I would walk 500 miles

Twas a good week. I clicked over 500 miles of walking to work on Monday morning and 500 miles of running on Thursday evening. A nice way to finish 2008. Can't say it was a lot of work. Didn't have to drag myself out any particular days. I look forward to walking to work starting the night before, so I wake up pretty keen. Most of the running was done with Gonzos, in a group and at set times.

Now I would walk 500 miles
And I would run 500 more
Just to be the man who went 1000 miles
To end up at my door

What's coming up for 2009? Hopefully more of the same. Walking and running are pretty easy sports to carry around with you, so I expect to continue even after leaving Dal and heading out on my trip. In New Zealand, I'd like to spend some big chunks of time just walking.

Airport Arrival info

Spent an interesting hour or so at the Halifax Airport yesterday, theoretically waiting for my daughter's plane to land. The mis-information flying around was stunning. The Arrivals board at the US customs waiting area showed my flight as landed and in Customs, when in fact, I knew that it had just taken off from New York.

This is not a new problem. Over the past 5-6 years, I have seen this happen on every flight that has been delayed (about 50% of the the flights). You complain to the airport, they say it's the airline. You email the airline, they say it's the airport.

The board for Halifax Airport US Customs area displays info based on the published arrival time of the flight. No connection to reality. In fact, thet flight number disappeared off the screen about an hour after it's 'fake' landing.

So, what do we have for customers in this waiting area? 1/3 of the people were wondering why Customs was taking so long. The other 1/3 assumed that the flight had been cancelled. The more aware 1/3 had been on the phone to people who have an internet connection and were checking the flight status with the specific airline (which is the only semi-decent way to get this info)

With all the technology available, to have dozens of people with wildly different views on the status of their flight, makes you wonder just what all that technology does for you.

What's worse than lack of information? How about the mis-information that the Halifax Airport dishes out on a regular basis.

Halifax Explosion

Today, I got up in time to make it to Point Pleasant Park and get in a run. The weather was cold, sunny and very crisp. I love running in that park as the sun comes up or goes down. After changing, I made my way up to the North End for the Halifax Explosion ceremony. This is the 91st year. I started taking my kids when they were quite young, and we did that for 5-6 years. Myself, I have kept going almost every year since then.

It is so easy to be busy and not spend anytime thinking about such a tragic event. The ceremony always affects me quite deeply. Not so much as a Canadian or as a resident of Halifax. More as a citizen of the world. Canada was at war back then. We have soldiers fighting in Afghanistan right now.

It is so easy to glorify times in our past. Horse-drawn carriages, skating on the forzen harbour in winter, listening to the radio with the family on Saturday nights. The reality, life was a good deal harder back in 1917. The war made everything tougher.

Oddly enough, during the moment of silence, I am not thinking about how the explosion affected the people of Halifax. I am thinking about the current residents of places like Mumbai, Baghdad and Darfur to name but a few. When a bomb goes off in a marketplace in Baghdad, think of the effect that it has on the locals that are left behind. Family members are dead, friends are gone.

For every person that dies, many more are injured, some quite seriously. The hospitals are full, confusion reigns everywhere. If you live there, your market is gone. Where do you go now? How safe are you every time you go out for the necessities of life? Your country is a mess with no real end in sight. There is no real rule of law, just rule of might.

Are the people of Baghdad any different than those who suffered in the Halifax Explosion? Innocents caught up in the mindless terror of war.

Coalition - NO Coalition

While it's nice to see Canadian politics take up some of the news-cycle, the timing is very unfortunate. We need a strong government and a strong leader. I doubt the Coalition could order a pizza without falling into disarray. As talented and bright as Stéphane Dion is...no one sees him as a leader. Not of his party, not of a Majority government, and certainly not of a Coalition. Put in Jack Layton or Gilles Duceppe. Someone who commands the respect of his/her peers.

My politics? Left of center. I vote against a Coalition.

Yin Yang

To me, yin yang implies balance. We go thru life struggling to maintain balance in many aspects of our lives. How to mix discipline and love when raising a child. How to enjoy life without losing focus. How to spend time productively and still leave empty time for ourselves.

I do a lot of outdoor sports in all sorts of weather and sometimes trying conditions. when queried about why one chases down activities that will make you sore, wet, uncomfortable...the answer:

"It feels so good when I stop"

Spend 4 days hiking and paddling and cooking outside, sleeping on the ground in freezing temperatures, trying to keep at least some of your clothes dry. Then get in your nice, warm car and head to a Timmies for a coffee and doughnut. Oh my! Get home, crack open
beer and sit in the tub listening to opera. Wow! Have a nice shave, get dressed in your jammies, crack open another beer and sit down to read a few days of newspapers. Incredible.

Find a really cold watering hole, say, the small pond outside the hut at Lakes of the Clouds, just below the peak of Mount Washington, New Hampshire. Pick a cold, windy day where all you want is some nice hot tea, toast and a bowl of soup. Before settling in, go up to the pond, take off you clothes and jump in the damn-near freezing water. The initial cost is high. But the reward! The second after you are immersed in the frigid water, your body cranks out enough adrenaline to keep you happy for quite some time. The feeling is exhilarating.

A lot of the Gonzo hiking/biking/paddling trips take place in the spring and/or fall seasons. Less tourists to deal with, easier to get time off, etc. There are always rainy, miserable days. It's like a price needs to be paid to have one of those glorious sunny, warm days where the whole world seems just right. So you hike all day with rain running down the back of your neck and all your clothes sticking to you and no views to speak of...yet at the end of the day, you have a nice, big, communal meal at the Farm with your best of Gonzo buddies. Wine bottles are opened, someone is taking pictures, Duffy is expounding on one topic after another, after another. You are thinking to yourself:

"It doesn't get any better than this"

And yet, the next day is a perfect weather day, you run into many other like-minded hikers, everyone is in a great mood and the views are stunning.

To me, yin yang is found in this balance of contrasts. One doesn't happen without the other. The comfort and enjoyment are hiding behind some discomfort and physical stress. By putting myself in situations that test my mettle a bit, I am rewarded with experiences that fulfil me.

Halifax Harbour

This time of year, I like to walk to work a few mornings a week. I leave at 7:00 AM, so it is still a bit dark when I leave the house. I walk thru the Dartmouth Commons and always stop near the gazebo to take a look at our busy harbour. This morning, the view was as beautiful as I've ever seen. Sun just brightening the sky, bit of a haze in the air, Halifax downtown all lit up, ferries in the harbour. I am going to start bringing my camera with me on the walks. The harbour looks different everyday, but today was special.

You know those times when something that you smell or see or touch evokes a really strong memory? Usually, the harbour reminds me of just how much I like living in Halifax. It also reminds me of how much I like walking. Today, the view brought me back to Istanbul(1981). It was a place I had dreamed since I was a kid and thought of it as Constantinople. To be there was special enough. The views of the harbour were magnificent and affected me quite a bit.

Halifax Harbour this morning affected me the same way and brought back a flood of great memories.

You have to get cold, and you have to get wet, too.

One of the oddest moments I've had this year had to do with my self-impression. I see myself as a self-confident, left-of-center, sarcastic, thoughtful person. I like to have the last word. (I also find people who share this trait to be rude). Throw in a sense of humor and some self-deprecation. I also see myself as young-in-spirit.

It is this last characteristic that has me puzzled. A good friend gave me a book to read in which there were 2 main characters. An older, wiser adventurer and his young cocky whippersnapper protegé. I saw myself as the young person, my friend as the older gentleman. My friend had the same thoughts, but in reverse! We both saw ourselves as the young person. Perhaps this is true on a grander scale. Do we tend to see ourselves as a lot younger in sprit than we really are?

If you want to catch beasts you don't see everyday,
You have to out-of-the-way,
You have to go places no others can get to.
You have to get cold, and you have to get wet, too.
Dr. Seuss

So, am I young in spirit or delusional. Most likely it is a combination of the two. But now I am interested. What makes me feel that I haven't cratered yet and still have some loose joints?

I am trying to simplify my life...not just the daily tasks, but the avenues that my brain spends time pondering. If you asked my kids, they'd say that I was getting as old as dirt and that my habits are set in stone. No defense there. But I have been making some fundamental changes in my life and in my head. We all tend to have a set opinion of those close to us and it is difficult to get someone to look at you with 'fresh' eyes.

In the past five years, I have worked at becoming a much nicer person. I have taken up a number of sports from scratch and been involved with new groups of people. I am retiring from my career to force myself to do something else with my life.

At the least, I must be adventurous.

You didn't stop playing games because you got old...
You got old because you stopped playing games

My mother once said that being 60 was the best year of her life. The kids are grown up and gone, the body is still generally healthy, and you have time to work out some things in your head.

Am I young-in-spirit? Who knows. The fact that I think I am doesn't mean much. Most people feel that way.

I'll stick this thought in my craw for the next few months and see what shakes out. Could be the start of a New Year's Resolution.

Why I stopped Bike Commuting

I have been bike commuting for 20+ years. I am a cautious rider who follows the traffic rules, and have enough experience to foresee most potential dangeous stiuations. I have had to stop biking every so often, as the close calls would start to make me too nervous to stay in traffic. Last winter, I had a close call that has kept me off the bike since then.

Yes, the drivers in Halifax are even more aggressive now than say, 5
years ago. Comes with being a bigger, busier city. I used to be a bike
messenger, so it's not the aggressiveness that has put me off the bike. It's the level of distraction. Cell phones are easily the biggest distraction. People do not drive as well when using cellphones. I see a lot of drivers doing odd things and many of them are using cellphones.

Did you know that there are about a dozen car accidents A DAY! in Halifax. That means that someone made enough of a boo-boo to actually dent their car, usually with another car involved. Think about that! That is a lot of accidents in a year.

If bike commuters and pedestrians were as aggressive and distracted as your average driver, the accident rate would sky-rocket. It doesn't because bikers and walkers cannot afford an accident with a car.

To stay alive as a bike commuter, you drive as if you are invisible. But there are many situations in which you just have to believe that the driver is aware of you.

Here is a specific example of an aggressive, distracted driver and why it means I had to stop biking. Quite a few car drivers approach stop signs at cross-streets at a fairly quick rate, hoping to keep on going if the way is at all clear. As an approaching bike rider, I see a car coming at me quite quickly, that will hit me if it doesn't stop. The first rule of biking is that you need to be able to engage the eyes of this driver to have some sense that they (hopefully) have seen you and will actually stop.

Aggressive drivers will see you and make a determination as to whether thay can get out ahead of you. This I accept and can deal with. Distracted drivers are just that...distracted. The driver's head swivels about as it scans the intersection, but you get no sense that they are aware of you. This is very un-nerving to a bike commuter. Add in a few close-calls with such drivers and you start losing your nerve.

Like I said, I am an experienced, cautious bike commuter. I cannot deal with the distraction level of today's drivers. In my experience, a driver using a cell-phone increases my chances of getting killed to the point that I have to stop bike commuting.

Eyes on the Prize

I have been trying to figure out if I can do 3 weeks on the Appalachian Trail in March of 2009. The problem is $$$. All the avenues I have for freeing up some working capital (ie: extracting some $$$ from my pension before it gets rolled over into a paying annuity) get complicated quite quickly. On the plus side, if I work those weeks and just sit tight till the end of April, I can get some cash as the payout on my stored vacation time.

I would REALLY like to head off to Atlanta as I step out the door at Dal. In front of me, I have Gordon, Ross, Chris and Betty as examples. More than likely, I'll head out to B.C. in June, just after Sophie's graduation from Dal. Then it's off the deep end in September. Not as cool as backpacking the AT in March, but ultimately, I need to get to New Zealand. Eyes on the Prize.

Are Gonzos Stupid?

Back in the day, the Gonzos were known for running, sometimes in drag or funny (you had to be there) costumes. The puppet was silly, so were the Gonzos. But there is a another meaning for Gonzo, a sort of unconventional, hell-bent-for-leather approach to life's little obstacles. As the core group of Gonzos move into some sort of uneasy retirement schedule, it becomes quite clear that as the group mellows, it is still more aggressive than the general population. Gonzos still stick out. Why is this?

Our sports are still manual-powered, we still do them in all sorts of weather. When we see a doctor about an injury the question is still: what can I do (ie: stretching, physio, etc) that will allow me to continue to run/swim/paddle/bike and still recover from this injury. The patented GP answer of "rest up awhile" is just not acceptable. OK, so we are an aggressive bunch. But are we stupid?

Simple answer is yes. But is this a bad thing? The list of injuries in the group would stop most couch-potato athletes (pace maker, heart attacks, replaced hips, foot surgery, metal plates in legs). Yet we soldier on.

Since most Gonzos are in their 60's and a bunch are still running (spare parts and all), at what point can you say that this aggressive attitude has cost someone in their quality of life? Being a runner is still the best damn exercise there is. It is a simple, social sport that helps keep the weight down and provides fitness and stamina in all aspects of your life.

What's really stupid is limiting yourself and developing a defeatist attitude. Get a little of that Gonzo attitude and keep pushing the envelope

In other words: "Just Do It".

The 95% Rule

I'm a good Boy Scout. I like to be prepared for all sorts of eventualities. Whenever I go away for a trip or some camping, I tend to have 2 of everything I consider essential. 2 knives, 2 flashlights, 2 can openers, 2 dry bags, a water filter and water tablets. You get the idea. Trying to make sure that I am not without certain things. Of course, I'm also the type of person who HATES to lose things, so the chance of actually needing those spare items was minimal.

Nowadays, I am trying to use what I call the 95% rule. Do things in such a manner that 95% of the time, all goes well. It frees up some little OCD part of my brain for other things. Like my good buddy Gordon Warnica says, your brain is the best tool to carry around with you. Humans do 2 things very well. Adapt and rationalize.

Of course, Gordon uses the 80% rule. I am nowhere near that, but am really enjoying the freedom that the 95% rule brings to my life.

Obama

I was a big supporter of Hillary Clinton. My wife is an American, as are a lot of my in-laws. I have two daughters and one of them lives in the U.S. I always like Clinton's push for universal health care.

I became an Obama fan for a few reasons. As the Obama campaign did better in the primaries, Clinton's campaign got rattled and never really recovered. They also got a tad shrill and nasty. No big deal there, but it opened the door to look at the other candidate.

I feel that Obama's openness towards dialog with other countries is the way to go.

In the back and forth over support of the Iraq war, one of Obama's answers made me switch. To paraphrase: "Yes, experience is important, but in the end, it comes down to making the right decisions".

I am glad that Canada's right-wing element does not hold a majority and that the U.S. will stop swinging so far to the right. I hope that Obama gets 2-3 Supreme Court seats to fill.

I am really looking forward to what effect this election of Obama will have in North America and around the world.


--
Bruce C. Murphy
"Simpler Is Better... "

Why this blog?

I walk to work a lot these days. Such a nice way to commute and commune. My New Year's resolutions the past few years have been about becoming a nicer person and trying to un-complicate my life. I'm doing well on both fronts, regardless of the opinions of those around me.

Walking allows a lot more time for open-ended thinking. I'm not necessarily trying to work out particular problems, just letting the brain stumble-upon itself, hopefully in a positive manner.

I find myself continually writing letters-to-the-editor or commenting on various websites like CBC Radio, CinemaClock and service organizations that I interact with. This leaves me vaguely un-satisfied. What I really need is a place to post my ramblings. A public blog like this forces me to focus my thoughts and clean up my writing.