MAXIMUM
Ever since I started using a Garmin to record my walks/runs/etc., my VO2 max has maxed out (haha) at the top of the “excellent” range.
Today, however, I finally achieved SUPERIOR!
I know nobody cares. But I do. So HA.
More Calgary Nonsense Posting
Check it, my dudes: Calgary has been ranked as one of the most livable cities in 2022.
Specifically, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has it ranked fourth. It’s the highest ranked of three Canadian cities on the list (the other two are Vancouver [BARF] and Toronto).
Edit: oops, it’s tied for third!
The Days are Getting Shorter Now
Ah, yes.
A whole ‘nother half-year of “each day my desire to die gets a little stronger.”
FEEL DA HEAT
UGH, it’s freaking hot here, but I ran my virtual half-marathon for the Calgary Marathon today.
Now I want to go bathe in ice.
Sigh.
I miss pre-Covid times.
I really, really, really miss them.
We took so much for granted, didn’t we?
How do I not remember this?
The Grenfell Tower fire occurred in London on June 14, 2017. The fire broke out on the fourth floor, rapidly spread, and burned for 60 hours. There were 72 casualties and more than 70 people were injured.
I have no idea why I don’t remember this. 2017 wasn’t that long ago, and surely this received some sort of international coverage, right?
Structural fires are terrifying to me, so this is like nightmare fuel. Granted, there were several circumstances and mistakes that came together to make this an especially dangerous situation that could have been much less catastrophic, but it’s still pretty horrifying.
Flamin’ Moe’s
Me at the end of May: Hey, it’s finally warming up! I can’t wait for summer; it’s my favorite season. I’ll be sad when it’s winter again!
Me at the end of June: TURN THE FUCKING SUN OFF
True story.
(Also, joke’s on them – I’m sad every season.)
Kodak Yellow
I’ve mentioned on here several times how obsessed I was with my mom’s camcorder when I was a kid/teen. I made hours of stupid videos…in fact, enough to fill a shoebox with those old mini tapes.
I’d love to digitize these things before they crumble to dust, and perhaps this is the answer.
There are probably local places that do it, too, so I might want to check those out. But just being able to mail the mass of them to Kodak and then get the digitized stuff back sounds SUPER EASY.
As if any of you care, but whatev.
Pepper Play
As you’ve seen from many of my pictures and videos, Pepper is a very active, playful cat. One of her more recent favorite things to do is to take one of her favorite toys (either her new froggy or a particular mouse she loves), tuck it between her front paws, and then get wild when I try to take it from her.
I walk up behind her and start tip-toeing really loudly as I get closer and she starts flipping her tail and putting her ears back and getting that wild, playful look in her eyes. I reach down around her neck from the back to try and get the toy and she tries to shove it further beneath her as she growls (playfully) and hisses (also playfully…trust me, she could demolish me if she didn’t like what I was doing).
One of her favorite toys is a frog that ribbits. She destroys one of these per three/four weeks on average, so we’d just given her a new one. Here’s a video of her being super protective of it while we play. I love that dirty look she gives me at the end, haha.
So tough!
STROM
OH GOD IT’S STORMY HERE and I have to go for a run.
We’re on like maximum flood alert because there’s a chance the Bow might get a mega-surge of water from the mountains and from surrounding rainstorms.
Edit from later: that was a super windy run, but no Bow overflow!
‘Screen Time
Man, we can’t do anything without harming the planet, can we?
Here’s a list of some of the safer sunscreens. I should switch to one of these; I use a LOT of sunscreen.
Book Review: The Turn of the Screw (James)
Have I read this before: Yes, back in 2010 I think. I had trouble with it.
Review: You want to read a ghost story (kinda) and get absolutely NO enjoyment out of it? Read this novella. The concept is there, but Henry James’ writing just sucks the life out of it all (no pun intended). I don’t know if it’s just me, but this was a struggle. Bro needs to stick to novels; Portrait of a Lady is written SO much better.
Favorite Part: The ending was…okay, I guess.
Rating: 3/10
Surv’s Up!
(dumb title.)
1. Have you ever had chicken pox?
Yup. Got it around the typical age, probably.
2. Have you ever shopped in Home Depot?
Yup! There’s a Home Depot up by North Hill Mall. We go there for our various condo-improving items, such as furnace stuff and heat film for the windows.
3. Have you ever spied on your neighbors?
Just through the window, haha. I like looking across the way. Plus they have cats, so, like, who could blame me?
4. Have you ever ridden in a limo?
I…don’t think so?
5. Have you ever had a pet fish?
A few. My first one was called Davis Love III. He was a betta and he lived quite some time if I’m remembering correctly.
6. Have you ever lied about your age?
I don’t think so. Not intentionally.
7. Have you ever fired a gun?
Yup. Sports Camp.
8. Have you ever been ice skating?
Yes, but not in a long time. I used to ice skate a lot back in high school and my first few years of college. I distinctly remember lots of Avril Lavigne on 106.1 while I skated in the Moscow Ice Rink, and I remember reading while they Zamboni’d.
9. Have you ever played golf?
Just mini, but I sucked at it.
10. Have you ever hidden on Halloween because you had no candy for trick or treaters?
The candy is mine. Go away.
11. Have you ever made a prank call?
No, surprisingly.
12. Have you ever gotten a tattoo?
Nope. I still haven’t found a way to display any of my passions in a way that would work well enough to have it permanently etched on my body.
13. Have you ever had a massage?
Don’t like them. I don’t like people touching my back, especially.
14. Have you ever locked your keys in the car?
Nope.
15. Have you ever ridden a horse?
Probably, but ugh. Horses are terrifying.
16. Have you ever been to the circus?
Once in California.
17. Have you ever been to Europe?
Yup! I went to London, Stockholm, and Helsinki back in…2003? 2004?
18. Have you ever built a fire?
Like…circa 2005 Pyro Claudia style? Or like…a campfire?
19. Have you ever been skydiving?
YES! AND I’D DO IT AGAIN
20. Have you ever bought something at a garage sale?
Yes, but it’s been a LONG time.
21. Have you ever walked in on someone having sex?
Nope. But I was able to hear my roommates through the wall every time.
22. Have you ever faked an injury to get out of something?
There was one time in elementary school that I pretended to be sick so that I didn’t have to participate in Valentine’s Day activities, but other than that, I can’t think of anything.
23. Have you ever been to a nude beach?
Ew, no.
24. Have you ever received a speeding ticket?
Nope.
25. Have you ever run a marathon?
Unfortunately not. I run 15 miles three times a week, though. My maximum running distance has been 20 miles.
I Need to Post These Blogs, Yo
[This is a casual reminder to myself so that when I’m scrolling through a 300+ page Word document of these blogs in late 2023, I get off my butt and actually get these up on WordPress]
Edit from December 2023: HAHAHAHA THESE STILL AREN’T POSTED WHY AM I SUCH A FAILURE AT LIFE
Edit from January 2024: HAHAHAHA IT’S FINALLY HAPPENING, SUCK IT, PAST ME!
BEEFARONI
(It’s just a survey, sorry. No actual Beefaroni is contained in this blog.)
1. What is the craziest, most outrageous thing you want to achieve?
I’d love to win a Pulitzer.
2. Have your parents influenced what goals you have?
Probably to an extent. I’m pretty sure at least part of the reason I stayed in academia career-wise is because of both of my parents working at the U of I, and given the fact that both my dad and his mom were/are teachers, there might be just some general influence to become an educator.
3. What is a fashion trend you’re glad went away.
I don’t know if it’s gone away yet, but the prevalence of “yoga pants as everyday pants” seems to have diminished a bit.
4. What word or saying from the past do you think should come back?
I’ve always liked “hurry up, you’re burning daylight” just because of the mental image of daylight catching on fire.
5. What do you bring with you everywhere you go?
My iPod. My external hard drive + miscellaneous USBs. Self-hatred.
6. Is there such a thing as a soul?
I don’t think so, no.
7. Is there life after death?
Not in the way that we usually consider “life.” I think all matter is conscious to some degree and that consciousness never actually goes away; it just gets redistributed amongst the things in the universe.
8. Do you think there will ever be a third world war?
Probably.
9. What smell brings back great memories?
BITCH WHY
10. How would you like to be remembered?
See #1.
11. What kind of music are you into?
Anything with a good beat. I don’t discriminate.
12. What is the biggest surprise of your life?
Probably my career choice. Math AND public speaking/teaching? No way.
13. If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
If health needs to be considered, broccoli. If not, chocolate.
14. Where is the most awe inspiring place you have been?
I don’t know if this counts as awe-inspiring, but one of the most serene and uplifting places I’ve been is just running along the river path on a cold but sunny winter day when there’s snow everywhere. Everything is kind of hushed and crisp and it’s easy to get lost in just being outside.
15. Describe your life in six words.
Busy, anticipating, goal-driven, long, short, odd.
Oodles of Noodles
I love how chill and informative this is.
“Oh, I can see the guy inside!” That was super cute, haha.
I feel like I wouldn’t get the full enjoyment of this ‘cause I can’t taste garlic, but it looks good! I love how happy he looks when he tries it.
iNoise
HEY BUTTBAGS!
Did you know your iPhone can play ambient noise for you?
Go to Settings > Accessibility > Audio/Visual > Background Sounds
Then you can choose to make a sound available to you to play and help you focus. Mine has six ambient noise sounds (white noise, rain, etc.), but I’ve only got an iPhone 8, so newer models might have more.
Supah cool!
Opportunity!
So back around the middle of last semester, I met with Dr. Ware in sort of the annual “all tenure track employees should meet with their Department Head to make sure they’re making reasonable progress” sort of meeting. At that meeting, he mentioned that he’d been approached by the people running the Art and Science Honors Academy (ASHA) about having someone from the Math/Stats department get involved in the program. ASHA is, according to Dr. Ware, designed for undergraduate students who show an interest in both the arts and the sciences. All of the courses offered in the program involve some mix of information from the arts side and the science side.
Of course, this sounded absolutely fascinating and I intimated that I’d love to teach something like that.
Well, I got contacted today by the ASHA people and they said they’d like for me to teach their intro class if I still wanted to. The intro class, unlike the higher level classes, is a full-year course that is often co-taught, preferably with one instructor coming from the Faculty of Arts and the other coming from the Faculty of Science. They also said they’d never had anyone from the Math/Stats Department involved in this before.
So I readily agreed! There are no further details other than that right now – I don’t know who I’ll be teaching with or what exactly we’ll be teaching – but I’m super excited for this chance. Based on what I’ve read about this program, it sounds like something I would have absolutely LOVED as an undergraduate.
Woo!
Book Review: Sula (Morrison)
Have I read this before: Nope.
Review: This was a good book. I enjoyed how the neighborhood of Bottom is both characterized through and seen through Sula, her actions, and her personality. It’s almost like she holds the neighborhood together, despite the resentment the people seem to feel for her when she returns. The contrast between Sula and Nel is also interesting, especially given how many parallels exist between the two very different characters.
Favorite Part: It sounds bad to say it, but I thought the death of Chicken Little and Sula’s response to it was very well-written. It’s probably the most memorable part of the book to me.
Rating: 5/10
White Chocolate is Unnerving
That’s it. That’s the blog.
(Fear of a) HEAT WAAAAAAAAVE
So is anyone else, like, terrified of summers now?
Summer is typically my favorite time of year – long hours of daylight, good running weather, nice and warm, etc. But after last year’s heat dome and how absolutely horrible that week or so was, there have been a few moments where I’ve been in almost a legit panic about summer happening again.
I think part of it is just a general fear of the future and the thought that this will probably be the norm sooner rather than later. Like…will last year be one of the cooler summers in the next twenty years?
That’s horrifying.
Not to mention all the stuff with the water shortages in the southwest. That’s also extremely worrying.
I hate everything. I hate that our future will just be getting worse and worse and at this point there’s probably nothing we can do about it.
New Garmin!
So I’ve had my Garmin Forerunner 35 since…2018 I think. A good amount of time, at least. And during that time, it’s been used a LOT and has been exposed to all sorts of very cold and reasonably hot temperatures.
As expected given how much I’ve used it, it’s starting to wear down, battery-wise. It’s getting harder to make it through a longer walk, and sometimes it just freezes up and needs to reset when I try to start a run/walk.
So my mom and I went to Best Buy and I got a (slight) upgrade!
Meet my new Garmin Forerunner 45. He unfortunately does not have the lime green band like my 35 did, but he’s got a color display and does a few extra things over my old version.
It was SO TEMPTING to get a bigger upgrade (and the Apple Watches were tempting as well, haha), but all I do is run in the city and thus can’t justify a fancier watch that has all the trail maps, etc. built in. Plus, this one really does do everything I need.
Woo!
Eigenblogger 