Greetings loyal minions! How are we all doing on this fine week before the holidays? I'm getting myself ready for a long weekend of studying (more on that in a future episode) and relaxing in front of my computer. It won't be until next week that I actually make it back home to celebrate with my family.
What I'd like to talk about this week came from a conversation I had with Dad just recently. He's interested in doing a camping trip in the Spring, and since he's considerably more on the ball than I am he's already thinking about getting some preliminary planning in place. You see, the issue that so frequently pops up with a trip to Killarney (which is what's were thinking of) is that they've placed a maximum time limit for how far ahead you can book a camp site. (I believe the time limit is 5 months, though I could be off by a month on that.) This makes it so that people can't book up sites years in advance, but what it also does is make a definitive date for when you MUST book a site if you're planning on heading to a popular lake at a popular time of year. Now, the said, we tend to enjoy camping slightly outside of the main camping season just to enjoy a bit more peace and quiet, but that doesn't mean that we can relax on booking a lake. This means that if we have a specific plan in mind to be camping in May we should actually be reserving our preferred lake sometime next month. You see now how organized you have to be in order to get a successful camping trip to Killarney in order; if you're not thinking about things well in advance it's possible your camping trip will fail at the reservation phase.
So yes, even though we're currently experiencing the kind of weather that makes me want to be anywhere BUT a tent, it's time to start considering the options. We had a really smooth run for our Fall trip in September, with a single, medium length portage that went incredibly smoothly thanks to some good packing and organization. I think this has emboldened Dad to try for something a little deeper into the park. As with all things natural the harder it is to get to a lake in Killarney the better it's likely to be. The other suggestion I made was something that we've been discussing for a couple years now as a backup plan in case we weren't able to get our first choice of lakes, but have never ended up doing - going for one of the camp sites in the channel between the mainland and Philip Edward Island in the Georgian Bay. I've always thought that sounded like a neat trip, but we keep coming back to the fact that we enjoy camping in Spring and Fall when rough weather are genuine concerns, and if ever some nasty weather was to roll into the area it's likely to come in off the Bay, which means those sites would likely be the hardest hit. It's a possibility that's always relegated those sites to Plan B or even Plan C.
Whatever the case may be, we already starting the preliminary planning for a trip sometime in May. Anyone with some input on this proposed trip, or an interest in attending should probably speak up sometime soon since I'm sure the discussions will begin in earnest when I'm home for New Year's Eve. Also, keeping in mind the lengthy advanced booking requirements, if anyone would like to do a summer trip to Killarney it might not be a bad idea to start getting the ball rolling sooner rather than later.
For now I think I'll stick to my nice, warm house away from the wind and snow. Still, it can never hurt to think about these things. I hope that you're all cosy and warm wherever you happen to be right now, and getting ready to enjoy the holidays. This will be the last post before Christmas, so I wish you all a very merry Christmas. I will talk to you again next Tuesday for the final post of 2010! How exciting! Until then be well, eat lots of good holiday foods, and enjoy the company of friends and family as much as you possibly can. See you next week!
Tuesday 21 December 2010
Wednesday 15 December 2010
Back In Action
Okay, looks like I've got my computer back in a more stable working condition. I had a video card go on me, but it looks like I was concurrently experiencing issues with some RAM I'd recently installed, which were much harder to diagnose. Anyway, my screen has stopped randomly flickering, and my computer hasn't recently rebooted for no apparent reason, so I think I'm okay... for now.
News reports are coming in that cleanup of the highways near Sarnia is underway. Glad to hear that everyone back home is doing okay. That was a bit of a shock to see "near Sarnia" come up in the headlines on my news RSS feed on Monday. Even more shocking to click the link and see a place that I recognized in the picture. It's not every day that I visit a news site and see the Godfather's Pizza in Petrolia.
Well, with all that excitement past, here's what I'd intended to talk about yesterday: motorcycles. Yes it's be a very motorcycley (yeah, I just made that word up) week for me here. Last Tuesday I went to an invitation-only launch event for the new CBR250 at Honda's brand-new facility just North of here. They were sending out invites to all the owners of the CBR125 to come see their latest offering in the sports bike space. As the name implies the CBR250 is a 250cc bike, and hence has twice the displacement of mine. This doesn't mean that it's twice as fast though. In fact, most 250cc bikes are still classed as entry-level machines, and the 250 probably wouldn't be a significant enough step up for me. Still, it was really cool to get a tour around their state-of-the-art facility and see the new bike. I was even first in line to sit on the demo model they brought out. Given that this bike is new to the North American market and they only received it the day before the launch event I'm pretty sure that makes me one of the first people in Canada to sit on a CBR250. Now if only they'd left the keys in the ignition...
This event was followed up by the motorcycle show on Saturday at the convention centre. That was a lot of fun! There are just tons of bikes sitting out that you can throw a leg over. It's great to actually sit on the bikes and see how they feel. It was a bit discouraging though, as I've been really set back in my hunt for my next bike. I had a handful of candidates that, on paper, looked like excellent bikes for me to move up to. The number one contender was the Kawasaki Versys, and so it was the first bike that I sought out when I got to the show. I hopped on the bike and immediately felt the comfortable, up-right seating position, and relaxing ergonomics. I also felt a big empty space beneath my feet since I couldn't touch the ground. Almost every bike that I was interested in yielded the same results. I wanted a lower powered sport touring machine, something with around 600cc but a comfortable riding position, and it turns out that these tend to be taller machines... too tall for me. Mind you, I could usually touch the ground with my toes, so theoretically I could still ride the bike, I'd just have to put a slight lean on it at stop lights. Problem is that I'm just not comfortable with that. When I come to a stop I want the bike upright and completely under my power. If I have to lean over and can only get one foot on the ground I'm just not going to be in a happy place... especially if there's something loose or slippery on the ground below me.
So, it was very much back to the drawing board for me in terms of figuring out where I go from here. The simple answer may be to enjoy another season on my current bike and see where that takes me. I had a seat on the Honda Shadow while I was there and found it to be immensely comfortable to sit on. In terms of sheer comfort the big cruiser might be exactly what I'm after. I'll have to take one out those and see how it handles. If it can't do a reasonable job of carving corners then I'm just not interested. Also, I'm not sure I want to grow the massive beer belly and equally massive beard necessary to be riding a cruiser.
Well, that's all I have to report this week. My search is, thus far, completely inconclusive, but since the riding season is still 5(ish) months away I think I'll be okay. Hope everyone back home is enjoying all that snow, and I hope everyone out West is enjoy not having any at all. Have a great week everyone.
News reports are coming in that cleanup of the highways near Sarnia is underway. Glad to hear that everyone back home is doing okay. That was a bit of a shock to see "near Sarnia" come up in the headlines on my news RSS feed on Monday. Even more shocking to click the link and see a place that I recognized in the picture. It's not every day that I visit a news site and see the Godfather's Pizza in Petrolia.
Well, with all that excitement past, here's what I'd intended to talk about yesterday: motorcycles. Yes it's be a very motorcycley (yeah, I just made that word up) week for me here. Last Tuesday I went to an invitation-only launch event for the new CBR250 at Honda's brand-new facility just North of here. They were sending out invites to all the owners of the CBR125 to come see their latest offering in the sports bike space. As the name implies the CBR250 is a 250cc bike, and hence has twice the displacement of mine. This doesn't mean that it's twice as fast though. In fact, most 250cc bikes are still classed as entry-level machines, and the 250 probably wouldn't be a significant enough step up for me. Still, it was really cool to get a tour around their state-of-the-art facility and see the new bike. I was even first in line to sit on the demo model they brought out. Given that this bike is new to the North American market and they only received it the day before the launch event I'm pretty sure that makes me one of the first people in Canada to sit on a CBR250. Now if only they'd left the keys in the ignition...
This event was followed up by the motorcycle show on Saturday at the convention centre. That was a lot of fun! There are just tons of bikes sitting out that you can throw a leg over. It's great to actually sit on the bikes and see how they feel. It was a bit discouraging though, as I've been really set back in my hunt for my next bike. I had a handful of candidates that, on paper, looked like excellent bikes for me to move up to. The number one contender was the Kawasaki Versys, and so it was the first bike that I sought out when I got to the show. I hopped on the bike and immediately felt the comfortable, up-right seating position, and relaxing ergonomics. I also felt a big empty space beneath my feet since I couldn't touch the ground. Almost every bike that I was interested in yielded the same results. I wanted a lower powered sport touring machine, something with around 600cc but a comfortable riding position, and it turns out that these tend to be taller machines... too tall for me. Mind you, I could usually touch the ground with my toes, so theoretically I could still ride the bike, I'd just have to put a slight lean on it at stop lights. Problem is that I'm just not comfortable with that. When I come to a stop I want the bike upright and completely under my power. If I have to lean over and can only get one foot on the ground I'm just not going to be in a happy place... especially if there's something loose or slippery on the ground below me.
So, it was very much back to the drawing board for me in terms of figuring out where I go from here. The simple answer may be to enjoy another season on my current bike and see where that takes me. I had a seat on the Honda Shadow while I was there and found it to be immensely comfortable to sit on. In terms of sheer comfort the big cruiser might be exactly what I'm after. I'll have to take one out those and see how it handles. If it can't do a reasonable job of carving corners then I'm just not interested. Also, I'm not sure I want to grow the massive beer belly and equally massive beard necessary to be riding a cruiser.
Well, that's all I have to report this week. My search is, thus far, completely inconclusive, but since the riding season is still 5(ish) months away I think I'll be okay. Hope everyone back home is enjoying all that snow, and I hope everyone out West is enjoy not having any at all. Have a great week everyone.
Tuesday 14 December 2010
Going To Be Late
I've been dealing with some serious computer hardware issues these past few days, and only just barely got my computer into a working state this morning. Sadly I don't have time to write a proper blog entry right now. Hopefully I'll have things running smoothly tonight and I'll be able to get a post up. If not I'll shoot for tomorrow morning.
Heard there's a big snowstorm happening back home, hope everyone is okay!
Talk to you all soon.
Heard there's a big snowstorm happening back home, hope everyone is okay!
Talk to you all soon.
Tuesday 7 December 2010
What NOT to do in Toronto
As I'm sure you're all painfully aware, I really like The Gourmet Food and Wine Expo... and have been known to go on and on about this fact. It stands out as a shining example of something incredibly fun to do in Toronto that only comes around once per year. Given my great affection for this event it's no great surprise that I was pretty excited to find out about a Tequila Show taking place at the Convention Centre a few weeks after my beloved Expo. Gray and I, ever your intrepid reporters, went in search of information and drunkenness last Friday. I am unhappy to report that the Tequila Show provided us with neither of those things.
I went in envisioning the Food and Wine Expo (which covers the entire main show hall in the South Building) only with a higher proof. We found ourselves instead in one of the side meeting rooms, a region not much larger than most people's back yard. A quick tour of the room revealed two private importers offering samples of unique tequilas, both of whom we'd visited at the Food and Wine Expo, and then a handful of booths being operated by the likes of Jose Cuervo, El Jimador, and Cazadores. In other words, it was almost entirely composed of drinks that we could have just hopped across the road and picked up at our local LCBO. I looked at my esteemed brother in dismay as he declared to me in a voice heavy with his customary rage "I have literally tried every single tequila in this room." Gray is not normally inclined toward hyperbole, and this was no exception; there wasn't a single beverage on display that he hadn't sampled either on his own time, or at the Food and Wine Expo.
It's now worth mentioning the matter of cost. The Food and Wine Expo cost something in the neighbourhood of $15 to attend. It is also awesome. The Tequila Show cost $45. It is not awesome. At all.
Take that inflated cost and under-delivered experience and add to it the fact that I woke up 3 hours early that day to ensure that I could get off work in time to make it downtown for the show, and I did not leave a happy camper. So that particular event is going to get a rating of "Not Recommended."
On a positive note, Gray and I went to Duggans for dinner before we went to the show and it was, as always, amazing. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Duggans is a brewpub that's serving up beers that they are crafting themselves on site alongside some really fantastic food. If you are in Toronto that restaurant gets a rating of "Highly Recommended."
Well, I'm off to work. I hope you are all having a lovely day, and I will check in again next Tuesday.
I went in envisioning the Food and Wine Expo (which covers the entire main show hall in the South Building) only with a higher proof. We found ourselves instead in one of the side meeting rooms, a region not much larger than most people's back yard. A quick tour of the room revealed two private importers offering samples of unique tequilas, both of whom we'd visited at the Food and Wine Expo, and then a handful of booths being operated by the likes of Jose Cuervo, El Jimador, and Cazadores. In other words, it was almost entirely composed of drinks that we could have just hopped across the road and picked up at our local LCBO. I looked at my esteemed brother in dismay as he declared to me in a voice heavy with his customary rage "I have literally tried every single tequila in this room." Gray is not normally inclined toward hyperbole, and this was no exception; there wasn't a single beverage on display that he hadn't sampled either on his own time, or at the Food and Wine Expo.
It's now worth mentioning the matter of cost. The Food and Wine Expo cost something in the neighbourhood of $15 to attend. It is also awesome. The Tequila Show cost $45. It is not awesome. At all.
Take that inflated cost and under-delivered experience and add to it the fact that I woke up 3 hours early that day to ensure that I could get off work in time to make it downtown for the show, and I did not leave a happy camper. So that particular event is going to get a rating of "Not Recommended."
On a positive note, Gray and I went to Duggans for dinner before we went to the show and it was, as always, amazing. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Duggans is a brewpub that's serving up beers that they are crafting themselves on site alongside some really fantastic food. If you are in Toronto that restaurant gets a rating of "Highly Recommended."
Well, I'm off to work. I hope you are all having a lovely day, and I will check in again next Tuesday.
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