The news of my death has been greatly exaggerated....

I can't believe I haven't posted since February... When I left my job I was all like "Holy crap, look at all the time I will have to blog!"  Now, after 8 months off I am all like "Holy crap, I'm so busy I need a vacation from my vacation so I can blog!".

I'm supposed to be taking a break. In reality, I have:

- Gone to Disneyland.
- Gone to Hornby Island.

- Gone into my office to study for my Patent Agent Exam
- Gone to Hornby Island again
- Gone to Vancouver
- Gone to Hornby Island again, again.
- Gone into my office again to continue to study for my Patent Agent Exam.
- Gone to Toronto
- Gone into my office again to (again) continue to study for my Patent Agent Exam.

Seems like a short list, but in all the 8 months I don't ever recall having more than a few days in the past few months to just lounge around. It seemed like the amount of case law I memorized was inversely proportional to my days off....

On my Hornby Island vacation, I took the time to build a small shed.  By "small" I mean big enough to be a "man-cave" (as my neighbor calls it), and by "shed" I mean, well, I'm not sure what I mean. What I don't mean is a shed to store stuff for the kids, or the wife, or basically anything but tools and a Foosball table.



(And my thanks to Doug for helping get the roof up + ensuring I had a good staple gun to get the shingles on!)

Now that I am back in town, I'll aim for some regular blog updates... I hope. Lots of changes in life, but seemingly no time to contemplate or write about them online.....

New Beginnings

Well, I resigned from my job last week.

"It's like Halley is the Godfather Part Two. That was an incredible movie, might be better than the original, all right? But no matter how much you love The Godfather Part Two, you still have to see the original to understand and appreciate the sequel"

- John Cusak's character, Jonathan Trager, in the movie Serendipity

I started 14 years ago as employee #201 in a small Victoria based technology company, and I leave as employee #125,000 (give or take a few) of a global fortune 500 company.

Along the way I have had more experiences than I ever imagined I would have when I started. I have traveled the world multiple times over, traversing England, France, India, Indonesia and selected cities (both good and bad!) across the USA and Canada. I had to figure out how to prepare for presentations from scratch while on 12 hour airplane rides in coach, do conference calls at 2am on a windy country road in the back of tuk-tuk's, and more importantly, how to pack for a 2 week business trip with only 1 carry-on suitcase. Sorting my "travel suitcase" this week gave me currency in about 7 varieties, and almost enough to stock a game of monopoly for the kids.

I met a lot of great people all over the world, and wouldn't trade the past 14 years for anything. LP-ette and the kids, on the other hand, are looking forward to me being home and taking a family vacation that does not involve me being on blackberries, apples or any other sort of technical fruit.

So what next, you ask?

Last September I signed up to write some legal exams in 9 weeks, which will consume all of my time, so my first order of business next week is to pack my truck (and dog!) and head away for a studying sabbatical on Hornby Island. I am looking forward to the cold and wet, my body warmed by statutes, regulations and applicable Supreme Court of Canada case law.

After that, who knows, but I am sure my Godfather Part Two will be more of an adventure than Godfather Part One.

The beginnings of a mycophile

We were able to get away for the long weekend back to Hornby, a brief rest from the frantic pace of smart phones and home renovations.

The arrival was marked with a change in the weather, a thick black line moving across the horizon which departed the same time as our ferry, bringing 3 foot swells along with it. By late evening the clouds had blown off and revealed a waning gibbous moon, illuminating the field for Riley to fetch his toys in. Unfortunately the cold proved to be too much so we retreated inside to read by the heaters.

Saturday kept the wind and waves from the north but also brought clear sky and a hike around Helliwell. Wet and damp weather revealed 6 different types of mushrooms, a curiosity for Haley who is used to seeing them just in the store. I don't know much about mushrooms, but I looked up a particularly bulbous red and white spotted mushroom - an Amanita Muscaria - and found it is deadly if eaten. Who know such death was innocently living on a well worn walking path? Perhaps this is my year to get a mushroom book and turn into a mycophile.

By Sunday the storm had moved to a South-Easterly, so an excursion to do some storm-watching on big Tribune was on our list to do. Last winter the storms brought in a massive piece of driftwood, and the past few months have added a layer of algae which glowed greed against the white spray of the surf. In the calmer sections of the bay the cold water also brought a crystal clear blue water, giving us a view into the depths we don't normally have in the summer.


This was the last trip I remember where we forgot our camera, which was unfortunate given some of the unique sights we saw: Smurf-like mushrooms, clear ocean views and red-sky sunsets.

I'm not sure when our next break will be. December brings a rest for the holidays, and hopefully time to finish the hatch on the kayak. It also brings 3 more trips: India, England and Toronto, all packed into 11 days. I do have a day off in India this trip as I arrive over a weekend, so we'll see what excursions I can get up to.

Been away on vacation....

After 5 weeks of vacation (with only about 2 weeks of work spread in there, around spotty internet connections) I am finally back in the land of high speed internet, actual stoplights, and Starbucks stores on every corner.

Why no posts for a month? Check out this "130 seconds of Hornby" by Grant Baldwin and you'll see why I was too busy to write, at least write on the computer that is.

130 Seconds of Hornby Island B.C from Grant Baldwin Videography on Vimeo.

Pictures of my summer and associated postings coming soon, after I dig out of my laundry pile.

Little J joins the Volunteer Fire Department

Little J hanging out in one of the HIFD trucks. Thanks to Doug for giving us a tour! He was secretly looking for how to turn on the lights when he thought nobody was looking....



When we got back LP-ette asked me if I would join the rank of volunteer fireman if we moved up here. I think that his her way of placating me for when I wanted to go to back to medical school but was told "not during this marriage you're not", or something similar to that.

BBQ some Artesian Bread!

With the summer approaching, I am looking to see how I can move my no-kneed artesian bread baking from the oven to the BBQ. I find our gas oven in the trailer is temperamental with temperature (say that five times fast), and since we spend most of the summer BBQing wanted to use my Opposable Mind to solve the solution. Surprisingly with the long tail of the internet, there is little on BBQing bread, so I did some test this week.

In attempting to simulate the oven, I opted to bake the loaf on a cast iron pan (due to the high heat) and a smaller skillet for putting water in for steam generation:



To get the artesian crust, and airy crumb, you need two things: Steam and high heat for a quick initial rise. For no-knead bread the steam is usually created by cooking the bread in a dutch oven, but I was aiming to avoid putting LP-ette's expensive dutch oven on the BBQ so had to improvise.

Here was my final result:


And a nice open crumb:


The bottom did scorch a little so I think I need to put either a baking stone under the cast iron pan, or a firebrick to stop the direct heat. On the flip side, I did get the crust I have been working to replicate from the Tartine Bakery in San Fransisco with the constant addition steam inside the BBQ.

Overall, not nearly as good for what I was baking at home, but for my first try on the BBQ it was pretty successful. The kids liked the bread, and the baguettes were gone within a few hours.

I will be in NYC next month, so am planning a culinary trip to Jim Lahey's Sullvian Street Bakery...

Hammock's r' Us

I spend my long weekend balancing the trifecta of being sick, snoozing in ferry line-ups, and entertaining at least to of: a dog, a 6 year old, and a 4 year old.

I did, however, bring something in my weekend arsenal which would balance these needs perfectly.

A Hammock. BUT not any hammock, a double hammock...... and with this double hammock spread between 2 trees in the shade, I spent the better part of the weekend trying to sleep off a cold that had been plaguing me for about 10 days now. I highly (and I mean highly) recommend the family size hammock from The Hang Out Place on Granville Island. As I dozed in and out, all I could think of was "This is what summer is all about."

The picture is from when I was at the Hang Out Store with LP-ette, testing out the Hammocks. It gives you a representation of what I was doing on Hornby, only I wouldn't let anyone in with me lest to spoil the tranquility. I will admit upon discovering the room I had to sprawl, I dutifully wiped out my Blackberry to update my Facebook Status: LP is testing the "Hang Out Place" queen size hammock, and is currently suspended between 2 trees... Man this thing has girth!

With a few naps out of the way I was strong enough to get out for a good paced ride up Mt. Geoffery, if you consider a "good pace" as riding behind Little J, age 6. He kept asking me to take me where I go riding, so we rode up to the green trails and did some gentle - yet undulating - out and backs. He had a great time, and upon the return back home I collapsed again in the hammock, and snoozed until the next requisite game of "hit something over the volleyball net".

Here are the statistics from my 3 day weekend:
4 naps
2 beach excursions
2 hours of riding
6 Tylenol for Cold
umpteen giggles from the kids...

3 Months in 3 Pictures

Holy Crap - 3 months and no posting. If you only knew how busy I was, you'd cut me some slack....

March: A month of trying to get up to Hornby (3 failed "I'm packing the truck!") I finally got up to get the water tank installed on Hornby.

This sign is what March seemed to feel like...




April: I basically spent most of April travelling for work, or sequestered to a small windowless room doing 8 hour Innovation Sessions with a group of 10 people. Nashville. Toronto. Rajpur. Vancouver. And not one bike ride the whole month...

It felt like the whole month I only got outside once, but barely refrained from leaping off the cliff:

This was taken at the Savage Gulf in Tennessee.

Fortunately I did manage a stop-in to the big T.O. to visit some Vodka Bars and French Restaurants. I have never had such an inkling for some petite castor in my life... (ahem, yes it is a restaurant)

I also found out I was a marshmallow, as compared to a piece of fruit. Go figure.


May: I traded my rental car back in for my truck and a mattock, and got a water line trenched from the tank to my trailer. That's Dave, my F.I.L., who also taught sailing on the island last year. I think this year he realized if he wanted a shower in the trailer if he came up again, he was going to have to help get some water plumbed in.





All that is left is a little 12V wiring to my pump then putting in a filter and I should be able to pump water from the tank into the trailer. I can't wait to have my first 2500 gallon shower this summer.


Later... LP.

No Logo

A few weeks back I was up on Hornby for a few days. I managed to get away on my own, just with some tools to do some work and my mountain bike to get some riding. It was a true accession into my man-cave, complete with a mountain bike, some beer and some 'haut de gamme' steaks from the butcher. Almost blowing up the BBQ tank would have completed the rite of passage, but I narrowly avoided that (and I stress the word narrowly).

The thing I love about Hornby Island is the two ferry commute. The first ferry, Buckley Bay to Denman Island, is about a 2km crossing which takes 10 minutes. Another 10 minute drive and you need to sit and wait for another ferry to go over to Hornby. All completed it is a 20km commute that takes almost an hour between waiting for ferries and, well, waiting for more ferries. It really is the 2nd ferry that forces one to slow down. I recall last summer I had to go from being on Hornby time, which involved meandering down the twisted and bumpy roads to my beach destination, to the next day driving back home and flying out to Nashville for a week, which left me on a 4 lane highway (one direction) doing 120kph in the slow lane. When I got back to the hotel I was longing for the 2nd Ferry of Nashville, but none were to be found. Being surrounded by Country music at every bar on the main strip didn't help either.

As I sat in the zone of "the 2nd ferry wait" I looked across the straight at the trees that were turning a shade of golden yellow. Fall was here, and the colors of nature were starting to diverge from their green summer shades. As I looked at the trees, my eyes were drawn to the items I had packed for my trip. It was a contrast in nature vs. man because just within my view inside my truck I could see how advertising has really taken over everything we touch: I drive a Nissan, drink Sleemans and Coke, and eat PowerGels when riding my Kona bike in preparation for Ironman, or reading many a Random House books. I work for Schneider Electric on my Dell laptop, while listening to my Apple iPod. And I am a frequent traveller of BC Ferries.



During my 4 day excursion I got out for a ride up Mt. Geoffery with Doug for an hour or two (thanks Doug!). Having not hit any trails on my mountain bike for a few years I started slow. The trails were soft and smooth and the scenery at the top of the Ridge gave a great view of Denman Island, and beyond that Vancouver Island. At the top of the Ridge trail I took this picture.

Later that afternoon I headed to the beach, and managed these few shots of nature. It was cold, but incredibly clear and sunny.



It was a striking contrast to my view on the first ferry ride of my trip. In one view I only had to look in my immediate personal area to define what I was doing. On the other view I managed to go 3 days without seeing anything commercial. I was defined by my environment, not the other way around. Ironic that this thought happened at the commercial time of Christmas. What that really means is that it's too bad for anyone on my Christmas list that was hoping for something commercial from me.

40 days to a Marathon

After another week on Hornby Island, this time with all my inlaws camping on our property, I have multiple posts ready to write. Future topics include:

"How my inlaws put the fun back in dysfunctional"

"How my friend's piece of frozen assturd got me out of spooning with my wife"

"How I got a woodie when making smores"

and my favorite:

"How we put the letter g back into camping"

But before that I have decided to throw the gauntlet down. Apart from a few sporadic 20k jaunts, I haven't really run for the past three years as I've been too tired. Yes, you read that right. I have been tired. For three frickin' years. I go for a run, and come home and need to sleep. I go ride, and come home and need to sleep. I go to work,and come home and need to sleep. Heck, some days I wake up from a sleep and need to go for a nap. This past month I came to the conclusion that, well, fuck it. If I am going to be tired I may as well be tired while actually training for something I can pull off. Something simple like training for a marathon in 40 days.

LP-ette told me tonight I was crazy. Actually, there was a verb in front of the word crazy (or is it a noun or an action verb?). I kind of agree, but then again I did an Ironman on a drunken bet, so there has to be some crazy in me somewhere. Here is my thory: I estimate in 40 days I can work about 6 to 8 shorter tempo runs, and 4 longer runs in. A few 20k's, a 25k and a 30k. If I can do that I am going for it.

So last week I ramped up with a 5k run, then a 12k around Helliwell Park. As I wound around the parks cliffside trails, enjoying the solo view, I was sold. Mind over matter, for 5 hours tops was all I could think. The next day I even managed a cross training 2 hour mountain bike ride. Who knew I would go to the dark side of biking to train in my 40 day window!

My motto will be "as long as the body holds up, I'll do it."



And if I finish, I can finally give that big black SUV the one fingered salute!

And for all the loving support I got along the way? I'll get my wife this shirt:


... and then I will probably go for a nap...

Check back for updates!

Those M&M’s have girth

Droopage. Girth. Tonight has been an evening of exploration.

“I have discovered the most amazing thing!” she exclaimed, eager to share her new discovery.

“As you know, we ran out of chocolate for our Smores, but…”. She hung onto her last words, looking us both in the eyes to ensure we were listening with rapt attention. “But… if you stuff the marshmallows with M&M’s and then roast them, you end up with a M&M infused Smore! Brilliant!”
Sandritia, having surprised us for a quick visit to Hornby Island on our holiday, was enjoying an evening campfire. Judging by her excitement, it had been awhile since her last campfire.

“What do you think!” she beamed. Like a new parent, she was looking for the accepting words that her newly created child was beautiful. And like the socially inept engineer-male I am, I decided to take this opportunity to tell it like it was. I looked over at her new creation of four marshmallows impaled on a stick, and studded with green and orange M&M’s, and simply answered “It has some good girth… “

Right behind me Logical Philosophette chimed in with a giggle, “…and droopage!”

Even through the glow of the fire embers, we could see both shock and disgust cross her face. “How can you have ‘girth’ and ‘droopage’ in the same sentence, describing the same thing at the same time? I mean, that’s just plain wrong.” She started shaking, the tip of the marshmallow stick exaggerating her movements. Hmm, nice fourier transformation of her movements to the tip of the stick I thought.

“Well technically it is both.” I stressed. “I am an engineer – don’t tell me what properties cannot co-exist. I mean, you rammed four marshmallows on the stick to roast, embedded another thirty or fourth M&M’s. I mean, once heated up gravity had to do something with all that weight.”

I was quickly rebuffed by the brilliant legal mind of Sandritia: “Girth brings visions of vigor. Droopage brings the reality of…well, reality. They can’t mix! It would be like Fabio hanging with the Golden Girls. Technically possible, but unimaginable!” she exclaimed, punctuating her words with her red hot marshmallow stick. It was, in her dictation style, technically a great use of a prop for her argument, but unimaginably inappropriate if she had meant to keep the seriousness of her appeal going.

And at that exact moment, gravity took hold and crossed the rubicon: The weight of the M&M’s pulled the warm marshmallow off the stick, the entire mass congealing onto the sandstone rocks surrounding the firepit. In an instant her prized delicacy had moved from Girth + Droopage, to Globular + Globular.

“Touché Counselor. Had you had one property of either Girth OR Droopage, you would still have a full stick. Now your stick is stuck with, well, I believe the scientific property you are looking for is ‘Globular’”

All I can say is thank goodness it was dark out as it allowed me to see and dodge the red hot stick being thrust in my direction.

My Blogging Mojo is Back...

I was up at the crack of dawn today - my bag packed for a quick hike around Helliwell Park. Arriving at the point, I sat. I contemplated. I sat some more. Even at the hour of 7am about 30 people jogged by my place of contemplation. All I could think of was "man, fit people get up early."

I got back home and pulled out my blog notebook. It had been well worn until this spring, and needed put away until it called.

I think I found my blogging mojo.

See you in a few days.

LP.

Hornby Island here we come!

After 10+ years of saving,
3+ years of searching,
2+ years of setbacks...

It is finally official, we found exactly what we were looking for, and the deal is ready to be closed!

Wanted

Minimum ½ acre island property

ferry boat accessible

walking distance (with 2 kids) to a public, sandy beach

Sandstone bluffs to walk on a plus

It was serendipitous, as we actually were up looking at different properties when this one, which had been taken off the market, was suggested by the realtor as a private sale. Within the day of us getting back from our 1 day adventure turned into a 3 day tour, the offer was in and we were on our way to testing the structural integrity of the outhouse, and making sure the well was not full of iron supplements for the kids.

While the only structure on the lot is an outhouse, we have our work cut out for us, but I'm hoping I have a lifetime to get the list done that Logical Philosoph-ette has started to draw up for me.

This is the view from the Galleon Beach across the road:




And from Grassy Point, a 5 minute walk:



And there is even a bike shop! Maybe this summer I will pull my Kona back out and turn back from being a roadie to the dark side of mountain biking.



Many thanks to Donna at Coast Realty for helping make it happen.

This summer is so going to rock.

New Year, Logical Philosopher Style

Logical Philosoph-ette and I were discussing plans for the 2008 new year and here's what we came up with:

Hang out and camp on our own private piece of West Coast paradise.

Have no family deaths, or unexpected pregnancies (sorry no link, she wouldn't let me blog about it!)

Do some cool schizzle at work.

As long as I spend a significant portion of time on the first or third point, the year will be considered a success.

What's your plans? I will be looking for some guest posters, so let me know if that is in your plans for the year. I would be happy to accomidate.

One down, two to go!

While the snowstorm subsided (and turned to flooding) I still am busy working out the details and subject-to's of a potential property purchase.

On the property front things have been going well, considering I am trying to coordinate the water, septic and other tests while I am 200km's away.

I have also spent the past 2 weeks dealing with the police and lawyer for my tenant, trying to negotiate getting her stuff moved out so I can re-rent the condo and not go through the courts to get her tossed out. While I do work with corporate lawyers most of the week in my job and have little problems with the profession, the criminal one I have been dealing with definitely wins the most "unhelpful lawyer of the year" award. Here's how our conversation(s) went**:

"So can you inquire with your client about arranging removal of her items?"

"I'm sorry, I can't comment on that."

"You can't comment, or don't know, or do know and won't say?"

"I'm sorry, I can't comment on that either."

"So what you're saying is you don't know."

"I can't comment on that either. You'll have to do what you have to do."

"So you are saying I should go and get an Order of Possession and take your client's stuff?"

"I can't comment on that either."

THEN on Friday afternoon I get a voicemail from the lawyer.

"I talked with my client and you have permission to move her items into storage."

No mention of how to move it.
No mention of where to move it.
No mention of who is paying for it.
No mention of how long I have to store it.

If I did call to inquire about the above, I am sure her reply would include the phrase "no comment."

I hope the property sale goes through because I will need a vacation from the tenant fiasco when this month is over. Next week will be the make or break for both points. Wish me luck.


**Disclaimer: Since I am quoting a lawyer who sounded like she would sue me at the drop of the hat, please not I am paraphrasing, and the conversation may not have gone exactly as quoted. There may, in fact, been one or two more "I can't comment on that" than I recall.

CCC 334(b)

In the past 2 weeks I have:

Been stuck in a snowstorm for 3 days - with two small children and only 1 days worth of clean clothes and diapers.

Travelled to a small gulf island to put an offer for sale on a property.

Drawn up an eviction notice for one of our tenants, whose cheques are bouncing and I just discovered was arrested for theft.

Now you know why I haven't been blogging...