Ridding Into the Sunset

See you next year.

- Peace

My Twelve Most Interesting Pics of 2006

as defined by flickr.

- Peace

3800 km done!

I passed the 3800 km point today, making my goal for 2006. :) Thanks to everyone who's gone riding with me this year and everyone who's shared encouragement on-line or in person.

BTW check out some more pics from my last ride of 2006.

My goal for 2007: 4000 km.

- Peace

Snow Riding

four wheels glide through fresh fallen snow still falling
two riders crank to keep commitments with end of year deadlines
they rejoice at the wilderness they otherwise would have avoided
on a day with storm warnings

Thanks Calvin.

- Peace

Christmas Dinner Birthday Candles

This year at Christmas dinner we put birthday candles on the Christmas pudding (read: cake) and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. This I think was more or less my two-years-old niece's idea.

Anybody have other special Christmas stories they want to share in the comments?

MS Ipod Parody

If Microsoft had designed the iPod packaging...

Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday

One down side with having a birthday this time of year is people will often say 'Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday' and that's fine. I have caught myself echoing that back to people a couple of times today. I got some odd looks. I meant Happy New Year of course.

- Peace

Chirstmas Blur

It's fun but the blogging suffers.

3600 KM best year ever and …

the first year I didn’t meet my goal. At least that’s what I expected to be writing once I crossed the 3600 km mark for 2006. I started December at 3303 km, having only done 183 km in November I figured if things went ok I’d get to 3500 and match 2005’s goal. If things went really well I’d get about 300 km and make 2006 the best year ever by passing 3600, but still be 200 km short of my goal for 2006. Well I passed 3600 this morning, I’ve got nine and half days to go, so I need to about 21 km a day. If the weather, my health and the bike can keep it together I can make 3800. Stay tuned.

- Peace

Model Train Ride

My camera went for a couple of rides on a model train. This is the first one.

- Peace

Burn Disks with ITunes 7 and Windows x64

All you need it the Driver installer for AMD64 and Intel EM64T. :)

- Peace

Do Nothing Machine

Created by a mast woodworker who was displaying some of his work at Heritage Park. Reminds me of MC Escher.

- Peace

War on the Homeless?

When Calgary passed a new bylaw against spiting, urinating and other not so polite public acts, activists called it a war on the homeless. I thought they may have been overstating it. I'm not so sure anymore: Homeless man fined $115 for spitting.

- Peace

Merry Christmas from IdeaJoy

and nothing says it better than the traditional Canadian Christmas Moose!

- Peace

Over the Rhine Christmas MP3s

Over the Rhine has released two full length MP3s from their next album
Snow Angles. Hauntingly beautiful.

- Peace

Christmas / Birthday List

a Piglet or two!.

Sony's MDRNC11AW Noise Cancelling Headphones

Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2

The Complete Calvin and Hobbes

iPod Nano 8 Gig. My 20 gig iPod died, not going the hard drive route again, but the flash based iPods seem to last.

X3

Blink

The Great Giveaway.

Songs For Christmas by Sufjan Stevens. MegaTunes (932 17 Ave. S.W.) should have it.

My Island by Star Flyer 59. (Christian Pub should have it)

Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Epic Series, my weakness for bad sci-fi.

The Muppet Show Season Two will have till wait till 2007, it's not out yet.

Green Arch

Globalization of the Imagination

When a religion aggressively proselytizes and seeks to transform the world, its most important resource is its images. It is image that transforms the imagination, and it is imagination that engenders a lifestyle. And what globalization does better than anything else is transform the imagination. That is why the entertainment and advertising industries are the first wave of the emerging global consciousness.
...
What is at stake in globalization is not only the production and consumption of products, but more important the construction of a homogenized global consumerist consciousness. Globalization wants more than your pocketbook, it wants your soul.
...
In late capitalism we see an almost total comodification of life. And once everything is commodified - including beliefs, worldviews and cultural products - then the imperial hegemony of global capitalism has been established.

Quotes from Colossians Remixed's first chapter Placing Ourselves: Globalization and Postmodernity.

Alberta Conservatives, Canadian Liberals very much a like

Both the Liberal Part of Canada and the Alberta Conservatives picked new leaders yesterday. I couldn't help but notice the similarities. It goes deeper than just the fact that both Ed Stelmach and Stephane Dion were come from behind dark horse winners. Both men defeated front runners who were described in outsider terms.

In Alberta Ed Stelmack was the quiet cabinet mister who said he could bring together both corporate (Jim Dinning) and social conservative interests (Ted Morton). Jim Dinning has spent the last 10 years being an Oil Executive and quietly campaigning to be the Ralph's successor. Jim would prevent any further growth of the tiny Alberta Liberals by attracting the right wing of the Alberta Liberals. Ted Morton was on right and would attract those who had departed for the ultra conservative Alberta Alliance party or those where thinking of leaving.

Mr Dion is one of the few (only?) ministers from the Critien era who was able to win over Paul Martin. He defeated a front runner Michael Ignatieff who's spent most of his working life out side Canada and a former NDP Premier of Ontario Bob Rae.

I'm sure that no one will confuse the two winners or their parties, but right now I see a strong familiar resemblance.

- Peace

183 km, 3300 km

I manged 183 km of biking in Nov, 17 short of my goal. That was enough for me to pass the 3300 km point, 500 km short of the plan. 3300 does make 2006 my second best year so far passing 2004's 3200, but 200 km short of 2005's 3500. and 300 km short of making 2006 the best year ever at 3600 km. I'm still riding, but the conditions are challenging to say the least. I rode to work yesterday morning and it took two hours. Luckily I had most of the morning off due to a computer move. This morning I rode to Anderson station and took the ctrain from there, quicker, but cut my ride from 17.5 km to just under 7 km. Will see how this works out.

- Peace