Well, it finally happened.
I had to get new shoes that were not Kinvaras.
I ended up getting the Saucony Ride 17s. They look like this:
(The color is more…minty?…in real life; the picture doesn’t do the color justice. I kinda dig it.)
They definitely feel different than the Kinvaras, even just walking around in them for three minutes or so in Sporting Life. We’ll see how they do out in the wild on Monday.
I’m scared.
Edit: here’s a better picture of them in the sun. I love the color, haha.
GET THEE TO iTUNES
Why?
Because SYNTHONY’s stuff is finally on there!
Yes, SYNTHONY. These guys.
Not all of their YouTube live songs are on there, but a good number of them are. If you dig this kind of music, please give them a few downloads.
I would LOVE for them to come to Canada!
I feel like PISS
Therefore, let’s do a Picnicface appreciation post, ‘cause their videos always make me happy and trigger all sorts of nostalgia.
The absolute classic. MENERGY.
“When god gives you lemons, you FIND A NEW GOD!”
“Football is a sport…”
“DON’TYOUFUCKINGLOOKATME!”
“PEGASI! PEGASI!!!”
I am getting DESPERATE, Saucony…
Can you PLEASE poop out the Kinvara 15s in Canada? I know they’re out in the States, but they’re still not out here. I’ve been a size 8.5 for like six iterations of the Kinvaras now so I’m tempted to just order a pair of 8.5s from the Saucony site, but you know this would be the one time my size would change.
Pleeeeeeeeease, Saucony?
Edit: okay, so desperation has driven me to explore alternative Saucony shoes, and it sounds like the Saucony Ride might be a good option for me (and one that’s not $200+ per pair, haha). Market Mall’s Sporting Life apparently has some in my size, so maybe I’ll just have to try those out unless the Kinvara 15s come out in the next few days.
I really am getting desperate. I have a huge pile of old Kinvara 13s, but they all have 500+ miles on them and I have marathons to run, dawg.
Oh my GOD I love running
It’s one of my top three activities at the moment.
(The other two activities are crying and watercoloring.)
The end.
MORE SYNTHONY SORRY NOT SORRY
I absolutely adore orchestral covers of songs, especially electronic/dance songs. This group is like my dream group. I’d love to see them in person.
Who Are We and Why Must We Survey?
1. What is your name? WOULDN’T YOU LIKE TO KNOW
2. What color shirt are you wearing now? Yellow.
3. What are you listening to right now? Nothing.
4. What are the last 2 digits of your phone number? 92
5. What was the last thing you ate? Whatever the hell I had last night. What did I have last night?
6. If you were a crayon what color would you be? Radical Carrot. I swear to god there was a crayon with that name at some point; I don’t think I hallucinated that. (Edit: SEE I TOLD YOU)
7. How is the weather right now? S’okay. Still cool enough to run outside during the day, which is always good.
8. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? My mom.
9. The first thing you notice about the opposite/same sex? Hair? I actually don’t know. Probably just the fact that they’re the opposite sex.
10. Favorite Food? Broccoli is always good.
11. Favorite Drink? Water.
12. Favorite Alcoholic Drink? I don’t drink.
13. Favorite place to shop? Michaels, probably, though I never go there up here.
14. Hair color: Black.
15. Eye Color: Hazel.
16. Do you wear contacts? I wore them for like a week in 6th grade and they hurt like hell so I stopped, haha.
17. What did you do today? Ran. Worked. Cried a lot.
18. favorite month? February.
19. Favorite Fast Food? Cougar Country.
20. Last Movie you Watched? Man, I don’t remember. Beauty and the Beast, I think?
21. Favorite Day of the Year? I don’t think I have one.
22. Are you too shy to ask someone out? I asked one person out once. It was a disaster. So….yes.
23. Summer or Winter? Summer, but like…pre-“we screwed up the climate beyond repair” summer.
24. Hugs or Kisses? Hugs.
25. Chocolate or Vanilla? Vanilla ice cream, but chocolate everything else.
26. Do you want your friends to respond back? Bah.
27. Who is most likely to respond? No one.
28. Who is least likely to respond? Everyone.
29. What books are you reading? The Fountainhead.
30. favorite TV Show? Metalocalypse, still.
31. What’s on your mouse pad? Nothing. It’s black.
32. Favorite board game? Scrabble.
33. What did you do last night? Dinked around. Cried.
34. Favorite Author? Fitzgerald, probably.
36. Butter, Plain or Salted popcorn? Salted.
37. Dogs or cats? Cats!
38. Favorite Flower? Sunflower.
39. What do you say when you wake up in the A.M.? “Why aren’t I dead yet?”
40. Do you still talk to your best friends from middle school? Nope.
41. What’s on your desk? My computer, keyboard, mouse, and all sorts of random crap.
42. Rock Concert or symphony? Symphony.
43. Play or Opera? Play.
44. Have you ever fired a gun? Yup.
45. Do you like to travel by plane? I used to, but now I hate it for a variety of reasons. I LOVE airports, though, which is pretty weird.
46. Right-handed or Left-handed? Right-handed.
47. Smooth or Chunky Peanut Butter? Chunky as hell.
48. How many pillows do you sleep with? One.
49. City you were born? The ‘Scow.
50. Ever hitchhiked? Nope.
SO SPEAKING OF MALLS…
Let me regale you with an embarrassing moment of mine.
Yes, there are still plenty that I have not yet mentioned in my nearly 19 years of daily blogging.
Sad, huh?
Anyway.
The year was 2000. We had just transitioned into a new millennium. The youngest Gen Z-ers were in preschool. Beanie Babies were beginning to lose the stranglehold they had on the collectible toy market. I was in sixth grade. Malls were still an important part of life and were, arguably, thriving.
Also, the first version of The Sims was released.
I didn’t buy The Sims right when it came out because I didn’t know about it. But a few years later, I had my own laptop, a consistent “allowance” (I put it in quotes because I never actually did anything to earn it, haha) from my dad, and knowledge of this wonderful simulation game that sounded like it was right up my alley.
We also had a Toys ‘R’ Us in the Palouse Mall and I knew that this store carried The Sims. I want to say that the game cost something like $50 (I could be totally wrong about this, though), but I neeeeeeded it so I had to save up some allowance over several weeks before having enough to buy it.
If you think I’m shy and socially awkward now, you should have seen me as a preteen. I got nervous talking to anyone about anything, so imagine how anxiety-producing a monetary transaction was.
But I neeeeeeded The Sims, so one Saturday morning, I worked up the courage to go into Toys ‘R’ Us, grab a copy of the game, and march up to the cashier to pay for it. From the moment I walked into the store, my brain was like get this over with get this over with get this over with, so all I wanted to do was pay and flee. But before I could do so, the cashier took a quick look at the game I’d put on the counter and said, “you know this is the Mac version, right?”
Nope.
Nope, I did not know that.
I hadn’t even thought about that. Again, get this over with get this over with get this over with. I just grabbed the first copy of the game I saw so that I could get out of a situation that, according to my 12-year-old brain, was as life-threatening as getting chased by a polar bear.
But because my 12-year-old brain thought this situation was as life-threatening as getting chased by a polar bear, I still just wanted to get this over with get this over with get this over with. So I just nodded, paid for the game, and fled.
And as you can probably guess, I did not want the Mac version. I had a PC. I needed the PC version. But I was too embarrassed and afraid to be like “oh, oops, I’ll grab the correct copy!” and instead just ended up spending $50 on a VERSION OF THE GAME THAT I COULDN’T EVEN PLAY.
I can’t even be mad at Baby Claudia, though, because Current Claudia would probably still do the same thing.
But yeah. I kept the $50 Mac version (I think I ended up giving it to one of my friends at some point) and lived in my humiliation for several more weeks before I was able to save up enough money to BUY THE GAME AGAIN. I also had to wait until that same cashier wasn’t working so that I could avoid ultimate humiliation.
BEING SHY SURE HAS ITS PERKS, DOESN’T IT
Death of the Mall
It’s both interesting and sad that malls are not what they used to be (physically, culturally, or socially).
Those of you around my age (or millennials in general): do you remember the role that the mall played in your childhood/teenagerhood? I was never an “OMG I gotta go to the mall!!!11!!1!!1” type of girl, but it still played an important role in my existence throughout my early life.
I would always spend the weekends at my dad’s place. Our routine – from as far back as I can remember – was always to go to the mall on Saturday mornings. He’d give me $20 and set me free for an hour to wander around the mall and buy whatever I wanted. Books/CDs from Hastings; makeup, notebooks, and pens from Rite Aid; art stuff from Michaels; books from Waldenbooks; earrings from Claire’s; weird miscellaneous nonsense from The Card Farm (I have no idea if anyone remembers that store, but I loved it) – these were frequent purchases, and I enjoyed the “independence” of getting to wander around the mall on my own for an hour.
My dad bought me Beanie Babies from Hallmark (back when they were a thing).
I got my first Tamagotchi at JCPenny.
I bought a copy of The Sims at Toys ‘R’ Us.
I bought my prom dress at Macy’s.
My high school friends and I would wander around the mall when we all wanted to gather.
Hell, when Rob and I were dating in college, we spent a lot of our time at the mall (there were…other reasons for this, but we’re not getting into that right now!).
Malls just don’t seem to be as integrated in kids’/teens’ lives anymore, which is super sad. I guess that goes along with the idea of the “death of third places” thing, which is the decline in public gathering places outside of home or work, but still.
It’s a bit depressing is all.
Happy Discovery Day, Uranus!
It was on this day in 1781 that William Herschel observed Uranus (the planet, you immature nerds) and initially recorded it as a comet. However, he compared it to a planet and other astronomers at the time were suspicious of the comet classification due to its orbit around the sun appearing to be nearly circular. It eventually became accepted as the seventh planet.
Uranus was also instrumental in discovering Neptune due to perturbations in its (Uranus’) orbit that could only be explained by the existence of another planet out there somewhere.
So that’s pretty cool.
MOON FAMILY!
So Saturn already held the record in the Solar System for the most moons at 146, but a set of 128 new satellites discovered by a team of astronomers back in 2023 have officially been classified as moons! Saturn now has 274 recognized moons, which is pretty insane. Most of these new moons are extremely small, but still.
Also, I’m just going to leave this here.
(Yes, it’s a SolarBalls episode; yes, I’m still wildly obsessed; yes, it’s relevant because SolarBalls Saturn would probably lose his mind over an additional 128 new moon names to memorize.)
Edit: in searching for a relevant article to this story, I found this NASA article from 1995 talking about the discovery of two to four new Saturnian moon candidates. Back then, the total confirmed number of moons was only 18. Pretty wild!
Speak Up!
So I’m sure all two of you readers (and the other random-ass dudes who stumble upon this blog for whatever reason) have already seen this, considering it’s from 2017, but I have NOTHING ELSE TO BLOG ABOUT today, so you get Old News.™
The Worst Volume Control UI In The World
(Note that Old News™ differs from New News™ only by date of creation. Any differences in quality, humor, amusement, or enlightenment are due solely to chance.)
Look Up!
Are you as weirdly into clouds as I am? Then check out this lecture on basic cloud identification and naming!
We did a little bit of this when I took Geography 100 in Fall 2007, but it wasn’t as detailed and we actually didn’t look at example pictures for whatever reason.
OH NO I’M BACK TO WRITING FAN FICTION
It’s not the 150,000-word monstrosity that my other main fic is, but it’s probably going to get there at some point.
Run away.
One of My Favorite Things…
…is curling up under my warm heavy blanket and watching about 15 minutes’ worth of TikTok vids before going to sleep.
And I know, I know…screentime before bed. I know. But let me be honest: there is nothing in this world that will affect my ability to fall asleep. I fall asleep in at most five minutes as soon as I lay down.
Hell, you could make me run a marathon before bed and I’d still fall asleep within five minutes.
(I know this because I’ve done it before, haha.)
It’s Tariff-ic!
(No it’s not)
(And I’m not sure if that joke will land because now that I look at the title it just looks like I can’t spell “terrific”)
(Whatev who cares)
I mentioned this back when the first wave of crazy tariffs were implemented, but now there’s a CNN article on it so I figured I’d mention it again.
All the Orange Dumpster Fire is doing is uniting Canada – specifically, uniting it against the US.
Products made in (or at least packaged in) Canada are being highlighted in grocery stores.
People are being encouraged (more than usual) to buy local.
And Trudeau, knowing he’s stepping down very soon, has just stopped giving any shits and is overtly showing his frustration over this ridiculous situation.
More:
(Source)
(Source)
(Source. This is actually in Calgary)
Sooo….what’s going to kill us first?
Climate change (in all its wonderful forms)?
Microplastics?
AI?
Trump?
That asteroid that’s supposed to hit us in a few years?
Covid?
The after-effects of everyone getting Covid because NO ONE SEEMS TO CARE ANYMORE?
Bird flu?
Whatever the next pandemic is going to be?
World War III?
Whatever it’ll be, I hope it will be quick.
“WELL THIS SUCKS”
There is absolutely no reason why this is so hilarious to me, but it is.
The mosquitoes in Manitoba, hahaha.
And off we go!
It’s tariff time and the responses are pretty much what you’d expect up here.
The US-Canada relationship is going to be damaged for a long, long time. That’s so freaking sad.
Edit: this little mini film popped up in my YouTube feed this afternoon. It originally aired during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics talking about the close relationship between the two countries. Watching it now made me cry.
Masking: 2025 Edition
I am still very COVID cautious. Among other precautions I try to take, I wear an N95 in every indoor situation except for our condo (unless someone unmasked has been in it recently, like a plumber or furnace guy) and my office (where I have an air purifier and don’t let anyone else in there). When outside, I still try to stay as far away from others as possible and often hold my breath if I have to pass people closely or have to walk/run close behind them for a bit.
I am the only person in the Math Department still consistently masking. I am one of a very few professors on campus who is still consistently masking. I see students in masks more frequently than you’d think, which is nice, but the majority don’t mask.
I do it in part because I DON’T FREAKING WANT COVID, but I also do it because I come into contact with hundreds of people a day and don’t want to be responsible for getting someone sick and possibly ruining or ending their life.
Which is why I liked this article. Those of us still masking do not have irrational anxiety or are “stuck in 2020.” A lot of us do it for more than one of the reasons the article’s author listed. If you are someone who is critical of the 2025 maskers, please give this article a read. Maybe it will change your perspective.
Let’s Run
First ultra of the year!
It’s pretty sad that it took me until March to do this, but January = tons of foot pain because of bad shoes and February = too cold to go outside and there’s no way in hell I’m running that far on a treadmill.
Anyway.
Thanks, Mars!
Today, the Europa Clipper made its way past Mars on a gravity assist move to further support its eventual swing by Jupiter’s moon Europa!
(Tweet)
As I mentioned in a previous post about this, the Martian gravity assist did not boost Europa Clipper’s speed but reduced it instead. This is so that less propellant is needed, as the craft still has a long way to go to reach Jupiter.
In fact, it’s swinging back to earth first for another gravity assist before being flung out past the asteroid belt. This gravity assist will happen in December 2026; the craft will get to Jupiter in April 2030.
Pretty cool, huh?
Month 2: Mileage Check-In
February (at least in terms of my walking/running) is over! Let’s look at monthly stats.
February mileage: 541.37
Monthly average mileage: 580.02
Current end mileage with this pace: 6960.24
I figured this month would put me behind pace (if we’re going by monthly counts rather than daily counts) because 1) there were only 28 days this month versus the 31 from January and 2) I was stuck inside because of the weather for 20 days straight, which resulted no marathon distances and not many daily distances above 18 miles.
Let’s get back on track with March!
Anosmia Awareness Day!
It’s that time of the year: a time for the non-smellers! Have a vid:
The Who’s Who in the What’s What
(It’s just a survey, sorry.)
Have you ever read Garfield Minus Garfield?
I have indeed. And it’s not even the weirdest Garfield derivative out there. Others include Garkov, Lasagna Cat, and The Square Root of Minus Garfield.
What was the last thing someone said to you on IM?
Man, I can’t even remember the last time I used Messenger. 2010, maybe?
Have you ever had a friend who secretly creeped you out?
Kinda?
What were you doing before you went on the internet?
Bro, I’m always on the internet.
What can you hear right now?
The fridge. Pasta water boiling.
Do you prefer to listen to music with or without headphones?
With.
Would you be too embarrassed to tell a friend if they had bad breath?
I would be the last person to ever tell anyone they had bad breath, lemme tell ya.
Do you have a favourite comedian?
Brian Regan!
Do you remember when you first learnt to tie your shoes?
Nope.
Do you use female versions of words (comedienne, actress) or do you just use the other version universally?
I just use the masculine version usually.
Have you ever wanted to meet an online friend in real life?
I’ve never had a strictly online friend.
Were you, or are you, in any clubs at school?
I was in Knowledge Bowl in junior high, though I don’t know if that counts as a club. We’d compete in – you guessed it – general knowledge competitions against kids from other schools. I was on a team with my friends Ross and Aneel and we took absolutely none of it seriously.
Have you ever re-looked at things from childhood and finally understood some of the jokes?
There’s this line in the Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Summer Vacation movie that I think about a lot because I never understood it as a kid. Buster Bunny, after a Deliverance-esque ride down a river, runs into a gator family and the dad wants him to marry all three of his daughters. Buster says “I can’t marry all three of them, that’s bigamy!” and the dad gator goes “No, that’s big o’ me!” and I never got it because I didn’t know what bigamy was and thus didn’t get the joke.
Anyway.
Don’t you hate it when the internet gets turned off when you’re busy?
YES.
Have you ever given in to peer pressure?
Haven’t we all? Hell, this blog is a product of high school peer pressure.
Do you have a third favourite colour? What is it?
I love all colors (except red orange), but my third favorite color is probably red.
What’s your favourite flavour of crisps? (chips)
I’m not a big chip person, actually. I just like regular tortilla chips, especially if they’re salty.
Do you like to try other countrys cusine or do you stick with what you know?
Give me plain, boring, familiar Claudia food, please.
Have you ever liked someone for a really weird reason?
It’s…complicated.
Have you ever been offended by a question in a survey?
Nope.
Have you ever been in Brownies, Cub scouts, or anything?
I was a Girl Scout. For nefarious reasons, hahaha. That’s all I’m going to say!
Are you more of an introvert or extrovert?
100% introvert.
Have you ever looked into a mirror and seen someone standing behind you?
In like a creepy way? No.
Can you brush your teeth without getting toothpaste all over your mouth?
Yeah.
Would you like a new pet? Or do you have one already?
I would like about 40 more cats, but only if I could have them on a cat ranch so that I could be sure they all had their needs met (and I had the time to spend with each one of them every day).
Have you ever spent ages on the internet looking for people from your past?
Facebook is excellent for stalking.
Is there anyone you dislike, yet you don’t quite know why?
If I dislike someone, I’ve got reasons.
What are you doing tomorrow?
Running. Teaching. French.
Do you get nervous while doing presentations?
Yes.
When was the last time you surprised yourself?
I surprise myself daily with how stupid I am.
Have you ever seen or heard something that wasn’t there?
Yes.
Have you ever actually wanted to be ill?
Nah.
Do you like talking about yourself?
On my blog, yes. In real life, no.
What’s a feeling you haven’t felt in a while?
Happiness.
Do you blame other people for things?
Everything is my fault, so no.
How much did you, or do you, hate school?
Elementary school was okay. Seventh, ninth, and twelfth grades were good. Eighth grade and eleventh grade sucked. Tenth grade REALLY sucked. Undergrad was THE BEST TIME EVER. Grad school sucked.
What time is it where you are?
2:16 AM.
What’s your favourite sandwich filling?
Tuna, cheese, mayo, olives.
Do you like hearing stories about when your old relatives were young?
Sure.
Do you dance or sing along to advertisements?
Some of them.
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