KMs today: 18.1
This week: 79.4
AM: Got a drive to work.
PM: Wind W12km/h. Along Marine Drive and up 31st. Listened to Bill Maher, funniest podcast available. Long talk about religion and media; BM's point is that religious beliefs taken literally cause huge irreconciliable problems between people, groups, countries and of course between the religions themselves. Guests focused on faith and how religion helps, which BM doesn't see as an issue--His focus is on the what happens when faith + ill placed literal beliefs become more important than common sense and logic.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Thu. May 20, 2010
21st wedding anniversary today, so because of that and the outrageous wind in Vancouver I skipped the bicycle and got on the 6:40 bus, with the intention of leaving early for drinks with my wife.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Wed. May 19, 2010
KM today: 18.1+7 = 25.1
This week: 61.3
AM: 13C, Wind E10km/h and really felt it from home all the way to Cypress Mtn. 18.1km bike ride took about 50 mins. 190lbs.
Listened to On Point's podcast on the Mexican-American war. James Polk was a so-so Prez but saw the need to have east-west control by annexing Texas and taking Mexico's Arizona, NM, Utah and California. Mexico gave up, sold it all to the US for $15m, but secured the upper tip of the Baja penninsula so that it had a land route there.
PM: 12C, Wind E31km/h. HUGE wind and late so I got a ride home from Park Royal. Listened to Chap 3 of Moby Dick.
This week: 61.3
AM: 13C, Wind E10km/h and really felt it from home all the way to Cypress Mtn. 18.1km bike ride took about 50 mins. 190lbs.
Listened to On Point's podcast on the Mexican-American war. James Polk was a so-so Prez but saw the need to have east-west control by annexing Texas and taking Mexico's Arizona, NM, Utah and California. Mexico gave up, sold it all to the US for $15m, but secured the upper tip of the Baja penninsula so that it had a land route there.
PM: 12C, Wind E31km/h. HUGE wind and late so I got a ride home from Park Royal. Listened to Chap 3 of Moby Dick.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Suite 101 - Writer's website
Haven't written a thing in ages. Found a site called Suite101 that lets amateurs post articles on virtually anything, as long as they follow a style guide. That works for me as my grammar is fine and I can express myself well.
Look for the same name, and some regular postings. I wrote on Krabi, Thailand, and have a few coming up on skiing with kids at Whistler.
Look for the same name, and some regular postings. I wrote on Krabi, Thailand, and have a few coming up on skiing with kids at Whistler.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Where should one lay down roots?
The age of forty is an interesting age to say the least. You're older not younger, are about halfway through your expected lifespan, and the kids are nearing independence. The big question I've been chewing over is "Where is the best place to permanently settle?" When you answer the question there is a healthy dose of finality in the conclusion. To some this a good thing, and to others it's frightening. The real question is: Which conclusion satisfies you the most?
We've been on the move for twenty years. Married in '89 and off to Canada, to Hong Kong in '91 and then off to Bangkok in '95 with a few young children in tow. A lifetime of 4 year stints seemed just fine, so in '99 we headed back to Hong Kong with one more youngster and spent a lengthy eight years there. Amazingly (and happily) we produced yet another little one who is fourteen years younger than the eldest. After eight years here we have now chosen to punch the clock, push the button, lower the landing gear, you name it, head back to Canada. Like Gilligan's three hour tour that lasted three years (I thought it was longer, but Wikipedia knows better) we've been spotted by the rescue team and are coming home after a 16 year adventure. Vancouver may be another chapter in an ongoing tale or a very lengthy final chapter and epilogue. We'd like it to be a chapter, but I have a feeling it will be like The Deathly Hallows--800 pages of good fun after many previous shorter books.
I've been wondering if a sense of regret and nostalgia would form, but it hasn't. Many of our good friends are all packing up and going back home, which suggests that Asia in general is becoming less fascinating and exotic than it once was, as well as the likelihood that our friends face the same issues. Schooling, pollution, cost of living, skill gap versus local talent, income opportunities, etc. are all influencers that most families face. I say "families" because singles and couples are generally very flexible and probably enjoy a more active and radical social life than couples with kids. Asia is still highly appealing to younger couples with very young kids because there is just so much to see, and it's easy to take your young kids around. Once the kids are in school you're limited to school holidays for trips and your life become similar to what it would be back home. Obviously I speak from the perspective of an expatriate--Local residents are "at home" and the expat "adventure" is the local's normal day. We've found that if we live much in the same style as we would back in North America, but are burdened with pollution, a high cost of living, etc. well why not just go live there?
So our newest adventure is to see what it's like to have a mortgage and to be gratefully unbeholden to landlords. We give up a lot, but gain a lot as well. And the best thing is that I largely have no sense of regret about leaving which means that I'm honestly looking forward to living back in Canada. We did the adventure and never have to wonder "What if?" That's a blessing to people like us who live to experience, and appreciate what they've seen. Whenever I get a good workout done early in the morning I think that it's one less important thing to worry about during the day, so that I can focus on what is currently happening. At our early age of forty three we can check the "overseas adventure" off the list and move on to whatever needs our attention these days. It's gives me a sense of achievement, and more importantly, a sense of peace that I did something I really wanted to do. Now, I need to Google "how to mow lawn" so ta ta for now.
We've been on the move for twenty years. Married in '89 and off to Canada, to Hong Kong in '91 and then off to Bangkok in '95 with a few young children in tow. A lifetime of 4 year stints seemed just fine, so in '99 we headed back to Hong Kong with one more youngster and spent a lengthy eight years there. Amazingly (and happily) we produced yet another little one who is fourteen years younger than the eldest. After eight years here we have now chosen to punch the clock, push the button, lower the landing gear, you name it, head back to Canada. Like Gilligan's three hour tour that lasted three years (I thought it was longer, but Wikipedia knows better) we've been spotted by the rescue team and are coming home after a 16 year adventure. Vancouver may be another chapter in an ongoing tale or a very lengthy final chapter and epilogue. We'd like it to be a chapter, but I have a feeling it will be like The Deathly Hallows--800 pages of good fun after many previous shorter books.
I've been wondering if a sense of regret and nostalgia would form, but it hasn't. Many of our good friends are all packing up and going back home, which suggests that Asia in general is becoming less fascinating and exotic than it once was, as well as the likelihood that our friends face the same issues. Schooling, pollution, cost of living, skill gap versus local talent, income opportunities, etc. are all influencers that most families face. I say "families" because singles and couples are generally very flexible and probably enjoy a more active and radical social life than couples with kids. Asia is still highly appealing to younger couples with very young kids because there is just so much to see, and it's easy to take your young kids around. Once the kids are in school you're limited to school holidays for trips and your life become similar to what it would be back home. Obviously I speak from the perspective of an expatriate--Local residents are "at home" and the expat "adventure" is the local's normal day. We've found that if we live much in the same style as we would back in North America, but are burdened with pollution, a high cost of living, etc. well why not just go live there?
So our newest adventure is to see what it's like to have a mortgage and to be gratefully unbeholden to landlords. We give up a lot, but gain a lot as well. And the best thing is that I largely have no sense of regret about leaving which means that I'm honestly looking forward to living back in Canada. We did the adventure and never have to wonder "What if?" That's a blessing to people like us who live to experience, and appreciate what they've seen. Whenever I get a good workout done early in the morning I think that it's one less important thing to worry about during the day, so that I can focus on what is currently happening. At our early age of forty three we can check the "overseas adventure" off the list and move on to whatever needs our attention these days. It's gives me a sense of achievement, and more importantly, a sense of peace that I did something I really wanted to do. Now, I need to Google "how to mow lawn" so ta ta for now.
Friday, August 17, 2007
The iPod and Podcasts are revolutionary
I'm not a news junkie or anything, but I do try to stay up to speed with what's happening. Yahoo! still seems to be the best at gathering what I like and presenting it to me, but I haven't tried hard to make Google work as much. I'm sure it can do everything I want, honestly once you're set up with something that works then why change unless the value is really substantial.
While I like reading a real newspaper, I also like hearing different points of view in a conversational way. I spend a lot of down time while running, excercising, commuting and traveling, and it's during these times that a physical newspaper or magazine doesn't work. Just try reading a newspaper on a subway during rush hour. I've got a daily routine that includes a trip to the PC to plug in my iPod and download the latest podcasts that cover a wide range of topics from the NY Times headline news, politics, comedy and esoterica like "Learn French", "12 Great Byzantine Rulers", and "Great Speeches in History."
What's so handy is that all the content is on your iPod and if you're like me you always have more than you need and it's not a waste to do this. How many books, mags and newspapers are purchased and then discarded partially read if not at all? When I commute in the morning I like the news, so it's NYT headlines for 5 minutes. Because it's a quick commute of 30-40 minutes I don't like a chunky interview and instead opt for a 15-20 minute podcast that I can handle while walking and jostling on public transport. NPR's It's All Politics works for me, as well This American Life. This one in particular is supposedly "the best podcast available" and is usually a story about a unique individual in America with some unusual situation, often paradoxical. I don't know how they find these people quite honestly because none are famous and their stories are typically unreported. The last one I heard for example was about a group of mentally disbled journalists who get people on the street to talk to them. The interviewees would normally give some PC or newsbite answer, but when approached by an obviously mentally challenged yet professional and capable reporter with a microphone, they respond much more insightfully. They perhaps think that their normal content can't be processed by the interviewee so when they tone down the rhetoric what they say comes out quite clear and in a more personable tone.
When I run, which is 30-60 minutes, I forego music for NPR's On Point with Tom Ashbrook. He gets great interviews with interesting people on topics that often are the same as headline news, but with a deep dive from fascinating interviewees. The 60 minutes breezes by very quickly. Yesterday I finished up a show on a British author who has a new book on the angry British, in opposition to the normal perception of British people being reserved. His point is that Brits are reserved because they're trained to not feel, and that latent emotion comes out in humor and during sporting events, and is displayed toward animals and plants rather than family and friends. It was a great interview, and was followed up by an hour on Rupert Murdoch's takeover of Dow Jones. There were opposing views on that, and I changed my mind on Murdoch as a result.
Nighttime is usually NPR's comedy quiz Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me. It's a traveling show with a rotating panel of comedians, authors and commentators who are asked questions about current events in a humorous way. Guests appear each week and because the show is so widely heard, somewhat intellectual and lighthearted, the guest list is always great. Recently on the show was US Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, Chicago prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald (who took down Conrad Black and Scooter Libby), Ted Koppel and Linda Ronstadt. Another super fave comedy podcast is HBO's Bill Maher show. It's political, uncensored and forthright. Unfortunately it comes on for a few months and then goes off, so I'm looking forward to the next series.
If you also have down time, consider an interesting podcast. It fills the time productively, is portable, and always there when you need it.
While I like reading a real newspaper, I also like hearing different points of view in a conversational way. I spend a lot of down time while running, excercising, commuting and traveling, and it's during these times that a physical newspaper or magazine doesn't work. Just try reading a newspaper on a subway during rush hour. I've got a daily routine that includes a trip to the PC to plug in my iPod and download the latest podcasts that cover a wide range of topics from the NY Times headline news, politics, comedy and esoterica like "Learn French", "12 Great Byzantine Rulers", and "Great Speeches in History."
What's so handy is that all the content is on your iPod and if you're like me you always have more than you need and it's not a waste to do this. How many books, mags and newspapers are purchased and then discarded partially read if not at all? When I commute in the morning I like the news, so it's NYT headlines for 5 minutes. Because it's a quick commute of 30-40 minutes I don't like a chunky interview and instead opt for a 15-20 minute podcast that I can handle while walking and jostling on public transport. NPR's It's All Politics works for me, as well This American Life. This one in particular is supposedly "the best podcast available" and is usually a story about a unique individual in America with some unusual situation, often paradoxical. I don't know how they find these people quite honestly because none are famous and their stories are typically unreported. The last one I heard for example was about a group of mentally disbled journalists who get people on the street to talk to them. The interviewees would normally give some PC or newsbite answer, but when approached by an obviously mentally challenged yet professional and capable reporter with a microphone, they respond much more insightfully. They perhaps think that their normal content can't be processed by the interviewee so when they tone down the rhetoric what they say comes out quite clear and in a more personable tone.
When I run, which is 30-60 minutes, I forego music for NPR's On Point with Tom Ashbrook. He gets great interviews with interesting people on topics that often are the same as headline news, but with a deep dive from fascinating interviewees. The 60 minutes breezes by very quickly. Yesterday I finished up a show on a British author who has a new book on the angry British, in opposition to the normal perception of British people being reserved. His point is that Brits are reserved because they're trained to not feel, and that latent emotion comes out in humor and during sporting events, and is displayed toward animals and plants rather than family and friends. It was a great interview, and was followed up by an hour on Rupert Murdoch's takeover of Dow Jones. There were opposing views on that, and I changed my mind on Murdoch as a result.
Nighttime is usually NPR's comedy quiz Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me. It's a traveling show with a rotating panel of comedians, authors and commentators who are asked questions about current events in a humorous way. Guests appear each week and because the show is so widely heard, somewhat intellectual and lighthearted, the guest list is always great. Recently on the show was US Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, Chicago prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald (who took down Conrad Black and Scooter Libby), Ted Koppel and Linda Ronstadt. Another super fave comedy podcast is HBO's Bill Maher show. It's political, uncensored and forthright. Unfortunately it comes on for a few months and then goes off, so I'm looking forward to the next series.
If you also have down time, consider an interesting podcast. It fills the time productively, is portable, and always there when you need it.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Meltdown coming?
No, I don't think so, but it's certainly a time to: 1)Be careful if you're heavily into any speculative investments e.g. anything in China; or 2) Go after recently clobbered stocks that you recently thought were too pricey. I read the South China Morning Post this moring (Sunday) and saw that a Chinese professor is warning about the huge amount of risk in the Chinese property market given the amount and ease of borrowing in China. Beijing and Shanghai are so expensive right now that middle class households are mortgaged to the teeth, and I would guess that many, many people have taken on investment properties. Since the mainland Chinese have only ever experienced prosperity (I am obviously omitting that lovely period from 1949 to 1980 that was hell and not prosperity) they don't see that a bubble can burst. Here in Hong Kong I've experienced a few serious property and stock market bubbles, and have a strong sense that the local Hong Kongers are much wiser these days. Now mind you, they'll fleece every mainlander with a dollar to spend in Hong Kong, but they'll keep the dollar and use it to grow the economy instead of acting hot stock market tips from grandma and the taxi drivers.
Will the U.S. and global markets tank? I also don't think so. I think they'll soften, but the global economy is still growing, companies are investing and consumers are spending. The July retail numbers in the US were soft though, and that tells me that confidence perhaps is waning. People with paper gains on their home feel good about spending those gains and taking on debt. But now that those gains are going away, well I think most people tighten up their spending and are not so ebullient. It would be nice if the US media and politicians stopped all this nonsense about China and India somehow causing problems for the US. I guess they're easy targets in an election year.
Will the U.S. and global markets tank? I also don't think so. I think they'll soften, but the global economy is still growing, companies are investing and consumers are spending. The July retail numbers in the US were soft though, and that tells me that confidence perhaps is waning. People with paper gains on their home feel good about spending those gains and taking on debt. But now that those gains are going away, well I think most people tighten up their spending and are not so ebullient. It would be nice if the US media and politicians stopped all this nonsense about China and India somehow causing problems for the US. I guess they're easy targets in an election year.
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