the point where I discovered that I should have spent the extra money on a slightly larger hard drive. Once the initial transfer was complete about two hours later, I had to do some judicious file editing and another synch to get the rest of my applications over. On the other hand, there was a lot of data transferred over that I just don't need on my laptop! In the end, I have about 10G usable left on my 80G drive.
However, since the laptop was now synched and everything was transferred over, it behaves exactly like my desktop does and I didn't have to set up any preferences since that work was done a long time ago on the iMac.
On the whole, I'm very pleased with my purchase, and I think I'll be getting a lot of mileage out of the new laptop. All I need now is for the iSkin laptop case to arrive (UPS says tomorrow).
First, for the propeller heads, I got the white Macbook with the 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo Intel processor, 1GB of RAM, 80GB hard drive - in other words, I took all the default options. ALso comes with built in iSight camera, Bluetooth, wireless, firewire, USB, and a DVD burner. Full specs at the Apple site.
Second, I bought a Macbook both to complement my iMac and to have available to take with me wherever I go so I can work on my thesis papers. It will also allow me to surf the internet when my wife is using the iMac.
I would have bought a refurbished one because they're cheaper, but since none were available when I ordered, I used my student discount (there are some perks to being a grad student).
In strictly aesthetic terms, the laptop is very attractive. The white housing is made of a slightly opalescent hard plastic that looks like it will be quite durable. The unit is very light (a bonus for carrying around), and small - less than an inch thick! The 13.3" screen doesn't feel small and looks great.
One of the things Apple does well is think about what their end users need and therefore they put a lot of effort into design. The keyboard has a really nice tactile feel to it, and the touchpad is pretty nice although I prefer using an external mouse. Speaking of mice, Apple still uses the single button mouse concept in its design, so the touchpad only has a single button. Since I use a two button scroll-wheel mouse on the iMac, I'll be using one with the laptop whenever reasonable.
A cute and useful design feature is that the power cord connects with a magnetic clip - if the power cord is tripped over, it'll merely pull off without either destroying the power connection or hauling the laptop to the floor. Another nice touch is that there's an AC extension cord for the power adapter, although it requires pulling out the flip down power plug, which I could see losing.
The pleasant surprise came when I turned the laptop on. During the inital "welcome to your new Mac" process, it asked me if I had and existing Mac and if so if I wanted to synch it up with my current one. Well, yeah!
A few minutes later, after borrowing my existing iSight's firewire cable, my Macbook was busily transferring everything over from my iMac - applications, user accounts, music, photos, etc. This is the point where I discovered that I should have spent the extra money on a slightly larger hard drive. Once the initial transfer was complete about two hours later, I had to do some judicious file editing and another synch to get the rest of my applications over. On the other hand, there was a lot of data transferred over that I just don't need on my laptop! In the end, I have about 10G usable left on my 80G drive.
However, since the laptop was now synched and everything was transferred over, it behaves exactly like my desktop does and I didn't have to set up any preferences since that work was done a long time ago on the iMac.
On the whole, I'm very pleased with my purchase, and I think I'll be getting a lot of mileage out of the new laptop. All I need now is for the iSkin laptop case to arrive (UPS says tomorrow).
23 March 2007
Feeling Great
I mentioned about a month ago that I was going to work on my fitness goals, and I'm pleased to report that things are going well. Down 11lbs so far in about six weeks, only 24 more to go to where I was two years ago, and then a lot more to where I was nine years ago. Go me!
I decided not to do MetSyn and instead leveraged my membership at the YWCA since it's a first class facility and more importantly, easy for me to get to and from home given the other constraints that real life has for me, like the commute to work, day care, etc. So now in addition to my two spin classes, I've added two mornings of weights. This might become three times a week, although once the weather improves and more importantly, the sun rises early enough, I'll be cycling on weekends again.
I've been working with the absolutely brilliant, talented, and fabulous Lisa Wagner and she has put together a cracking workout for me. This morning while I we were chatting she was talking about her long term plan for my fitness goals and said she would start me on a program where, I would do "100 pushups, 100 crunches, 100 rows, and 100 step-ups, in an hour, and we'll start on that in about, hmmm... 4... 5..." and in the pause I inserted "months?"
"Weeks," was her reply.
Fantastic.
I decided not to do MetSyn and instead leveraged my membership at the YWCA since it's a first class facility and more importantly, easy for me to get to and from home given the other constraints that real life has for me, like the commute to work, day care, etc. So now in addition to my two spin classes, I've added two mornings of weights. This might become three times a week, although once the weather improves and more importantly, the sun rises early enough, I'll be cycling on weekends again.
I've been working with the absolutely brilliant, talented, and fabulous Lisa Wagner and she has put together a cracking workout for me. This morning while I we were chatting she was talking about her long term plan for my fitness goals and said she would start me on a program where, I would do "100 pushups, 100 crunches, 100 rows, and 100 step-ups, in an hour, and we'll start on that in about, hmmm... 4... 5..." and in the pause I inserted "months?"
"Weeks," was her reply.
Fantastic.
Luther Wright & the Wrongs
I like a wide variety of music, and what's in vogue on my iPod varies on my mood.
Recently, I was over playing board games at a buddy's place and he puts on an album called Rebuild The Wall by Luther Wright & the Wrongs.
If you liked Pink Floyd's The Wall, imagine it done by a very talented bunch of country & bluegrass folks.
It's both really good and really funny at the same time. Y'all.
Recently, I was over playing board games at a buddy's place and he puts on an album called Rebuild The Wall by Luther Wright & the Wrongs.
If you liked Pink Floyd's The Wall, imagine it done by a very talented bunch of country & bluegrass folks.
It's both really good and really funny at the same time. Y'all.
14 March 2007
Playing With Numbers
It's tax time, or will be soon, and so I've been collecting my stack of information slips.
One of the benefits I have at my company is an employee stock purchase plan. Similar to many companies, the company I work for allows employees to contribute some chunk of their base salary into a fund that is then spent quarterly buying stock for us at a 15% discount.
Unlike some of my colleagues, I sell my shares pretty much as soon as I can. It's usually 5-10 business days from the date of the stock purchase to the time it's in my stock account and accessible to me, so in the interim, the price has fluctuated somewhat.
Now, as everybody knows, when you sell a stock, you're taxed on the capital gains; but here's where the fun with numbers begins.
To contrive the example with nice round numbers, I bought something worth $100 for only $85, but paid income tax on the $15 difference, so the asset, from the tax man's point of view, is $100.
Thanks to this little peculiarity, on paper, for tax purposes, I almost lost money in 2006 on the stock market.
Financial math really appears like voodoo sometimes.
One of the benefits I have at my company is an employee stock purchase plan. Similar to many companies, the company I work for allows employees to contribute some chunk of their base salary into a fund that is then spent quarterly buying stock for us at a 15% discount.
Unlike some of my colleagues, I sell my shares pretty much as soon as I can. It's usually 5-10 business days from the date of the stock purchase to the time it's in my stock account and accessible to me, so in the interim, the price has fluctuated somewhat.
Now, as everybody knows, when you sell a stock, you're taxed on the capital gains; but here's where the fun with numbers begins.
To contrive the example with nice round numbers, I bought something worth $100 for only $85, but paid income tax on the $15 difference, so the asset, from the tax man's point of view, is $100.
Thanks to this little peculiarity, on paper, for tax purposes, I almost lost money in 2006 on the stock market.
Financial math really appears like voodoo sometimes.
07 March 2007
Free is a Very Good Price
I have a KitchenAid stand mixer, one of the tilt-head kinds. I bought it about seven or maybe even eight years ago, and love it. Mostly I use it to knead bread dough, but I've also used it for:
If I've had a kvetch about mine, it's that the bowl is perhaps a little small for my usual bread dough batch. More often than not, it's fine, but sometimes the dough creeps up the dough hook and I have to stop and scrape.
For years I've been collecting Air Miles. Every once in a while I check to see if there are any rewards I'm willing to be parted from my points for, but a lot of the rewards haven't interested me, and despite the opportunity for "free flights" using points, you're still on the hook for all the taxes and surcharges and booking flights on points is a PITA (pain in the (_(_)).
However, just recently, they had the KitchenAid Professional 600 on in pearl grey. I thought about it and by the time I decided to act, they were gone. DOH! However, I've been keeping my eye out and lo, they now have them in white.
I've ordered one. 4600 air miles well spent! I'm looking forward to using it.
- making pasta (with the pasta roller attachment)
- applesauce (with the fruit/veg strainer - no more peeling or coring apples required!)
- cakes
- whipping cream
- cookie dough
- grinding meat (with the grinder attachment)
If I've had a kvetch about mine, it's that the bowl is perhaps a little small for my usual bread dough batch. More often than not, it's fine, but sometimes the dough creeps up the dough hook and I have to stop and scrape.
For years I've been collecting Air Miles. Every once in a while I check to see if there are any rewards I'm willing to be parted from my points for, but a lot of the rewards haven't interested me, and despite the opportunity for "free flights" using points, you're still on the hook for all the taxes and surcharges and booking flights on points is a PITA (pain in the (_(_)).
However, just recently, they had the KitchenAid Professional 600 on in pearl grey. I thought about it and by the time I decided to act, they were gone. DOH! However, I've been keeping my eye out and lo, they now have them in white.
I've ordered one. 4600 air miles well spent! I'm looking forward to using it.
06 March 2007
Marcello's on Commercial Drive
Marcello's is an Italian restaurant on Commercial Drive. My wife was working late and so I thought a nice way to spend the evening would be to take my daughter, who's almost three, out to dinner after work. I thought of taking her to White Spot, which is a place she likes, but she wanted pizza (I did offer her the choice - pasta, sausages, or pizza), so I thought I'd try out Marcello's.
Marcello's offers a nice well laid out place, with plain but elegant tables. Along the wall of the open kitchen is an astounding wood oven where they bake the pizzas. It looks like a giant stylized face of the sun, with the mouth being where the pizzas go.
Once we were shown a table, we were given menus and left to deliberate. The menu has a nice selection of pizza and pasta as well as salads and some other main courses. It's obviously meant to cater to family style dining, where orders are shared amongst those at the table.
We ordered a mushroom pizza for her and a gnocchi for me. I also ordered a glass of the sangiovese ($8 was pricey for what I got), and a steamed milk for my sweet pea.
The steamed milk came way too hot and with no spoon. When I asked the hostess for a spoon, none came, and by the time toddler agitation was setting in, my waiter finally came by once more. I waved him over and he said "your dinner's coming!"
I expected dinner to take some time, after all this wasn't Domino's, but all I wanted was a spoon. What we got was one of those long handled dessert spoons. Argh.
Cardinal restaurant sin number one was committed next. My gnocchi arrived, but the pizza did not. Generally speaking, dinner time's pretty easy going, but now the promised dinner was not on the table and there was no way she was going to even try the pasta. By the time pizza finally came, she was past wanting to eat so we pretty much had to pack up and go home (although the leftovers will be delicious).
The food was fabulous though. I'd go back in a group any time. Alone with kid in tow on a week night would be a different story.
Ratings:
Service: 2/5
Ambiance: 3/5
Food: 7/10
Price: $$
Score: 12/20
Marcello's offers a nice well laid out place, with plain but elegant tables. Along the wall of the open kitchen is an astounding wood oven where they bake the pizzas. It looks like a giant stylized face of the sun, with the mouth being where the pizzas go.
Once we were shown a table, we were given menus and left to deliberate. The menu has a nice selection of pizza and pasta as well as salads and some other main courses. It's obviously meant to cater to family style dining, where orders are shared amongst those at the table.
We ordered a mushroom pizza for her and a gnocchi for me. I also ordered a glass of the sangiovese ($8 was pricey for what I got), and a steamed milk for my sweet pea.
The steamed milk came way too hot and with no spoon. When I asked the hostess for a spoon, none came, and by the time toddler agitation was setting in, my waiter finally came by once more. I waved him over and he said "your dinner's coming!"
I expected dinner to take some time, after all this wasn't Domino's, but all I wanted was a spoon. What we got was one of those long handled dessert spoons. Argh.
Cardinal restaurant sin number one was committed next. My gnocchi arrived, but the pizza did not. Generally speaking, dinner time's pretty easy going, but now the promised dinner was not on the table and there was no way she was going to even try the pasta. By the time pizza finally came, she was past wanting to eat so we pretty much had to pack up and go home (although the leftovers will be delicious).
The food was fabulous though. I'd go back in a group any time. Alone with kid in tow on a week night would be a different story.
Ratings:
Service: 2/5
Ambiance: 3/5
Food: 7/10
Price: $$
Score: 12/20
Restaurant Reviews
I think a lot about restaurants - I like to eat out, and when I do, I like to have a pleasant experience. While it's always about the food, ultimately, service and ambiance are also important.
I've decided that I'm going to have ratings with my reviews. They're completely subjective of course, since they ultimately reflect my likes and dislikes. However, the same rating for two places does not mean they're equivalent. For instance, if I were served a Risty's burger at Bishop's, it would still be a great burger, but for Bishop's it would probably be a 4 or 5 instead of an 8 or 9.
So on to the ratings...
Service: rated from 0 to 5.
Ambiance: rated from 0 to 5.
Food: rated from 0-10.
Price: rated from $ to $$$$.
What I'm looking for when I rate:
10-12 means it's a decent place worth visiting.
13-15 means it's good and I'll go there happily.
15-17 means the place is great and I'll recommend it to others. I'm probably a regular.
18-20 is the creme de la creme. Highly recommended.
I've decided that I'm going to have ratings with my reviews. They're completely subjective of course, since they ultimately reflect my likes and dislikes. However, the same rating for two places does not mean they're equivalent. For instance, if I were served a Risty's burger at Bishop's, it would still be a great burger, but for Bishop's it would probably be a 4 or 5 instead of an 8 or 9.
So on to the ratings...
Service: rated from 0 to 5.
Ambiance: rated from 0 to 5.
Food: rated from 0-10.
Price: rated from $ to $$$$.
What I'm looking for when I rate:
- Service - essentially I want the staff to acknowledge my presence, make sure my food gets delivered on time, and if I'm dining with others, that we all get our food at the same time. Relatively speaking, my expectations for a diner are different than for an haute cuisine establishment.
- Ambiance - this spans the gamut: cleanliness; decor; comfort.
- Food - this one gets the most points since it's really the most important thing. My expectations depend on the kind of restaurant it is; the chicken noodle soup at a diner is not the same as of the consommé de volaille at a fancy French restaurant, but both could score an "8".
- Price
- $ means inexpensive. Most diners fit here.
- $$ means about $20-25 per person. Most family restaurants like White Spot fit here.
- $$$ means we're getting expensive. Ironically, most places I end up disappointed in fit in this price range.
- $$$$ means bring your gold card. If it's got four $'s next to it, it had better earn a 16 or better.
10-12 means it's a decent place worth visiting.
13-15 means it's good and I'll go there happily.
15-17 means the place is great and I'll recommend it to others. I'm probably a regular.
18-20 is the creme de la creme. Highly recommended.
05 March 2007
Timing is Everything
Late last week, China had a stock market "correction" and took down most of the North American markets with it. This week the markets are still down.
I could have predicted this - after all, I had just invested in an index fund (XIU on the TSX). However, I'm only down 5% so far! I wish I had more cash in my stock account to buy more actually. Market overreactions are always a good time to buy.
I could have predicted this - after all, I had just invested in an index fund (XIU on the TSX). However, I'm only down 5% so far! I wish I had more cash in my stock account to buy more actually. Market overreactions are always a good time to buy.
04 March 2007
Ariadne auf Naxos
Last night we went to see the third production of the Vancouver Opera's 2006/07 season, Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos.
It was a lovely production. The story follows the play within a play model. Two groups have been hired to perform for a duke at his estate - one is for the opera "Ariadne auf Naxos", a tragic tale taken from Greek myth, the other a comedia del arte farce, involving Zerbinetta and her four suitors.
Hilarity ensues as the duke, concerned that the entertainment be complete for the 9pm fireworks, orders that the two groups combine their performance. Surely, his majordomo contents, such a "minor" change should be easily accomplished.
Of the operas I've seen, this is probably my favorite production to date.
Speaking of which, I've seen...
Nabucco (Vienna, 2001)
Die Fledermaus (Vancouver, 2001)
Turandot (Vancouver, dress rehearsal, 2005)
Dialogues of the Carmelites (Vancouver, dress rehearsal, 2005)
Macbeth (Vancouver, 2006)
The Magic Flute (Vancouver, 2007)
Ariadne auf Naxos (Vancouver, 2007)
It was a lovely production. The story follows the play within a play model. Two groups have been hired to perform for a duke at his estate - one is for the opera "Ariadne auf Naxos", a tragic tale taken from Greek myth, the other a comedia del arte farce, involving Zerbinetta and her four suitors.
Hilarity ensues as the duke, concerned that the entertainment be complete for the 9pm fireworks, orders that the two groups combine their performance. Surely, his majordomo contents, such a "minor" change should be easily accomplished.
Of the operas I've seen, this is probably my favorite production to date.
Speaking of which, I've seen...
Nabucco (Vienna, 2001)
Die Fledermaus (Vancouver, 2001)
Turandot (Vancouver, dress rehearsal, 2005)
Dialogues of the Carmelites (Vancouver, dress rehearsal, 2005)
Macbeth (Vancouver, 2006)
The Magic Flute (Vancouver, 2007)
Ariadne auf Naxos (Vancouver, 2007)
28 February 2007
Soirée Alsacienne
Last night was the annual Soirée Alsacienne at Le Crocodile, one of my favorite restaurants here in
The menu, a very reasonable $58 prix fixe, included the following:
Consommé de Volaille au Foie Gras
Salade Frisée aux Foie de Volailles
Choucroute Garnie au Riesling
Mirabelle Sorbet
Feuilleté a la Poire Glacée Vanille Chaud Caramel
The Mirabelle sorbet was delicious and enhanced by a little Mirabelle eau de vie poured on top.
Le Crocodile continues to be one of my favorite dining experiences here in
Cat Surgery
My cat is about fifteen years old, and for the past eight of them, has had a chronic constipation problem. a variety of medications and other nostrums have kept him more or less under control, but every eighteen months or so he needed to be taken to the vet to be, um, emptied.
It was a messy and expensive process, and as pleasant for the vet as it was for my wallet. However, the cat's a part of my family and whatever he needs, he gets.
Over the past ten weeks or so, he's been plugged up three times, the most recent being yesterday when I took him in again, and the vet and I agreed it was time - major surgery would be required, and a bowel resection was done on him to remove his colon.
The operation went well, the cat's in good shape, and he should be home tomorrow or Friday.
I can't help but think that if I were in a similar situation, I would probably have had to wait three months or more to get a similar surgery for myself given the state of waiting lists for surgical procedures. On the other hand, it also wouldn't cost around $3K...
It was a messy and expensive process, and as pleasant for the vet as it was for my wallet. However, the cat's a part of my family and whatever he needs, he gets.
Over the past ten weeks or so, he's been plugged up three times, the most recent being yesterday when I took him in again, and the vet and I agreed it was time - major surgery would be required, and a bowel resection was done on him to remove his colon.
The operation went well, the cat's in good shape, and he should be home tomorrow or Friday.
I can't help but think that if I were in a similar situation, I would probably have had to wait three months or more to get a similar surgery for myself given the state of waiting lists for surgical procedures. On the other hand, it also wouldn't cost around $3K...
25 February 2007
Auction Fever
I'm a fan of the Comedian Harmonists. I own a number of CD's of their music, and probably have most of their repertoire in my collection.
I check eBay once in a while to browse and when I do, I always check if there's anything new under "comedian harmonists". Just recently, the autographed photo below was offered for sale.
The photo is well known - it's the one you'll find in Wiki for instance. An autographed copy would be very rare indeed. The photo was being sold through eBay's "Live Auctions" by a company in Ohio. They had a pre-auction estmate of $75-100 with an opening bid of $40, so I put in a modest bid (considering US$ exchange, shipping, my current budget for frivolous purchases, and the 22.5% buyers premium).
Apparently I need not have bothered to strain myself - the winning bid? $380.
Ouch.
I check eBay once in a while to browse and when I do, I always check if there's anything new under "comedian harmonists". Just recently, the autographed photo below was offered for sale.
Comedian Harmonists
(from left: Robert Biberti, Erich Collin, Erwin Bootz, Roman Cycowski, Harry Frommermann, Ari Leschnikoff)
(from left: Robert Biberti, Erich Collin, Erwin Bootz, Roman Cycowski, Harry Frommermann, Ari Leschnikoff)
The photo is well known - it's the one you'll find in Wiki for instance. An autographed copy would be very rare indeed. The photo was being sold through eBay's "Live Auctions" by a company in Ohio. They had a pre-auction estmate of $75-100 with an opening bid of $40, so I put in a modest bid (considering US$ exchange, shipping, my current budget for frivolous purchases, and the 22.5% buyers premium).
Apparently I need not have bothered to strain myself - the winning bid? $380.
Ouch.
20 February 2007
Pedalling for MS
Last August, I rode in my first ever bike tour to sponsor multiple sclerosis. It was a 60km bicycle ride, and I did it in 2h49m.
It's an annual fundraiser for MS and I managed to raise just over $1,000.
This year, I've signed up again, and I want to beat both my time from last year, and also beat my fundraising total.
So, if you're willing to make a charitable donation (you get the tax receipt, I get the exercise) to MS, please click on this link to the the MS Bike Tour and consider donating $25 or more.
Thanks!
It's an annual fundraiser for MS and I managed to raise just over $1,000.
This year, I've signed up again, and I want to beat both my time from last year, and also beat my fundraising total.
So, if you're willing to make a charitable donation (you get the tax receipt, I get the exercise) to MS, please click on this link to the the MS Bike Tour and consider donating $25 or more.
Thanks!
18 February 2007
Appreciating Schoenberg
One of the books I bought as research material for my Kandinsky paper is called Schoenberg, Kandinsky, and the Blue Rider, which is actually a catalog from a museum exhibit, but it includes five lengthy essays on the two men, plus a bonus CD that has performances of Schoenberg's music that was played at the 1911 concert that enraptured Kandinsky.
I knew very little of Schoenberg up to this point, but I did know that he had a reputation of having music that was cerebral - that is, if Mozart is pleasant and easy to listen to, Schoenberg is something you need to think about. A lot of his music was, at the time, highly experimental, atonal, and he also dabbled with a 12 note scale rather than the standard 8.
In short, I found his music remarkably likable. It is cerebral, but I quite enjoyed it. When I mentioned this to my wife, she expressed mild surprise but once she thought about it, "but then I forget that you really like [Tangerine Dream and other, mostly German, electronic/synthesiser composers like Klaus Schulze]".
And that's when the penny dropped - Schoenberg definitely fits into that mold in the musical continuum, in terms of cerebral sound.
At least for me.
I knew very little of Schoenberg up to this point, but I did know that he had a reputation of having music that was cerebral - that is, if Mozart is pleasant and easy to listen to, Schoenberg is something you need to think about. A lot of his music was, at the time, highly experimental, atonal, and he also dabbled with a 12 note scale rather than the standard 8.
In short, I found his music remarkably likable. It is cerebral, but I quite enjoyed it. When I mentioned this to my wife, she expressed mild surprise but once she thought about it, "but then I forget that you really like [Tangerine Dream and other, mostly German, electronic/synthesiser composers like Klaus Schulze]".
And that's when the penny dropped - Schoenberg definitely fits into that mold in the musical continuum, in terms of cerebral sound.
At least for me.
Going from Gold to Silver
So the medico my doc sent me too runs something called a Met-Syn program - short for Metabolic Syndrome. My only risk factor is the weight, all my other indicators (bloodwork = excellent, blood pressure = perfectly normal, cardiovascular response = excellent, strength and coordination = fine, etc etc... I'm the fittest fat man I know...).
Their schtick is they have a very extensive assessment (at $250, thankfully fully billable to extended benefits, it had better be) and then they have you join "the program". Now, the program is, looking at it from a detached point of view, working out at their mini-gym three times a week while they put you through an all cardio workout and keep tabs of everything and monitor your progress with the assistance of a heart rate monitor.
One of the reasons I posted my little comment about time management myths the other day is that I don't see being able to get to the facility (only 10km away, but in about the most inconvenient place you could imagine relative to work, daycare, and my home) without either sucking up that 90 minutes of family time in the evening, or making it exceedingly awkward to get back home in time to take my daughter to her wonderful family daycare; said morning program is from 6:30-7:30am.
So, huzzah, there's a "silver" program that's only twice a week. I said I'd try it, and my first morning's tomorrow - but, and this is a big but, if all the workout at their facility turns out to be is a glorified cardio workout attuned to my key heart rate on ye olde heart rate monitor, then I'm not going to stick with it - I have a YWCA membership, and if all that I really need to do is go more often, then so be it.
After all, I know what all my key heart rate target zones are, I know my food plan works (restarted last week and lost 3lbs already) and my solution of brining lots of fruit to the office to nosh on instead of the endless parade of donuts, cookies, pizza etc works brilliantly.
It's not the money for the program - between my wife and I the extended health benefits will reimburse me for it - it's the time and aggravation to get there, especially when I can get to the Y, work out for an hour, and be home by 7:45am. I can't do that with the MetSyn program.
I'll go tomorrow, but if it doesn't work out in terms of getting me home on time, then I'll have to persuade them to either work out something with me where they can advise and monitor me via the heart rate monitor records and checking in regularly.
If not, oh well. It was still time and money well spent, and knowing what I need to do is more than half the battle. I also know what supports I need, and I can find those as needed (the YW has lots of personal trainers who can advise me, not as well as the MetSyn guys, but a good coach is a good coach).
Their schtick is they have a very extensive assessment (at $250, thankfully fully billable to extended benefits, it had better be) and then they have you join "the program". Now, the program is, looking at it from a detached point of view, working out at their mini-gym three times a week while they put you through an all cardio workout and keep tabs of everything and monitor your progress with the assistance of a heart rate monitor.
One of the reasons I posted my little comment about time management myths the other day is that I don't see being able to get to the facility (only 10km away, but in about the most inconvenient place you could imagine relative to work, daycare, and my home) without either sucking up that 90 minutes of family time in the evening, or making it exceedingly awkward to get back home in time to take my daughter to her wonderful family daycare; said morning program is from 6:30-7:30am.
So, huzzah, there's a "silver" program that's only twice a week. I said I'd try it, and my first morning's tomorrow - but, and this is a big but, if all the workout at their facility turns out to be is a glorified cardio workout attuned to my key heart rate on ye olde heart rate monitor, then I'm not going to stick with it - I have a YWCA membership, and if all that I really need to do is go more often, then so be it.
After all, I know what all my key heart rate target zones are, I know my food plan works (restarted last week and lost 3lbs already) and my solution of brining lots of fruit to the office to nosh on instead of the endless parade of donuts, cookies, pizza etc works brilliantly.
It's not the money for the program - between my wife and I the extended health benefits will reimburse me for it - it's the time and aggravation to get there, especially when I can get to the Y, work out for an hour, and be home by 7:45am. I can't do that with the MetSyn program.
I'll go tomorrow, but if it doesn't work out in terms of getting me home on time, then I'll have to persuade them to either work out something with me where they can advise and monitor me via the heart rate monitor records and checking in regularly.
If not, oh well. It was still time and money well spent, and knowing what I need to do is more than half the battle. I also know what supports I need, and I can find those as needed (the YW has lots of personal trainers who can advise me, not as well as the MetSyn guys, but a good coach is a good coach).
13 February 2007
Time Management Myths
I was comparing notes with my friend at work about so-called work-life balance. We're in similar situations - married, one child, both parents working.
Let me add also that one area that is always highlighted on my performance evaluations is time management, as in, I'm exceedingly good at it (or at least that's the perception my manager has).
So why is it that M and I are both perpetually feeling gassed? Well, I did a time inventory to see what my "time vampires" might be, and here's what it comes down to.
In my house, we get up around 6:30am (I get up at 5 on Tuesdays and Thursdays to go to the Y). By the time we get everyone showered and fed and dressed to go, we're out the door by 8. I drop my daughter off with her wonderful family daycare people and get to the office around 8:30 most days. I'm here until about 5. I pick up my daughter on the way home and if we don't have a quick shopping stop we're home by 5:30. My wife gets in around the same time.
Then we have dinner (I do 99.44% of the cooking in our household), usually around 6:30, and then after dinner until 7:30-8:00ish is family time.
After family time, the bedtime routine starts - story, bath, pj's, more stories, sleep. My wife cuddles our daughter to sleep at night, and if she's lucky, she's out by 9:30. I usually catch up on email or zone out with internet surfing in the interim, although I try to make more productive use of that time (like, reading the Kandinsky-Schoenberg correspondences for my thesis paper).
So, between 9:30 and betime, usually 11pm unless we're really lucky, my darling wife and I are doing domestica - dishes, laundry, lunches for the next day, giving the cat his pills, etc...
I'd manage my free time much better - if I actually had any.
Let me add also that one area that is always highlighted on my performance evaluations is time management, as in, I'm exceedingly good at it (or at least that's the perception my manager has).
So why is it that M and I are both perpetually feeling gassed? Well, I did a time inventory to see what my "time vampires" might be, and here's what it comes down to.
In my house, we get up around 6:30am (I get up at 5 on Tuesdays and Thursdays to go to the Y). By the time we get everyone showered and fed and dressed to go, we're out the door by 8. I drop my daughter off with her wonderful family daycare people and get to the office around 8:30 most days. I'm here until about 5. I pick up my daughter on the way home and if we don't have a quick shopping stop we're home by 5:30. My wife gets in around the same time.
Then we have dinner (I do 99.44% of the cooking in our household), usually around 6:30, and then after dinner until 7:30-8:00ish is family time.
After family time, the bedtime routine starts - story, bath, pj's, more stories, sleep. My wife cuddles our daughter to sleep at night, and if she's lucky, she's out by 9:30. I usually catch up on email or zone out with internet surfing in the interim, although I try to make more productive use of that time (like, reading the Kandinsky-Schoenberg correspondences for my thesis paper).
So, between 9:30 and betime, usually 11pm unless we're really lucky, my darling wife and I are doing domestica - dishes, laundry, lunches for the next day, giving the cat his pills, etc...
I'd manage my free time much better - if I actually had any.
11 February 2007
Plus ca change
Once upon a time, about December 2003, I developed what I called the R Food Plan. It worked. In 12 months I'd lost 56lbs. At the peak of its efficiency 14 months after I'd started, I'd lost 60lbs.
Well, I wish I could say that they'd stayed off.
Last week I went for a physical and my doctor read me the riot act. And, well, I deserved it. Of the 60 I'd taken off, 35 had come back in the past 24 months.
But at least I'm still 25 down from where I started. And quite frankly, given the stress of the past 24 months, I'm surprised I didn't put on more. See, when I'm under a lot of stress, I eat. And it's not that I eat more helpings of terrine de foie gras at Le Crocodile or twice as much roast chicken and vegetables at home - no, I reach to the common table behind my cubicle for some of the endless parade of bagels, cookies, doughnuts, pizza lunches and other junk.
Still, last week was a needed wake up call. I've always struggled with my weight, but sticking to my food plan means I keep my weight steady, and if I exercise more than the twice a week I always do, I actually lose weight.
So this is me saying that I plan to get the gut back off. My doctor sent me off to a medico who specializes in putting together programs; I can get professional advice and whatever additional support I need. Knowing what I need to do (stick to the RFP and exercise at least as much as I currently do if not more) is a good start, but nothing beats having a "coach" who can help you keep accountable to yourself.
I have a long ways to being as fit as I was when I moved to Vancouver in February of 1998 (the fittest I'd ever been, but I' was a total gym junkie at the time), but getting back to where I was 24 months ago would be a good start.
Well, I wish I could say that they'd stayed off.
Last week I went for a physical and my doctor read me the riot act. And, well, I deserved it. Of the 60 I'd taken off, 35 had come back in the past 24 months.
But at least I'm still 25 down from where I started. And quite frankly, given the stress of the past 24 months, I'm surprised I didn't put on more. See, when I'm under a lot of stress, I eat. And it's not that I eat more helpings of terrine de foie gras at Le Crocodile or twice as much roast chicken and vegetables at home - no, I reach to the common table behind my cubicle for some of the endless parade of bagels, cookies, doughnuts, pizza lunches and other junk.
Still, last week was a needed wake up call. I've always struggled with my weight, but sticking to my food plan means I keep my weight steady, and if I exercise more than the twice a week I always do, I actually lose weight.
So this is me saying that I plan to get the gut back off. My doctor sent me off to a medico who specializes in putting together programs; I can get professional advice and whatever additional support I need. Knowing what I need to do (stick to the RFP and exercise at least as much as I currently do if not more) is a good start, but nothing beats having a "coach" who can help you keep accountable to yourself.
I have a long ways to being as fit as I was when I moved to Vancouver in February of 1998 (the fittest I'd ever been, but I' was a total gym junkie at the time), but getting back to where I was 24 months ago would be a good start.
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