Slog

[swimming]

Finally got back to the pool. I skipped sprints today: warmed up with 100 free and 100 breast, followed by a 400 free workout, then cooled down with 100 free and 100 breast again.

Yeah, I didn't improve my total distance today, not by a long shot. I find the Nepean Sportsplex pool to be too warm in general, and it was especially so today. I have experienced worse--the feeling of perspiring in a swimming pool is a truly revolting sensation--but this was pretty bad, and I didn't want to go on.

Total distance: 0.8 km.

Flirting with the Devil

[tech]

I still have not found a good reason for me to call an end to my Sony boycott.

A couple of weeks ago, however, I discovered that I almost broke my boycott, unintentionally. Well, it's a technicality. I bought a used CD: "Raoul and the Kings of Spain," by Tears for Fears (great album, by the way), which is on the Epic label, which is owned by Sony BMG. Since it was a used CD, I don't think any of the money I paid went to Sony... right? I hope?

Well, that'll be my story anyway.

I am facing a more difficult time, however, because one of my favourite artists, Joe Satriani--who is also on the Epic label--is coming out with a new CD in two weeks; then I will really be tested on how much this boycott means to me. I might E-mail him and ask if there's any way to buy his album without giving any money to Epic/Sony BMG.

Hah.

To be fair, Sony has, in fact, made some conciliatory movements, but it's pretty close to the minimum recompense that I would expect under the circumstances. So, I'm still waiting... for... what? I'm not sure. I suppose, technically, I should spell out the exact conditions of my boycott; currently, I'm continuing on the basis of I'll-know-it-when-I-see-it.

I mean, it's not like the Sony executives are going to read my blog and react to any conditions that I lay down.

Adventures on Pig Island

[personal]

This is Pig Island - or at least, one corner thereof. If the crop of this photo looks a bit odd, it's because there were some unsightly trailers blocking my view on the left, and I cut them out. The island is only about twice as large as what is visible in this photo anyway. You can see the small brick wall that surrounds the cluster of trees that are the sole inhabitants of the island. The railing in the back is the other side of the Rideau Canal.

Way, way back, when I was a wee pup, they used to spray water all over these trees and make a kind of ice palace. The ice would form in a way that you could climb up on, and, to some extent, inside the structure.

I remember this fact because I can recall an occasion when I was here with my dad, and there were lots of kids playing in this ice palace. The other kids all seemed to be having fun, but I was staying back. I was always a shy kid, and my father probably wanted to help me get out of my shell, so he urged me to join the other kids. Actually, I don't have a clear memory of exactly what my dad said, and he might have joined me up in the ice palace, I'm not sure. You see, I was preoccupied with something else, and it wasn't social phobia.

This ice palace was not molded ice. It was, like I said, just water sprayed over some trees. As such, there were no flat horizontal surfaces. At any moment, it felt like I could slip. So you see, I was preoccupied with feelings of sheer stark terror.

There was my dad, encouraging me to play, and meanwhile, my mind was filled with images of me, slipping and smashing my head open on a giant icicle. It really was a stupidly dangerous playground. I don't know if it was intended to be a playground, but certainly, nobody was making any effort to keep kids off the frickin' deathtrap.

Ah, for the days before liability lawsuits, when father and son could spend quality time risking life and limb together.

We Are In Need

[politics]

Our world today is in need of peace, tolerance and brotherhood. The values of the Olympic games can deliver these to us. May the games be held in peace, in the true spirit of the Olympic Truce.

-- IOC president Jacques Rogge, Turin, 2006.

Harper's Honeymoon Period Stillborn

[politics]

In many ways it's quite breathtaking that the new Conservative government can become so embroiled in controversy before they have even taken their seats in the house.

The media is focusing a lot of attention on David Emerson, but I think the larger controversy should be Michael Fortier, who has been appointed to both the senate and the cabinet without having been elected.

BSG 2x03 - Fragged

[television]

I'm falling behind a bit with my mini-reviews... This is the episode that aired (in Canada of course) a week and a half ago.

Again, I found the portrayal of Crashdown to be rather simplistic. Conflicts are far less interesting when it's clear that one side is misguided or mistaken. Much more interesting when two competing choices seem equally valid, but stem from different philosophies. After all, it's not entirely crazy to say that the AA missile battery has to be taken out, regardless of the tactical situation, to ensure that the SAR mission won't be destroyed.

Six's assertion about Baltar "being a man now" is interesting. Six has always been pushing Baltar towards being more assertive, and taking more leadership roles. Seeing as how Baltar is just a little crazy, one possible direction I can see for his character is that he starts some kind of cult and becomes a messianic leader. I would love that. If Six is just a hallucination, then he definitely has some funny (and dangerous) ideas about leadership.

Tigh makes the mistake of letting the Quorum see Roslin, and Roslin demonstrates that, when you have religion on your side, you can wield a great deal of influence even from within a jail cell. I find that fascinating.

I love that this TV show can turn so many things upside down: the commander is in a coma, the president is in the brig, the colonel dissolves the civilian leadership and declares martial law.