Road Maps

Since we started planning our 2013 summer vacation we’ve been consulting a lot of maps; they’ve been front and centre of my thoughts. Then, on our connecting flight to Zurich I had the window seat, which gave me an excellent vantage point to view the topography below as we flew over southern England, then straddled the Belguim/ France border on our approach to Switzerland. 

Our hosts had brought newspapers home from Manchester upon return from their vacation, and they were strewn on the couch one evening after dinner (the newspapers, not our hosts :-) ). 

One glance was all it took of the Daily Mail’s front cover Glastonbury coverage to make the instant comparison between Mick and Keith’s deeply furrowed mugs to maps of highly populated urban areas, particularly European cities, several of which we were about to visit on this trip.

The Daily Mail's own headline says it best.

Didn't this guy audition for "The Shining"?

How could you not want to see this concert?

How does this differ from your grandfather's typical antics?

Wise Company

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed a striking, yet completely unexpected similarity between Rob Ford and Lance Armstrong?

To paraphrase Rob Ford yesterday, “How can I comment on something I haven’t seen or doesn’t exist? How many more times do I have to say this?”

Compare to Lance Armstrong in November 2005: "How many times do I have to say it? … Well, it can't be any clearer than 'I've never taken drugs.'"

To be fair, I wasn’t at the same places Rob Ford was, so realistically I can’t say one way or the other. But on this Father’s Day weekend it got me t’ thinkin’ about my dear ol’ Dad. He passed away 22 years ago, but I still remember one lesson he tried to instill in me. And for the most part it stuck. Phrasing wasn’t his strong point, but he got his message across regarding me and my relationship with my friend Brian. Be careful concerning the people you hang around with. People judge you for the friends you keep.

I knew Brian better than he did, but looking back I can see what alarmed him. Brian came from a split family, first living wild with his father in Ontario, then moving in with his Mom and her new husband on the West Coast, having been kicked out from TO. He smoked 2 packs a day by high school, had done every substance I knew about at that time likely twice already, and it was a wonder to me (at least by the stories he’d tell me) that he wasn’t already paying multiple child support. My Dad didn’t want me to associate with him.

So, Rob Ford. Regardless of circumstances leading up to this present crisis, wouldn’t things be a whole lot better now if you hadn’t had your photo taken with your arms around convicted felons/ drug dealers? Didn’t your parents instill in you anything about the company with which you keep? Especially now in the days of instant photo uploads to social media!

This morning on CBC radio a question was posed regarding “Describe a time when your Father saved you”. A fellow phoned in and described the day in his youth that his Father had told him he didn’t think he should see one of his friends anymore. This after Dad had driven past the high school unannounced one afternoon and probably saw the friend doling out cigarettes. The caller wasn’t sure if Dad saw the cigarettes, but is relieved now, years later, that he took Dad’s advice and severed the friendship. His buddy went on to fail Grade 9 multiple times. It was downhill from there.

Conversely, as far as I’ve been told, Brian turned out OK. I lost touch with him many years ago (although it wasn't back in high school at Dad's urging).

But the adage holds true; choose your company wisely. Make Dad proud.

Terraformed Mars Mammoth Cloning

Two recent science fiction topics have recently hit the headlines. And the scary part is that it may not be out of the question for either of them (or perhaps both(!)) to materialize in my lifetime.

The first one is the colonization of Mars. It’s a pretty cool dream, IMHO. The explorer in me really wants to see that happen. I’ve read a good book on the subject (twice actually). It’s called “The Case for Mars” by Robert Zubrin. He maps out a detailed plan of how much more affordably the mission could be accomplished than NASA has proposed in the past. Basically he subtracts as much of the politics and back-room shenanigans as possible to let rational planning (and science!) light the way.

He even explains how Mars can be terraformed, thereby introducing life-sustaining oxygen into Mars’ current atmosphere. I hadn’t thought such a thing could even be done, but never count science out! Recently I watched a science program, released I think after the most recent hoopla surrounding sending real live astronauts to Mars. In that program it was mentioned that terraforming would take, minimally, centuries to transform the atmosphere to the level that people would be able to function without carrying auxiliary breathing apparatus. But it might take up to a thousand years. Yikes!

Come on science! You can do better than that! If the potential exists to clone a Mammoth cell (this week’s bright scientific spark), I humbly put forth the notion that Virgin Air will shortly be doing brisk business ferrying vacationers to Mars (and back!). A tangent Martian tagline has revealed that a group of European entrepreneurs have launched a contest to accept resumes of people willing to leave Earth forever to take one-way passage to the red planet, with intent of human colonization.

I highly doubt I’ll be forwarding my CV any time soon…unless of course there’s already a venti non-fat extra-hot skinny Macchiato half-caf waiting for me as I de-plane. (I don’t even know what I just ordered.)

As a parting thought, I think I may have solved a couple of dilemmas relating Mars to Mammoths. Why not clone Mammoths on Mars? I read a negative editorial a couple of days ago explaining that it would be cruel to re-introduce an extinct plains-grazing animal into our new world in which its natural habitat is rapidly decreasing. As we know already, an existing northern dweller, the polar bear is having a tough time with a warming planet. Mammoths are (would be) no less tolerant of such an environment.

But, think about it for a minute…assign a forward-thinker, a Richard Branson or Steve Jobs-type to lead a think-tank. Then plunk a buncha Mammoth-cloning proponents in the same room with Mars terraformers and we’ll have herds of those big hairy elephants grazing the red Martian prairie in no time!

Can’t you just picture the faces of the review panel on Dragon’s Den as they digest a pitch from a gaggle of Mars-terraformers/ Mammoth-cloners? Would you buy in?

Aunt Rose

It’s been a rather stressful couple of weeks, but augmented by a family reunion.

On Monday, May 13^th I found out that my Aunt Rose had died on Mother's Day. She is the first of my Dad’s siblings to pass away since he died 22 years ago. She was the middle sister of three. She was the first of his siblings to die in her retirement years; age 71. It was a big shock to me. I totally wasn’t expecting that, especially in this age of “70 is the new 60, or 55, or ‘insert age of choice here’ “.

It did have a bit of a silver lining however, at least for me. I got see all my cousins on my Dad’s side again. Although it’s not like there’s any sort of barrier in place preventing me from seeing them. There’s certainly no restraining order been issued against me. I just tend to me kind of a loner; I’ve never been one to just “drop by sometime”.

One event I was extremely glad I attended recently is the 100^th birthday of Oma Bongartz (featured a few blogs ago). She is the maternal grandmother (Oma) of two of my cousins on my Dad’s side. A large contingent of my Dad’s family was there, including Aunt Rose. As per her usual custom she presented a packet of photographs of her kids and grandkids for all to peruse. I can’t remember a visit when she didn’t produce a packet of photos. It was kind of a trademark. She must be one of a dwindling demographic that still gets the whole roll developed. I don’t know for sure, but I would highly doubt that she followed the digital revolution. Whereas I’m just as much about (learning) the art of creating the perfect photo as I am about capturing the subject in the photo, she was all about using the camera merely as a device to capture her family on film to share with others. It would be interesting to know how many photo albums she created. I’ll ask one of my cousins one of these days.

The Celebration of Life service (after the formal funeral) was a wonderful tribute to Aunt Rose. It began with two of her grandchildren (both in their early twenties) reading a poem (written by her grand-daughter) tag-team style. Those two are very close and it was easy to see how strong the bond was also between them and their grandmother.  Aunt Rose’s middle daughter read a tribute. She did amazingly well considering the challenging circumstances.  I don’t know if she realizes what an admirable display of public speaking that was.

My cousin Jeff closed the verbal presentations with a humorous anecdote regarding “the line lady”. Upon such an introduction there were a few furrowed brows. I certainly didn’t know where he was going with that. Over the years he’d done a lot of renovations on Aunt Rose’s house. She was all about jumping in and getting her hands dirty. On one occasion Jeff was doing the cutting and Aunt Rose was doing the measuring. She called out something like, “It’s 25 inches and 3 lines.” As it turns out, the “lines” were sixteenths of an inch. Apparently she always said she couldn’t understand fractions, but I can just picture that familiar gleam in her eye as she said it. It was just her way of teasing. My Dad had that same look when he’d tease me as a kid.

The reminiscing was later augmented by a slide show documenting her life and the people in it. Everyone you’d expect to see was in it. It’s all about the relationships. She indeed led a very enriched life.

Although I’m still dealing with my own sense of guilt about not taking advantage of opportunities to see her much over the last 20 years, at least I got to share in her warm glow at Oma Bargartz’s birthday late last year as she shared the latest packet of glossy snapshots of my cousins and their families. And I know she appreciated hearing me tell her of the fond memories I had as us kids would run around the house playing Kick the Can during family get-togethers. And to top it off, as we came in for a snack, there would be the familiar sight of the big freezer in the foyer topped by a half dozen or so cakes! Baking was also one of her passions.

Although it may sound corny to say, knowing the kind of no-nonsense person she was, I think she'd be happy to know that it wasn't all sadness at the service. In my opinion, people don't strive to cause pain in others, even at their own passing. The fact that this event brought many of us together again would make Aunt Rose happy. I can feel her smiling as I'm typing.

At Oma Bongartz's recent birthday; Aunt Rose (right) with Aunt Erica.

Deja (Street) vu

OK, I have to document this coincidence. I know I’ve blogged about coincidences before but this one is just a bit too weird (in all truthfulness I’d have to say they’re all weird).

This morning I had to go to a plumbing supply store to get parts for a persistent toilet tank leak. I would normally have gone to Rona or Home Depot, but neither one seems to carry the specific rubber stepped washer I thought I needed.

The next step was to look up the closest supplier of American Standard bathroom fixtures. I drove there this morning but had to park around the block as their small parking lot was full. As I walked from the truck I was noticing the poor condition of an old brick walk-up residential building on the corner. After completion of the plumbing transaction I returned to the truck and drove to the office.

The strange part happened at lunch time when I accessed Craigslist to check on the latest ads for Lego. I’m into anything like wheels and gears lately; my young nephews have rekindled my long-dormant interest in building Lego trucks. One of the ads closest to the top of the page was for a garage sale (including Lego). I knew approximately where it was but I popped the address into GoogleMaps anyway. Upon activation of Streetview, I was immediately presented with the front façade of the brick apartment building I’d walked past a couple of hours previously!

Sun Run 2013

You know Spring has really sprung when the Sun Run arrives. Shauna and I participated again this year.

The day before the event involved some shopping. Since the weather was forecast to be cold in the morning, and we are familiar with the startline delay, we decided to dress warmly. I had a fleece pull-over that I was going to donate, but Shauna needed a suitable garment. Off to Value Village we went; we picked up another sweater with none other than a chocolate manufacturer's logo!

Then of course we had to find a yellow accessory to compliment our blue, in solidarity with Boston.We were a bit late off the starting block on that idea; the yellow sports wear racks were picked clean by Saturday. In the end we resorted to sharing one pair of yellow shoelaces between us.

Watching the runners cross the finish line on the big screens inside BC Place post-run I saw a guy in a Boston Bruins jersey. It's probably the only occasion in that guy's memory that he hasn't been harrassed into hiding for wearing it, what with the Boston/ Vancouver hockey rivalry in this town, especially as we inch closer to the playoffs.

My elapsed time wasn't stellar; 60:58. Oh well, that's pretty much my average over 8 SunRuns. I'm trying not to get hung up on it. I did jog the whole thing, which was my overall goal, with only 3 brief walks to consume some H2O at water stations. Over the years I've found it impossible to actually swallow any water from those little sample cups while trying to maintain a jogging pace.

And the best part is (besides being able to participate with my lovely wife, of course!) was that we didn't get rained on during the event. Upon awaking that morning it was raining, but the weather report assured me that downtown was dry at that point. As our staging area neared release onto the course patches of blue sky began to appear. During the Run it was mostly sunny. However after brunch, upon emerging from a Roundhouse-area restaurant, the wind had picked up fiercely and ominous grey clouds predicted a soaking. We ducked into the Yaletown subway and hightailed it to Oakridge whereupon we were subjected to a hail shower(!), minus the warm fleece pull-overs we'd previously donated at the start line. And departing the Fraser bus we walked into a 45 degree angle pelting from the heavens. Better then than mid-run I suppose.

How's that for a late Mother Nature's April Fool's prank?

Old versus New again

You know how some people have fantasy hockey or football pools? Well I seem to be afflicted with a fantasy air-cooled Beetle obsession. Or at least it’ll probably remain a fantasy until the mortgage is paid off.

This may be another example similar to my recent previous post concerning having a thought rolling around in the back of one’s head long enough to attract other similar themed ideas. This process always reminds of an insurance commercial I saw once of a guy tripping at the top of a steep hill. As he catapults arse-over-teakettle he develops a kind of velcro attraction to just about anything in his path, morphing into a massive ball of everything. Ultimately the flailing sphere reaches the bottom of the hill and explodes upon impact with a building (to Youtube it just type in key search words including Ball Rolling Funny Commercial). I get such a better mental image from that rolling orb than the infinitely more banal comparison to a snowball rolling downhill.

The idea metamorphosis connection is that I’ve wanted another early Beetle since I sold my last one; 14 years ago. Up until very recently my goal has been an oval window model, those produced between mid-'53 and the end of '57. It's now transitioning towards a 70's Super Beetle.

My Early Oval-versus-Macpherson strut internal debate may have germinated (pun definitely intended) in the recent news that Shauna’s friend and former work colleague is returning to Vancouver for a visit in order to participate in the SunRun. She’s going to stay at our place. Years ago, just prior to their move East, her husband Nick asked to store his Beetle in our garage. It is a ’74 I think, right in the middle of the 1973-75 North American production run of Macpherson-strutted Super Beetle sedans. (Surprisingly, I just checked my photo library, and lo and behold, Nick’s Beetle is not as I remembered a Super Beetle at all!)

Nick's Bug.

There are two distinct camps of modified-air-cooled VW nuts; those that modify 50s and 60s Beetles into Cal-lookers, and those that modify kafers to exemplify the German-look. They’re similar in that both use a lowered suspension as a base platform, but that’s about it for modification similarities.

The Oval that I have my eye on (and have had since last August) is a 1957 Agave green sedan, lowered with Porsche rims, high performance engine and a fully restored body and interior. It’s perfect in every way possible, except that it’s in North Carolina. And it’s eighteen-five, just reduced from nineteen yesterday.

1957 Agave green sedan

The other style, favoured across the pond, focuses on the enhanced chassis design of the Super Beetle. The Macpherson strut front end greatly enhances the handling of a Beetle, bringing it ever so much closer to a modern production car. The engine-modded old ones were fine for straight-line performance, but cornering wasn’t stellar. European tuners can have the best of both worlds with a SB, acceleration and cornering. And nowadays there are even more super-cool parts to add to the Super Beetle platform with the introduction of the Boxster/ Cayman models, in addition to the tried and true 911. Lowered Mac struts, accessory anti-sways bars and strut tower brace, high performance Type 4 engine, deep-dish wheels and leather seats from a Boxster/ Cayman/ 911...where is my cheque book anyway?

Modified '73-75 era Super Beetle with 911 rims.

Another late model favourite, although not a SB.