Today's run route and time

Today's run route
From our front door, run south on the Trans Canada Trail in Coquitlam River Park, left to cross the pedestrian bridge near Patricia Ave, left to go north along the Trans Canada Trail / Coquitlam River, turn around at David Ave, retrace route in reverse to our front door.

Today's run time
51 minutes 4 seconds

Today's run route and time

Today's run route
From our front door, run south on the Trans Canada Trail in Coquitlam River Park, left to cross the pedestrian bridge near Patricia Ave, left to go north along the Trans Canada Trail / Coquitlam River, turn around at David Ave, retrace route in reverse to our front door.

Today's run time
51 minutes 17 seconds

Broadview's s(ec)ure scam

We've had Broadview Security as our home security system for several years now, starting back when the company was known as Brink's. When we moved about half a year ago, we had a guy come and hook up our doors and windows to the alarm system and he spent most of the day here. Our last place did not have a sliding door, and our new place does, and that's what this post is about.

You see, we started noticing a few weeks back that it was getting harder to lock the sliding door; the door wasn't getting close enough for the latch to hook onto the stationary frame. That evolved into it being difficult to even shut the sliding door, as the door's locking mechanism's were off-centre a tad.

Then one time as Biscotti struggled to close the door, she reached to the bottom of the door and easily disconnected a small, umm, thing that was narrow and a couple of inches long. "I hope that wasn't an important part of the door," she said. We figured we'd find out soon enough if something bad happened and put the thing in a catch-all drawer. The door now shut perfectly and locking it was a breeze.

Later, when we next attempted to set our alarm, we couldn't. While the system was telling us that our sliding door was open, we knew for a fact that it was closed and locked. A-ha! That thing was Broadview Security's attachment to tell the system that the door was closed. Well, surely they can hook something up that doesn't affect our ability to lock the door, let alone shut the door.

Biscotti called the company, which has its call centre in Texas. (The few times we have had false alarms we've enjoyed listening to the Texas accents on the phone.) She told them the situation and asked for someone to come and not only fix it, but make it better than before (see: not affect our closing/locking abilities). The response was that the earliest someone could come would be a week later and that we would be charged a GST fee. Biscotti balked, but was told that it wasn't the company, it was "your government" that required this (us being in Canada and the representative being in Texas). Until someone came to fix it, we could bypass the sliding door security with an extra step or two when setting the code. That was that.

The next day, we still weren't impressed with having to pay for them to fix what they faultily installed, so Biscotti called them again and was given the same line. "There's nothing we can do, it's your government," with major emphasis on your. After several minutes of Biscotti attempting to get this new rep to say something else, Biscotti told her to cancel the house call and that we would bypass the door until our contract ran out, or get a credit back and switch to a different company. At this, the rep hemmed and hawed and Biscotti then asked to speak to a manager. The rep asked if that was really necessary (seriously? When asked for a manager, get the bloody manager!), Biscotti said yes, and the rep put her on hold.

When the rep returned after just a minute or two, she said she was looking to see if our government still required the fee, and surprise, surprise, they didn't. The rep thought that would make us happy and that that would be the end of it, but Biscotti didn't let her off so easy. "So, if I hadn't protested this fee that is no longer required (I wonder if it ever was), I would've unnecessarily paid to have someone come to our house to fix this? So we would've been getting ripped off?" "Ohhh, no, ma'am." And yet, she had nothing else to say to explain how we would not have been getting ripped off by paying a fee that is not required.

Biscotti made her guarantee that when the person comes to our house that we will not have to pay a cent. That is he/she asks for payment that we will kick them out of our house (or have him/her with us as we call the Texas call centre number and ask to speak to the lady we talked to. We have her name and the pre-connection recording says that all conversations are recorded for quality assurance purposes, so her guarantee should be findable. The house call is in a couple of days - let's hope it goes smoothly.

Not everyone would protest the fee to the degree that we did, or even fight it at all. How many other customers has Broadview Security (formerly Brink's) scammed in this way?

Today's run route and time

Today's run route
From our front door, run south on the Trans Canada Trail in Coquitlam River Park, left to cross the pedestrian bridge near Patricia Ave, left to go north along the Trans Canada Trail / Coquitlam River, turn around at David Ave, retrace route in reverse to our front door.

Today's run time
51 minutes

I'm making a promise to myself to do more non-running-related posts, beginning very, very soon. If you're reading this, please hold me to it.

Today's run route and time

Today's run route
In Coquitlam River Park, start near Gabriola Dr and Cortes Ave, south on the Trans Canada Trail, left to cross the pedestrian bridge near Patricia Ave, left to go north along the Trans Canada Trail / Coquitlam River, turn around at David Ave, retrace route in reverse to starting point.
Today's run time
51 minutes 39 seconds

Today's run route and time

Today's run route
In Coquitlam River Park, start near Gabriola Dr and Cortes Ave, south on the Trans Canada Trail, left to cross the pedestrian bridge near Patricia Ave, left to go north along the Trans Canada Trail / Coquitlam River, turn around at David Ave, retrace route in reverse to starting point.
Today's run time
51 minutes 25 seconds

I felt like crap today. I happened to look at my watch just as the one-minute mark passed, and thought, 'okay - I just have to run that distance fifty more times'. The next fifty minutes and twenty-five seconds were brutal; my legs felt like they weighed two tons each and were attempting to move me in the opposite direction.

Friday's run route and time

Friday's run route
In Coquitlam River Park, start near Gabriola Dr and Cortes Ave, south on the Trans Canada Trail, left to cross the pedestrian bridge near Patricia Ave, left to go north along the Trans Canada Trail / Coquitlam River, turn around at David Ave, retrace route in reverse to starting point.
Friday's run time
49 minutes 10 seconds

Today's run route and time

Today's run route
In Coquitlam River Park, start near Gabriola Dr and Cortes Ave, south on the Trans Canada Trail, left to cross the pedestrian bridge near Patricia Ave, left to go north along the Trans Canada Trail / Coquitlam River, turn around at David Ave, retrace route in reverse to starting point.
Today's run time
51 minutes 26 seconds

Today's run route and time

Today's run route
In Coquitlam River Park, start near Gabriola Dr and Cortes Ave, south on the Trans Canada Trail, left to cross the pedestrian bridge near Patricia Ave, left to go north along the Trans Canada Trail / Coquitlam River, go about ten minutes before turning around*, run south along the trail, turn around near Lougheed Hwy, cross the pedestrian bridge near Patrica Ave, right to go north along the Trans Canada Trail/Coquitlam River, end near Gabriola Dr and Cortes Ave.
Today's run time
48 minutes 03 seconds

* The turn around was due to several people in different spots along the river telling me that a bear was a little farther north on the trail. I am fairly certain the bear wouldn't have been a threat, but I didn't want my off-leash dogs to provoke it.

Monday's run route and time

Monday's run route
In Coquitlam River Park, start near Gabriola Dr and Cortes Ave, south on the Trans Canada Trail, left to cross the pedestrian bridge near Patricia Ave, left to go north along the Trans Canada Trail / Coquitlam River, turn around at David Ave, retrace route in reverse to starting point.
Monday's run time
50 minutes 11 seconds

Sunday's run route and time

Sunday's run route
In Coquitlam River Park, start near Gabriola Dr and Cortes Ave, south on the Trans Canada Trail, left to cross the pedestrian bridge near Patricia Ave, left to go north along the Trans Canada Trail / Coquitlam River, turn around at David Ave, retrace route in reverse to starting point.
Sunday's run time
52 minutes 46 seconds

The runs

Thursday's run route
In Coquitlam River Park, start near Gabriola Dr and Cortes Ave, south on the Trans Canada Trail, left to cross the pedestrian bridge near Patricia Ave, left to go north along the Trans Canada Trail / Coquitlam River, turn around at David Ave, retrace route in reverse to starting point.
Thursday's run time
47 minutes 31 seconds

Please, encourage me to run more frequently

If you'd like to see what I've been up to lately - other than watching and playing tennis (and the Little League World Series, minus the playing) - make like a bunny and hop on over to Detected Errors where you'll find plenty of goofs and gaffes to shake your head at. As a bonus, I make some very clever remarks such as, "My wife may write the writer a letter regarding the latter"; and I am not biased in the slightest. I know I pointed that blog's way in a recent post, but that's because I'm not sure how often I'll be posting on this blog from here on out. I won't stop fully completely, but once a month or so sounds about right, while Detected Errors is updated almost daily. Also, my book blog deserves more attention.

Today's run route
In Coquitlam River Park, start near Gabriola Dr and Cortes Ave, south on the Trans Canada Trail, left to cross the pedestrian bridge near Patricia Ave, left to go north along the Trans Canada Trail / Coquitlam River, turn around at David Ave, retrace route in reverse to starting point.
Today's run time
51 minutes 27 seconds

A mystery at the Nat

I consider myself to be a fairly knowledgeable baseball guy, but during a recent Vancouver Canadians game there was a play that has me stumped. My stepdad - no doubt a more knowledgeable baseball guy than I am - was also there and he is also stumped.

The C's were fielding, the bases were loaded, and while I can't recall exactly what the count on the batter was, I know there were fewer than three balls. After a pitch on which the batter attempted to check his swing, the catcher wanted the lone base ump, standing near second base, to give his verdict on whether the batter swung or not. A few seconds passed as the catcher went from squatting to standing and I don't know if the home plate umpire ever appealed to the base ump. The home plate ump eventually called the base ump over and they had a brief chat before heading over to the C's dugout.

After another brief chat, the umpires walked back towards the field and motioned all the runners to advance a base. It's a balk then, right? Not so fast - in addition to the runners all advancing a base, the batter was awarded first base. So what was the ruling?

I’m Sorry to Hear That You’re Having Difficulty

I read an article today that I thoroughly enjoyed and am now recommending to you. In "I’m Sorry to Hear That You’re Having Difficulty" the writer shares his experiences from his career in ISP tech support. An excerpt:

Callers from New England spoke with a certain sense of entitlement. They were usually intelligent and sometimes downright mean, but I enjoyed our conversations. A guy from Massachusetts called in one time because he had lost his Internet connection. I determined that his router was the problem, and that a reset would probably work. Unfortunately, he had just renovated the room, and figuring that he didn't ever need to touch or look at that ugly plastic box again, he completely obscured it with drywall, power cord and all. His Jersey-accented reaction, upon realizing his mistake:

"Are you telling me that I need to unplug that router and plug it back in, and I fuckin' walled it over? Fuck me. Fuck me! I'm an asshole. Fuck! You're loving this, aren't you, you cocksucker? Laugh at me. I deserve it. I'm a stupid son of a bitch. God damn it. Fuck! Jesus Christ!"

So, with his permission, I started laughing, and couldn't stop. We continued like that for a couple of minutes before he ended the conversation. "Wow. Fuck me, I'm a fuckin' retard. Laugh it up, dickhead." Then he proceeded to laugh, and hung up on me. It made my day.

Kate Miller-Heidke "R U Fucking Kidding Me?"

Blogging and running, again

Alrighty. It's coming up to two months since I last posted on The Luck Key. There are three main reasons. Firstly, our son, who is just over five months old now. Secondly, we recently moved out of Vancouver, which, with a five month old son and two cats and two large dogs, was no small feat. In fact, we are still in a state of chaos with unpacked boxes everywhere and a completely empty living room and dining room as we have stripped off the carpet and are painting the walls before laying down laminate. Actually, the rooms aren't entirely empty - the bigass china cabinet is on a dolly and that is gonan be a bit*h to get off the dolly once the flooring is done. Thirdly, all my blogging time is used up by Detected Errors (with the remaining computer time dominated by ESPN's Streak for the Cash).

It's for the above reasons also that before yesterday it had been two and a half months since my last run. I can not express how much of a pleasure it is to be able to run on wooded trails with the dogs without having to drive at least twenty minutes each way to do so. Yesterday was suitably painful (it'd been two and a half months after all) and I still loved it. And to think, it's just gonna get better and better!

Yesterday's run route
Starting near Gabriola Dr and Cortes Ave, south on the Trans Canada Trail along the Coquitlam River, turn left to cross the pedestrian bridge near Patricia Ave, turn left to go north along the Coquitlam River, turn around at David Ave/Elizabeth Dr, retrace route in reverse to starting point.
Yesterday's run time
49 minutes 14 seconds

Barenaked Ladies "Drawing"

one hundred and sixty-four seconds

The Vancouver Canucks played their last game of the season last night, losing game six in the Western Conference semifinals. They lost that last game in spectacular fashion, allowing seven goals against, while scoring five. Anytime the Canucks score five goals in a game, in front of one of the best goaltenders in the game, they should freakin' win. What's more, the seven goals scored by the Chicago Blackhawks were all scored while Roberto Luongo was still in net. No empty-netters. I'm not placing all the blame on him - there's plenty to go around - but seven goals against in the biggest game of the year, including four in the third period? Yikes. The Canucks twice had a one-goal lead in that third period. A goal by Daniel Sedin to make it 5-4 with 7:45 remaining had me daydreaming of Thursday's game seven. That daydream lasted a mere forty-five seconds (of playing time).

This morning Biscotti told me that the Canucks franchise is being moved to Las Vegas. I said, "Good, they won't break my heart anymore".

After the Canucks went up 2-1 in the best-of-seven, the Blackhawks won three straight games and advance to play either the Detroit Red Wings or the Anaheim Ducks in the Western Conference final. After the game last night, I heard a local sportscaster (can't remember who, probably on Global's 11pm news) say that in the four Chicago wins, the Canucks had third-period leads in three of them. I was close to posting that without checking on my own, and am glad I did do my own research. The Canucks had third-period leads in two of the four Chicago wins - which is still pretty bad. Shutdown defense? Killer instinct? Gone after the first round sweep.

It's disappointing. If they hadn't been in this series at all, then it'd be easier. A sweep? Oh well, they were overmatched. But no, they just couldn't put games away. Up 2-1 in the series, Vancouver had a 1-0 lead deep into game four's third period. They were 164 seconds from a commanding 3-1 series lead when Chicago scored to tie the game.

That's enough about that. I must now turn my attention to other matters, such as voting today and moving soon.

A wolf loves pork.

Yesterday's run route and time

Yesterday's run route
In Pacific Spirit Park, start at Sasamat Reservoir, south on Sasamat, right at Council, right at Salish, left at Sword Fern, left at Long, left at Salish, left at Council, left at Sword Fern, left at Long, left at Sasamat, end at Sasamat Reservoir.
Yesterday's run time
49 minutes 35 seconds

NHL playoffs shakeup

I came across an interesting idea in a recent Georgia Straight article regarding NHL playoffs in future years. Here's an excerpt:

The top finishers in each conference get to select from the lower-ranking qualifiers in the first round only. In the NHL's case, let the three division winners in each conference pick from the teams that round out the playoff field. The first-place team would get to choose from the teams finishing fifth through eighth. The second-place finisher would then pick from the remaining teams, and the third-place team would be left with two teams to choose from. The fourth-place finisher—not a division winner—would still get home-ice advantage in the opening round and would face whichever team was not selected by the three teams that earned the right to choose.

Read the whole article by clicking here and then let me know what you think by sparking the glow under this post. I'm all for the changes suggested, for the reasons found in the article.

Today's run route
In Pacific Spirit Park, start at Sasamat Reservoir, south on Sasamat, right at Council, right at Salish, left at Sword Fern, left at Long, left at Salish, left at Council, left at Sword Fern, left at Long, left at Sasamat, end at Sasamat Reservoir.
Today's run time
50 minutes 38 seconds

Bendy Biscotti

Lucas popped out of Biscotti on February 5. Eight and a half weeks after that momentous occasion Biscotti went snowshoeing for the first time since last March. She summited Hollyburn Peak in just under an hour and twenty minutes, and she celebrated that athletic feat with another athletic feat:

Today's run route and time

Today's run route
In Pacific Spirit Park, start at Sasamat Reservoir, south on Sasamat, right at Council, left at Sword Fern, left at Long, left at Salish, right at Council, left at Sasamat, end at Sasamat Reservoir.
Today's run time
35 minutes 51 seconds

Today's run route and time

Today's run route
In Pacific Spirit Park, start at Sasamat Reservoir, south on Sasamat, right at Huckleberry, right at Hemlock, right at Salish, left at Sword Fern, left at Imperial, right at Salish, left at Clinton, left at Sasamat, end at Sasamat & Imperial.
Today's run time
47 minutes 31 seconds

1 PHOTO. 3 WORDS. 365 DAYS...

... is a cool blog established on a great idea.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

05:44 - Wake up.
06:12 - Leave the house, and put gear and dogs in Tracker.
06:38 - Take Cypress exit off the highway; learn that the road up is closed until 07:00. D'oh.
07:01 - Stop at Cypress road viewpoint to take pictures.
07:20 - Begin snowshoeing.
08:23 - Reach the peak! There's no wind and it's sunny and clear. Nobody else around.
09:26 - While descending, see first person since Cypress road viewpoint.
09:55 - Return to car.
10:34 - Pull into carport at home.

A week later - upload 97 photos and 3 videos to a flickr set.

Here's one pic. Click it to enlarge it.

Silent nights

Our home stereo gets used mostly for movie-watching sound, and sometimes I listen to talk radio. We rarely use it for listening to CDs anymore. Proof: I just opened the three-disc changer to see what was readily available for my hearing pleasure and found one spot empty and the other two spots each containing a Christmas CD. I closed the changer, turned off the stereo and opened up the Said the Whale folder on the computer.

Today's run route and time

Today's run route
In Pacific Spirit Park (on snowy trails!), start at Sasamat & Top, south on Sasamat, right at Council, left at Sword Fern, left at Long, left at Salish, left at Sword Fern, left at Council, left at Sasamat, end at Sasamat Reservoir.
Today's run time
50 minutes 36 seconds

Saturday Night Live - People Getting Punched

Today's run route and time

Today's run route
In Pacific Spirit Park, start at Sasamat & Council, west on Council, left at Sword Fern, left at Long, left at Salish, left at Council, left at Sword Fern, left at Long, left at Salish, left at Sword Fern, left at Council, right at Sasamat, end at Sasamat & Imperial.
Today's run time
49 minutes 9 seconds

Right to Play

Have you heard of the charity, Right to Play? They do great things for children worldwide and have been present at the past several Olympics - with a booth in the athletes village - to recruit athletes to their cause.

Right To Play is supported by an international team of top athletes from over 40 countries. As role models, these athletes inspire children, raise awareness and promote opportunities for funding for Right To Play projects. Currently Right To Play works in: Azerbaijan, Benin, Chad, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Jordan, Lebanon, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Pakistan, occupied Palestinian territory, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, and Zambia.

The above quote is from a blog post titled, Support Right To Play, Shame On VANOC and GM Canada, written by psa on the blog, Canadian Cynic. The post focuses on the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) banning Right to Play from the 2010 Olympics because of conflicting sponsorships. For shame, VANOC, for shame. I encourage you to read psa's post in full, especially if you live in British Columbia.

Today's run route
In Pacific Spirit Park, start at Sasamat Reservoir, down Sasamat, right at Council, left at Sword Fern, left at Powerline, left at Salish, left at Council, right at Sword Fern, turn around at Salish, left at Long, left at Salish, right at Council, left at Sasamat, end at Sasamat Reservoir.
Today's run time
58 minutes 14 seconds

Your math is irrefutable

The maths side of me is in love with this recent xkcd comic: Boyfriend.

Today's run route and time

Today's run route
In Pacific Spirit Park, start at Sasamat Reservoir, down Sasamat, right at Council, right at Sword Fern, turn around at Salish, left at Long, left at Salish, right at Council, left at Sasamat, end at Sasamat Reservoir.
Today's run time
45 minutes 30 seconds

Word

During a televised tennis match, either Nadal or his opponent hit a remarkable winning shot to end a long, engaging rally and the two commentators simultaneously exulted with one-word exclamations:

"Fabulous!"
"Relentless!"

I loved how the tennis display had caused the commentators to express such joy and, even moreso, how their impromptu word choices rhymed with each other and had differently spelt endings.

Talking to my dad about the teams featured in the next Amazing Race (starts tonight! Go Margie & Luke and the brunette babes!), I mentioned how an all-girl team has never won the race. Thus far, the team that has had the best chance, in my opinion, was Dustin & Kandice. Anyway, a few minutes later my dad was asking what I was saying about "inaugural"? It took some thought as to what he heard as inaugural, before I realized he misheard "an all-girl" as "inaugural". Say them out-loud and hear the similarity for yourself.

There is a corner store near my sister-in-law's place that has this written on their awning:

GROCERIES
PRODUCE
FLOWERS

Makes me think that the store is offering a warning that if you leave some bananas and and some mangoes in the same room unattended, they'll start gettin' it on and forty weeks later some poinsettias will miraculously appear.

Today's run route
In Pacific Spirit Park, start at Sasamat Reservoir, down Sasamat, right at Council, right at Sword Fern, turn around at Salish, left at Long, left at Salish, right at Council, left at Sasamat, end at Sasamat Reservoir.
Today's run time
44 minutes 25 seconds

Welcome, Lucas

February 7 2009 068 Lucas
Originally uploaded by jblueafterglow

At 07:04 on Thursday, February 5, 2009, Biscotti became a mommy and I became a daddy. This is our son, Lucas. He entered the world weighing 9lbs 8oz, with a length of 53.5cm, or 21.1 inches.

Biscotti was phenomenal throughout the entire pregnancy, but particularly in the homestretch. I just asked her what I should put in this blog post announcing Lucas's arrival and she said, "He's big and cute". In the posted picture he is fifty-five hours young. The number fifty-five is the 10th Fibonacci number and the sum of the numbers 1 to 10. I find this to be noteworthy: Since Lucas's birth the Canucks are undefeated and averaging 6.5 goals per game.

Welcome, Lucas. Biscotti and I are very happy to see you.

How smart is your right foot?

A Kiwi* cousin of mine sent me a forwarded email this morning. Here it is word for word..

You have to try this please, it takes 2 seconds. I could not believe this!!! It is from an orthopaedic surgeon..... .......

This will boggle your mind and you will keep you trying over and over again to see if you can outsmart your foot, but, you can't.

It's pre-programmed in your brain!

1) Without anyone watching you (they will think you are GOOFY......) and while sitting at your desk in front of your computer, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles.
2) Now, while doing this, draw the number '6' in the air with your right hand. Your foot will change direction.

I told you so!!! And there's nothing you can do about it! You and I both know how stupid it is, but before the day is done you are going to try it again, if you've not already done so.

[* As an aside, Kiwi is the nickname used internationally for people from New Zealand, as well as being a relatively common self-reference. The name derives from the kiwi, a flightless bird which is native to, and the national symbol of, New Zealand. Spelling of the word Kiwi, when used to describe the people, is often capitalised, and takes the plural form Kiwis. The bird's name is spelt with a lower-case k and, being a word of Māori origin, normally stays as kiwi when pluralised. Thus, two Kiwis refers to two people, whereas two kiwi refers to two birds. Source.]

Courting death

“I’m also a victim in all of this. You can’t fix the lad’s problems, but you can fix mine.” - Spanish driver Tomas Delgado, explaining his lawsuit against a dead cyclist’s family for 29,300 euros. Delgado asked for money for damage that the impact of the cyclist’s body did to his luxury car

From The Georgia Straight's Year in Review, December 23, 2008.