Author: gfox (old content)

Seminar Mindset

Tonight was the emergency preparedness seminar. Great thing to go to. I have lots more ideas for the house, the vehicles, and work to prepare for an emergency of any sort.

The seminar was about 2 hours long and focused on a few different aspects of what hazards or disaster might happen in Victoria, and how we as individuals should prepare for those scenarios.

So far we are a little prepared, but have a way to go before I would consider us totally prepared. One nice thing is that the house we live in now, we don’t need to worry about a tsunami.

One thing I really took away is that doing something small each week is a great way to get moving on the kit. Being prepared really is a mindset.

The only downside to the seminar was one guy in the crowd. Right at the end he started posing a lot of questions about how the city and province are not instituting the correct policies for building codes. He definitely had an agenda and sounded like a bit of a fanatic. The hosts of the evening were able to shut him down quickly and effectively by reminding him that the purpose of tonight’s seminar was personal preparation, not provincial preparation.

Workshop Earthquake

A few days ago I signed up for an Emergency Preparedness Workshop. Hopefully tonight I will learn more about things I need to do around the house to be ready for a disaster.

We are not 100% ready, but we have a good start. We have an earthquake kit that includes food and water, shelter, tools, and first aid. We also added some extra clothes, diapers, and dog food. We want to add some more food and water to the kit. A friend of mine is investing in a Life Saver water filter, and some day I’d like to get one, or something like it.

We also want to add a large tarp, some ropes, a sharp knife, and other items. We also need to add contact numbers of family members, stuff for the kids to do, and make up a plan for what to do after the earthquake hits (ie when Sox and I are at work, meeting up with the kids and heading home).

Blockbuster Bad

Soon after I got my new cellphone and phone number, I started getting calls from @Blockbuster informing me of overdue movies. These calls were destined for the previous owner of the number since I rarely rent from @Blockbuster any more.

This morning I called to get this fixed up. I called at a few minutes before 10 and the person that answered sounded cheery enough. It sounded like the store was already open. When I started to explain the issue she cut me off saying she couldn’t help me because the store wasn’t open yet.

I was dumbfounded. I was a little speechless.

I verified that she couldn’t help me and she said yes. She needed to get the store ready. I asked if the fact that I am a customer made a difference and she said no. She couldn’t help me because the store wasn’t open yet.

Not being totally coherent I said something to the effect that “That is pretty bad.”, and she actually said no it wasn’t! I hung up after that since I didn’t want to deal with her any more.

After 10am I called another @Blockbuster to get the number removed and the guy that answered took care of it in under 2 minutes, and even let me know that I may get another call within the next couple days since their system updates are a little slow.

The helpful guy spent less time on the phone with me than the argumentative lady. Nice.

I haven’t rented from @Blockbuster in a while, and I think I will continue that trend.

Illegal Phone

Jan 1 saw a new law introduced in BC. It is now illegal to drive and use a handheld device. To use a cellphone while driving, it must be completely hands free.

Today I saw a perfect example of why this law was needed. In a parking lot near a grocery store a car ran a stop sign, and almost got t-boned by a much larger mini-van. The car pulled over and stopped while them mini-van continued to honk. The driver of the car was on her phone the entire time, and completely oblivious to what had just happened. She never looked at the mini-van, and never put down her phone.

Yikes.

Waste Store

Doggy waste bags (a.k.a. poop bags) that you buy from pet stores are insanely marked up. The last time we ran out of bags I picked up a box of 100 degradable plastics bag for $11.00 at PetSmart.

The bags I normally get are $2.65 for 100. And they are bigger. And they are easier to dispense. And they are degradable.

The problem is that the bags I normally get are sold at a store furnishing store (a place that sells things other stores need to run their business) and they are only open on weekdays. This is super frustrating when both Sox and I are working. Luckily these days I have a bit of free time so I can stock up on things like this.

Like a lot of things sold at specialty stores, the same item can usually be found for cheaper at a more generic store.

Goldstream Projected

On Saturday we headed out to Goldstream park for a walk. That park is always so lush and green, and with all the rain we have had lately, the park seemed extra wet too.

The kids had a fun time and the picnic lunch was well received. We stopped by the nature house and explored around inside. Elliot liked using the microscope that projected up onto a TV.

I had fun taking a few pictures along the way. All the pics are available here.


Smiley Shock

Wet. Muddy. Smiley.

That’s how I described myself after today’s ride. I was lucky when I started my ride since I had beaten the rain. The first ten minutes or so my hands were pretty cold and I was doing what I could to warm them up. Once I started climbing some hills the blood got flowing and they warmed up.

I took fireroads up quite a way and descended down North Ridge and South Ridge trails. I certianly could stand to ride more though since I found myself walking a lot of the uphill portions. My legs just don’t have the strength they used to so getting the big bike to the top now seems to take a lot more effort than it used to.

One thing I love about riding in the wet is that the technique come back fairly quickly. Using body english and lunging the bike to get over roots. No front brakes to get down slippery rocks. Avoiding mud on corners. I love being able to see a tree root and be able to accurately envision what will happen to my wheel if I hit it in a certain way.

Just today I was slithering down a steep rocky section when I started to go off course. I purposely rolled over an off camber tree root knowing my tire would slip. This slip got me centred on the trail again.

Nearing what was supposed to be the end of my ride I took a wrong turn on a new trail. This took me down a fun trail with lots of berms. At first I wasn’t going fast enough to actually use the berms. A few pedal strokes and I could hit higher in the berm. The next one that I hit I was going a little too hard and felt the bike start doing a two wheel drift around the corner. All of a sudden the tires bit into solid ground, I shot out of the corner and straightened out. Very fun, and a good little adrenaline rush.

My brakes were feeling awesome today and that little bit of confidence was a nice bonus. I knew I could attack the trail and not worry about whether I could slow down or not. I’m glad I changed those front pads and after a slight adjustment, the rear brakes felt balanced with the front.

As I exited the trees and made my way to Shock Treatment the rain started. It wasn’t a hard rain, but it made me pick up the pace to get back to the truck quicker. I couldn’t have timed that ride any better.

A nice hot shower and home and good cup of coffee were the perfect caps to the ride. Those and a foot long sub from Subway. 🙂