steve's blog

Since I've got your attention on these matters, I think I'll also share another source of inspiration that I've unearthed. I was going to tack this onto the end of my last post, but decided that it was important enough to get it's very own post. This inspiration comes from an unlikely source. Well, maybe not unlikely, but undiscovered by me until just today. It came in the form of a news article shared to me today by Larry, an old co-worker of Jody's from her CREA days. This article was about a fellow by the name of Randy Pausch, who just died today from pancreatic cancer. He was a university prof with a very distinguished pedigree in the world of virtual reality. So just what is the source of inspiration from him? Well that would be his 1hr and 16min lecture that he delivered in September 2007, which was his 'Last Lecture'. Basically, profs at Carnegie Mellon are given the chance to reflect on their lives and give a lecture based on what they would say if it would be the last lecture they would ever be giving before dying. Well, in an odd twist, Randy was actually doing just that. He had already been handed his death sentence resulting from the cancer diagnosis, and had to come to grips with it.

Hello friends and well-wishers. You may be wondering what is happening with ActiveSteve, especially given that my last post was all about buying a video game system. Well, I'm here to assure you all that my athletic aspirations have not gone too far away. Granted, I'm not running these days, but I'm still cycling, and trying to get out paddling and swimming a bit. As well, I've taken up going to the gym again, so at least 3 times a week I'm doing weights and flexibility training. My theory for this is to stay sharp and toned, and keep all my little stabilizer muscles in good shape, so that once I ask my body to start performing again, it'll be ready to support me in that. As such, this post will fill you in on a tentative future plan that's been percolating. Now, I don't want to jinx things by spilling the beans too early, but this race requires commitment about a year in advance, both monetary and physically. I've already started training for it, and saving up for it. Next step will be booking flights. Curious yet? Well, read on and find out what I'm talking about. And the accompanying picture here? Well, that's just a screenshot from my training software showing a little mountain bike ride that I went on last weekend. You may note my high heart rate for most of the ride. It was a good push, and I felt great at the end.

Well, since many of you may also follow Kev's blog, you'd already be aware that he made the jump and actually stood in line to buy a new iPhone. Of course, he's already written up a post about that, and you can read it in all its glory, should you be inclined. I myself chose not to make that leap. I'll be holding off on either buying an iPhone or a BlackBerry until my employer opts to make it part of my everyday life. This may surprise some of you, and it was indeed a conscious decision and thought, but I just can't justify spending $1000+ a year on that kind of service. Why? Well, I've got lots of computers already. I have a couple iPods already. I have a cell phone, a work phone, and a home phone. I have several GPS devices (car, wrist, computer, handheld). Do I need to bring them all together just so that I can use them on a whim while walking or in the bus or car? Nope. I decided I don't. As exciting as the new tech may be, I think I still ascribe to the belief that dedicated units are better. Surely Kev will disagree, and I respect that, but I decided it isn't for me. However, that didn't stop me from jumping on a bandwagon just the same, and forking over the same amount of money. What did I get? Well, the XBOX 360 of course! When the price for the 20Gb model dropped to $299, I couldn't resist any longer. Read on for a little story about that if you'd care to.

Well, the whirlwind is finally over, and I have a chance to reflect a bit on another amazing year of music at the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest. This year, the 'fest ran from July 3rd to July 13th, 11 straight days of top-notch music from a myriad of different styles. It started getting pretty hard to keep the momentum going after 9 days, but I pushed on, like any die-hard would, and made it the duration. Sadly, as a result, I ended up with a pretty bad cold, so I was off sick for a few days this week, and haven't totally recovered yet, but I'm ready to put finger to keyboard for my loyal readers ;-) This year, Jody also brought her good camera to a lot of the shoes, and I took a few videos along the way. As a result, we've got a ton of pictures and videos for you to check out. To make it easiest, they've all been put into one big collection on Flickr. Have a look at some of those, then read on for a little bit about my experience.

Yes, I'm well aware that Canada Day was already two weeks ago, but what can I say? These are the lazy days of summer, and I'm quite sure you all have better things to do with your time than read blog posts from me at this time of year, am I right? After all, my mundane day to day activities really aren't that much to write about ;-) However, there are certainly a few things I can fill people in on, as well as just letting you all know what I've been up to. Gotta keep things fresh, wouldn't you say? So, in that spirit, I'll jog off a few paragraphs about what I've been up to up to Canada day, and hopefully fire off another post shortly about what's been going on since then. Of course, my website re-design is also a bit off the rails at the moment, but not to worry, I'll put something together at some point. Till then, why not check out our pictures from Canada Day, and then read on?

Hmmm, I was hemming and hawing over what title to use for this post, and it appears I have suffered from a lack of creativity on that front. Well, at least you know what this story will be all about, don't you? Yes, I humbly bring you a little story on how Alix and Matt got married, and a little about my involvement in the big day. As you might guess, I've got a soft spot in my heart for this marriage, as Alix and Matt are two of my very best friends in this crazy world, and we've seen each other through all sorts of crazy adventures. So while I could talk at great length about all those, I'm instead going to try to stay on point here, and just give you the facts, if that suits you all ;-). Before I launch into my full story however, you may wish to head over to Jody and I's Flickr site to check out all the pictures. You'll notice this time, we've put together an entire collection of photos, as one folder would have been just too big. We're also waiting on a few other pictures to dribble in from others that we plan to put up there as well. Once you're done browsing, click on back here and read the rest of the story.

Okay, so the title isn't really all that fair. In all honesty, I'm quite sure that when they get married later this week, it won't necessarily mean the end of the fun that Alix and Matt will be able to have. However, I'm sure there will be some difference once they have that hardware on their fingers, wouldn't you agree? Hee hee . In all honestly, I have no doubt that they will continue to have awesome adventures together, and will hopefully let us join them now and again for said fun. The latest little fun was a road trip that we decided to embark on this past Sunday to Vankleek Hill, and specifically to Beau's Brewery. Alix and Matt invited Jody and I, as well as Rob and Anna for the fun. One of the reasons was because Rob and Anna would unfortunately be unable to join us at the wedding, so we wanted them to be a part of some of the fun ;-) This seemingly innocent trip had a few surprises and didn't really happen the way Alix had intended it, so read on to find out more about that. You can also check out the pictures that Jody snapped along the way.

Yowza! Well, you knew it was just a matter of time before I bit the bullet and strapped on a race bib this summer, didn't you? There was just no way that I'd be able to idly sit by the entire season without at least one try at the glory of racing. This despite the fact that the last doctor I saw told me in no uncertain terms that he didn't only think I should be racing in triathlons, but that I shouldn't race period, as then I'm not 'focusing on getting better'. Bah! I had to try something, if not just for my own sanity. As such, I had registered only a week ago to take part in the Ottawa Riverkeeper Kayak Triathlon. However, after my latest doctor consult, I opted to switch to the SwimCycle event, which means no running at all (the Kayak Tri had a 5k run, which would have certainly kept me injured longer). This event would be a 1.5km swim, followed by a 40km bike, then a short sprint to the finish. My lovely race photographer was on site once again, and got some good shots of the day. Please feel free to check them out, and when you're done, come back here and read the rest of the story. I had my GPS on, but haven't made a custom map with the trail yet. I'm not sure it's necessary, but if I get around to it, I'll link it up here as well.