Multiple Memorable Moments

The Toronto Marathon

2005-10-20T11:56:00.000-04:00

Logo

#788 - Qian

#488 - Mario

Qian and I dragged ourselves out of bed at 6am on a cold, rainy, and windy Sunday October morning in Toronto. A slice of toast, banana, and cup of black coffee later we bummed a ride on the Holiday Inn marathon bus to the start of the 11th Toronto Marathon.

We huddled together with 1,500 other marathoners in the lobbies of several obliging businesses within view of the starting line. Stretching while recounting past races and discussing the route we constantly eyed the skies and prayed for the rain to stop - which it did minutes before our 9am start.

The cars honked, spectators cheered, and volunteers served water while we made our way down the 42km (26 mile) route to the finish. 3 hours and 48 minutes later I crossed the finish line with Qian following at 4 hours 29 minutes. Personal best times for both of us on a challenging course in less than perfect conditions.

A couple of hours and a hot shower later we were proudly displaying our medals - a token of months of training that finally paid off.

Now, almost a week later, the agony of the last couple of miles are forgotten and we're already dreaming of even faster times next year in New York City.

Tiny Bubbles...

2005-10-17T17:21:00.000-04:00

Bubble Tea

Bubble Car

One of the great mysteries of life was finally revealed to me. Ever since I moved to Toronto a couple of weeks ago these Bubble Tea signs all over Chinatown piqued my interest, particularly since Qian didn't know what it was. So... after dim sum last Sunday we ventured into a corner store specializing in the fine product. It turns out to be nothing more than fruit flavored iced tea with tapioca pearls at the bottom that you can get to with a straw double the regular size. Apparently this started as a school yard vendor gimmick in China and really took off. Definitely worth trying.

While we're on the topic of bubbles... Qian and I happened to drive by this classic car show and this "bubble car" caught our attention. It's a 1955 BWM Isetta. Apparently this little cutie saved the German automaker from bankruptcy after WWII when most of its factories were destroyed. I still love my 4x4 though...

It's Apple Time!

2005-10-12T14:04:00.000-04:00

Tractor ride

Golden Delicious

Our harvest

October in Canada equates to a very full social calendar. Holiday wise there is Rosh Hashana (L’Shanah Tovah, Jeremy!), Thanksgiving, and Halloween that accounts for family gatherings and lots of food. I'm more excited about the final opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors without snow gear. This is the time for that fall marathon (Qian and I are doing Toronto this year), foliage expeditions, and of course, picking apples. We recently made a trip to Applewood Farm just outside the city and collected a year's worth of Golden Delicious. Now where did I put that apple pie recipe?

Trivia for the day: The best time to pick fruit in the northern hemisphere:

Ode to a Chicken Bouillon

2005-10-04T23:35:00.000-04:00

Dan's Graphic

New York based comedian and writer Dan Allen composed this poem and is publishing translations in several languages on his blog. I got sucked in and submitted a rendition in Afrikaans.

Trivia for the day: The Taalmonument (Afrikaans Language Monument) was erected in 1975 to honour the Afrikaans Language.

The Monument's design has specific meaning: Three linked columns symbolize the contribution of the Western world to Afrikaans, three rounded shapes represent the contribution of Africa, and a wall for the contribution of the Malaysian people. A fountain symbolizes new ideas and a pillar soaring 187 feet above the fountain represents the growth of the language.

The pillar is hollow, and light from above pours down it, illuminating the fountain. A second pillar represents the political development of South Africa and its close associations with the growth of Afrikaans.

The Appalachian Trail

2004-09-12T23:28:00.000-04:00

Appalachian Trail Blaze

Jeremy, Tim, and I got up early to do a day hike in the Kittatinny mountains along a 5.5 mile stretch (11 miles out and back) of the Appalachian Trail (see below). The New Jersey stretch of the A.T. is 74 miles long and I hope to see more of it in the near future ... and to lay my grubby little paws on another couple of Jeremy's home made trail mix - peanuts, raisins, and M&Ms (which is pretty much the American version of Smarties).  We made pretty good time and I managed to get back home in time to see Roger Federer destroy Lleyton Hewitt in the US Open.

Trivia for the day: The Appalachian Trail, called simply "the A.T." by those who hike on it frequently, is the premier recreational hiking trail in the United States. The route of the A.T. closely follows the ridge line of eastern America's Appalachian mountain chain for 2174.1 unbroken miles, beginning on the summit of Springer Mountain in northern Georgia and ending on the summit of Mount Katahdin in north central Maine. As it winds its way through the mountains, it passes through fourteen states, eight national forests, six national parks, and numerous state and local parks. About 99% of the route is on publicly owned lands, and no fee is charged nor is special permission needed to hike anywhere on the footpath itself.

Manhattan Halfmarathon

2004-08-29T23:16:00.000-04:00

Race T-Shirt

Got up at 4:30am to be on time for the 7am start of the Manhattan Halfmarathon. We had a good time. It was a bit humid, but the course is relatively flat and the scenery is beautiful. Jeremy, who now lives in Manhattan, provided some moral support and was richly rewarded with breakfast afterwards at Panorama Cafe (1640 2nd Ave @ 85th St). We then headed about 30 minutes north to visit my cousin Costa, his wife Barbara, and daughters Celine and Alix - recent arrivals from Switzerland.

Trivia for the day: 5 things you probably didn't know about Switzerland:

Beer is often cheaper and more readily available then soft drinks.
The Red Cross was started in 1864 by Henri Dunant from Geneva. The symbol of the red cross is based on a reversed Swiss flag.
The alphorn was devised by Swiss herdsmen to allow them to communicate across mountain valleys. The instrument was made of a hollowed pine trunk up to 4 metres (13 ft) in length.
Originally built in 1891, the Jet d'eau fountain in Geneva is the tallest fountain in Europe at 130 metres or 425 feet.
The legend of William Tell, Switzerland's best known folk hero, was based on Swiss defiance of the Holy Roman Empire in the 13th century and an overture was written by Wagner about the story.

The Windy City

2004-08-16T23:27:00.000-04:00

John Hancock Building

Got back from Chicago in the early hours of the morning after attending a conference on Business Rules last week. It was my first visit to the city and I have to say it's one of my favorites - clean, beautiful architecture, good food, shopping, parks, Lake Michigan, friendly people... the list goes on. Unfortunately it was a business trip and I didn't have too much time to do the tourist thing, but I've uploaded a couple of photos to Yahoo.

Trivia for the day: Five things you probably didn't know about Chicago:

The Chicago Public Library is the world's largest public library with a collection of more than 2 million books.
Lake Michigan is more than 10,300 years old and is 307 miles long and 118 across at its widest point.
There are various legends as to why Chicago became known as the 'Windy City,' but the most popular ascribes it to the fact that over the decades it has hosted so many presidential nominating conventions with all those politicians generating so much hot air.
Back in 1890, Chicago's Rand McNally Building was the tallest building in the world. Today, Chicago is home to three of the world's ten tallest: the Sears Tower, the Amoco Building, and the Hancock Center.
The Art Institute of Chicago holds the largest collection of Impressionist paintings outside the Louvre in Paris.

Day at the races

2004-08-08T23:59:00.000-04:00

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After an early morning 10-mile run we headed out to Montmouth Park, NJ for a day at the races with Jim, Robyn, their daughter Stephanie and her friend Hannah. The 37th running of the $1 Million Haskell is a huge family event with lots to see and do. Pony rides, sand castles, and, of course, horse racing. My one and only $3 bet for the day turned out to be a winner - Lion Heart led the pack the entire course to earn me $7.80 in winnings ;-)

Trivia for the day: Courtesy of Robyn from their recent trip to Mexico.
Most historians believe that Caesar salad honors restaurateur Caesar Cardini, who invented it in Tijuana, Mexico in 1924 on the Fourth of July weekend. It is said that on this busy weekend, Cardini was running low on food and he put together a salad for his guests from what was left over in the kitchen. The original salad was prepared at tableside.

Have I been away too long?

2004-08-06T23:57:00.000-04:00

Lioness in Addo Elephant Park

We managed to rack up more than 1,000 photos on our trip to South Africa earlier this year. It took forever but I finally managed to bring it down to the Yahoo limit of 300. I still have to scan the numerous ticket stubs, flyers, and other souvenirs, but for now they can remain tightly tucked away in the big bown envelope ;-)

Trivia for the day: 8 Things You Probably Didn't Know About South Africa

1. Every year the ringed plover flies more than 10,000km from Siberia to the Western Cape.

2. 24,000 plant species - nearly 10 percent of all the flowering plants on earth - are found here on 1 percent of its land area.

3. It is off Cape Point that the flying Dutchman, a phantom ship with tattered sails and a broken mast, is doomed to sail until the end of time - a legend which inspired Die Fliegende Hollander, an opera by Wagner.

4. In a museum at Hermanus' Old Harbour near Cape Town, you can hear the voices of whales broadcast from the deeps via an underwater microphone.

5. Though now considered a delicacy, crayfish were once so plentiful in Cape waters they were used as fodder for the inmates of the penal colony on Robben Island.

6. The little resort of Coffee Bay received its name when a large cargo of coffee beans was washed up at the mouth of the Nenga River after a shipwreck.

7. Huge cockroaches knows as 'Parktown prawns' are a familiar sight in Jo'burg gardens. The can grow up to 7.5 cm long.

8. The comical baobab trees which look like they've been planted upside down, can live up to 3,000-4,000 years.

Hurricane Alex

2004-08-04T22:27:00.000-04:00

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This satellite picture shows Hurricane Alex breezing past us with sustained winds of 105mph (170km/h). Apart from the rain you would never know this monster is just a couple of miles off the coast. One thing that always amazes me is the proliferation of natural diasters in the USA. In the 5 years since I've been here I've experienced a hurricane (West Palm Beach, Florida), tornado (Raleigh, North Carolina), earthquake (San Jose, California), and George Bush ;-)

Trivia for the day: A hurricane is a tropical storm with winds that blow in a large spiral around a relative calm center known as the "eye". The "eye" is generally 20 to 30 miles wide, and the storm may extend outward 400 miles. Hurricane winds in the Northern Hemisphere circulate in a counterclockwise motion around the hurricane's center or "eye," while hurricane winds in the Southern Hemisphere circulate clockwise (known as the Coriolis Effect). August and September are peak months during the hurricane season that lasts from June 1 through November 30.

Enter the photo albums...

2004-08-03T18:54:00.000-04:00

Qian on Sanibel Beach

Antoinette will most likely call this another "male" solution, but I took the easy way out and decided to create photo albums in Yahoo rather than building my own. We celebrated Qian's birthday last year in Sanibel Island off the coast of Florida and happened to take some photos that you can enjoy ;-)

Trivia for the day: You will notice some photos of strange-looking trees seemingly growing in the water and exhibiting "prop" roots growing from the branches and trunk. These are mangroves and they grow in tropical and subtropical tidelands throughout the world. They are able to thrive salt water inundation because of specialized rooting structures called pneumatophores that are adapted to supply air to the underground roots and can excrete salt. In Florida, mangroves include four tree species: red mangrove, black mangrove, white mangrove and buttonwood. Each mangrove species has a different level of salt tolerance, which in part determines its location in tidal zones.

Penguins are people too!

2004-08-02T20:37:00.000-04:00

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Today was just another Monday... Gone is the rain of yesterday. Temperatures were in the high 80s (30C). This little clip caught my eye in the newspaper this morning. Guess I'm still programmed to recognize "South Africa" sublimally. Great to hear from you Cobus. Have fun in Buenos Aires and remember to send photos!.

Trivia for the day: The Black-footed Penguin makes a loud donkey-like braying noise, earning them the nickname “Jackass penguin". (Guess we can call them democrats ;-) These are among the least studied penguins and little is known of their breeding habits. Their numbers have suffered serious reduction in the last three decades due to oil spills from tankers.

Chicken feet

2004-08-01T23:55:00.000-04:00

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Our perfect weather of yersterday turned into a severe thunderstorm and buckets of rain early this morning. Running was out of the question, so we kept ourselves busy with some reading and what not. I had a great chat session with Jacques and Wilma. They live in Dubai now - Jacques is security manager at the Jumeirah Beach hotel. My cousin, Costa, recently moved to New York City and we finally connected as well. I haven't spoken to him in close to 15 years, and it was very nice to catch up. Antoinette also made a cameo email appearance - good to hear from you! It cleared up in the afternoon and Qian and I did our LSD (long slow distance) - 12 miles today. The Manhattan halfmarathon is getting ever closer. We decided to have some traditional Chinese food for dinner - congee with Chinese doughnuts, preserved duck eggs, dried shredded pork, and some home-made chicken feet!

Trivia for the day: I had my first taste of chicken feet while having dim sum in a restaurant in Shenzhen - and have been hooked ever since. A little research revealed a surprising number of dishes ranging from soups and broths to some Caribbean dishes. It's even becoming popular in South Africa! It's cheap, high in protein, and tastes pretty good if well-prepared. Any takers? ;-)

Once in a blue moon

2004-07-31T23:58:00.000-04:00

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Today was by all accounts a typical Saturday. Did some bills, ran some errands, got some groceries, knocked around a couple of golf balls, and then had dinner with Jeremy at the Macaroni Grill. What makes today special is the fact that it is full moon - the 2nd full moon of July, also known as "blue moon". It's a perfect summer's evening outside and Qian and I took a late night walk through the park (snapping some pictures like the one on the left). Now it's time for bed - we have to get up early tomorrow to do a long run.

Trivia for the day: According to modern folklore, a Blue Moon is the second full moon in a calendar month. Usually months have only one full moon, but occasionally a second one sneaks in. Full moons are separated by 29 days, while most months are 30 or 31 days long; so it is possible to fit two full moons in a single month. This happens every two and a half years, on average. But are these 2nd full moons blue? Not really. The color reference can be attributed to sporadic volcano eruptions around the world. The key to a blue moon is having in the air lots of particles slightly wider than the wavelength of red light (0.7 micron)--and no other sizes present. This is rare, but volcanoes sometimes spit out such clouds. Documented sightings of blue moons date back to the eruption of Krakatoa (1883), El Chicon (1983), Mt. St. Helens (1980), and Pinatubo (1991).

The corner office with the view

2004-07-30T20:05:00.000-04:00

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I lucked out this time. This is a picture taken from my office on the 23rd floor of the Equity building in downtown Philadelphia. What a view! On a clear day I can see miles and miles of the Delaware river. This is my first project as an independent consultant having recently received my Green Card.I am engaged as a business analyst at Radian, a mortgage insurance and credit enhancement company. I'm primarily involved with rules-based pricing and product configuration.

Trivia for the day: Mortgage insurance – not to be confused with mortgage life insurance – is required by lenders in the United States (and possibly elsewhere, although not in South Africa as far as I know) to protect against a loan default by a borrower who makes a low down payment (less than 20% of the sale price). If the borrower defaults, i.e. neglects to pay the monthly mortgage payments, the mortgage insurer pays the lender its money and then seeks to recover from the borrower or forecloses on the property. The premium can be paid monthly or in one large payment. Mortgage life insurance, on the other hand, pays off the balance of your mortgage when you die. Fascinating isn't it? ;-)

Political Zoo

2004-07-29T23:24:00.000-04:00

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John Kerry just finished his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in Boston. This is probably the first year I'm really taking note of the election. 2000 was very dramatic with the whole Florida vote count disaster, but it was still too early in the game for me to be really interested. I've also become more aware of what's being said in public after having recently seen Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. JibJab has a very funny election parody. Click here to see some Bush bashing ads.

Trivia for the day: The now-famous Democratic donkey was first associated with Democrat Andrew Jackson's 1828 presidential campaign. His opponents called him a jackass (a donkey), and Jackson decided to use the image of the strong-willed animal on his campaign posters. Later, cartoonist Thomas Nast used the Democratic donkey in newspaper cartoons and made the symbol famous.