Confession: I had trouble spelling triathlon a few months back. Now, I’ve completed three triathlon events, improved my time, and internalized the proper spelling!

I just finished completeing an Olympic distance at the Coral Springs triathlon (1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run). I am pleased with my effort at this event. My time was 2:34:08! Plus, in the men’s 20-29 age group I came in third overall (age group resutls here). Furthermore, I hacked over 15 minutes from my previous Olympic time (2:49:20). Not too bad (my goal was to improve by 10 minutes).
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Rogers has backpeddled on its iPhone pricing following the public reaction to its ridiculously overpriced rates. Meanwhile, Telus and Bell announce that they will soon charge their clients for incoming text messages! Welcome to Canada, a mobility wasteland.

This cash grab angers me for a number of reasons. Not only does it hamper the use, adoption, and development of an effective technology, but this plan shows no respect for customers. The sender of the text has already paid for the service, like a letter sent through Canada Post—the sender pays, the receivers the letter. How can Telus and Bell justify having both sender and reciever pay for the same message?
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This weekend I participated in the Foothills Charity Triathlon, which took place in Okotoks.

I feel great about how I did—eighth out of fifty-five males. I completed a 500m swim, 20km ride, and 5km run in 1:07:23! Of course, this race didn’t have a lot of elite racers (next week’s Coral Springs race will), but my time was still respectable. I really tanked out on the bike ride (16 out of 55) and I’m not sure why. I think I might have injured myself about a month back, because I’ve been feeling slow on my bicycle in general lately. I should probably ice the area in question and refrain from riding.

If you’re interested, you can see results at this webpage.

Dalmatians
“Hey, look, the truck’s stopping.”
“Did they take us to the park this time?”
“No—it’s a fire. Another horrible fire.”
“What the hell is wrong with these people?”

(copied from Simon Rich’s stories in the June 30, 2008 issue of The New Yorker. Free-Range Chickens is also quite funny).

My consciousness and appreciation of life seems to move in cycles. I’ll go present, for some few months, to my short days here on earth, enjoying life, love, and friendship . . . And then comes the walking slumber.

Do you know it? Somehow I cycle back into a form of automated perception and I start routining my way through the to-dos of life. I regularly have pull myself away from coasting through existence and instead opt to choose life. Recapitulate to consciousness, I might say (is this/should this be the reason people seek religion?).
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A note: I will undertake my second and third triathlons in July! The first occurs on July 5. The Foothills Charity triathlon is a short sprint (500m swim, 20km bike, 5km run) in Okotoks to raise foster care money for Ethiopian street kids. I’ve convinced a friend to do it with me, so last night I trained with him. Of course, training with a national level water polo player was very challenging, but I am proud to report that I didn’t throw up . . . not even a little!
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One of the blogs I follow just changed. This is not about that.

This post regards another blog I follow: Worldchanging.com. WorldChanging is about good stuff in general, however it has a large focus on environmentalism. Although many Calgarians may see their recent action as bold and impetuous, I find it basic and refreshing.
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This weekend, I participated in the Arbour Lake Triathlon; my first Olympic distance triathlon (I did a Kids of Steel tri when I was 12 or 13). I completed the 1.5 km swim, 40 km bike, and 10 km run in 2:49:20. Arbour Lake has a reputation for being a more difficult course because it is very hilly. I faired well on the swim and bike, but the hill running was tough—I had to walk a few. Overall, I place 9 out 15 in the 20-29 age group, which is a pretty high energy group! In the men under 40 group I placed 24 out of 52. Overall, a respectable standing for my first time.

Here’s some things I learned from my first triathlon: (more…)

Yes. Navigenics is real. This is really happening (aside: can’t help but mention I’ll see Radiohead in Vancouver in August!).

So. Navigenics is a company that will look at your DNA and then tell you what health risks you uniquely have: 95% chance of colon cancer, 60% chance of Alzheimer’s, 5% chance of erectile dysfunction, etc. The company markets itself as an informational tool that you can use to better protect yourself (and, by extension, your family). With information about your health outlook, you can start taking measures now to counter those predispositions.

Right now, Navigenics works by probabilities, however in the future (perhaps even now) they will be able to indefinitely say “You will suffer from X by this age.” Pretty cool. Pretty scary. Also, they are adding more disease everyday. So you’ll get better visibility into how much you could suffer in the future. Then, you’ll have the pre-suffering opportunity to try to do something about it before it happens! However, I ultimately side with Navigenics. Ignorance is not bliss. It is simply ignorance.

I’m sure the founders of Navigenics are geeks, therefore I believe they have seen Gattaca—a movie which shows a future where people’s DNA is the primary way they are judged for relationships and employment. Although Navigenics works hard to present their product as benign and useful, they are challenged by some valid concerns from a society who hasn’t yet become accustom to what is possible with science. It might be a few years before they really start being thought of as normal.

I would be glad to have private and personal insight into my own DNA. The frightening element of this would be if that same information fell into the hands of my insurance company, my employer, or some sort of tyrannical government. I can just imagine someone losing a potential promotion or health coverage because his or her disease risks are too high.

If you have a chance, visit the Navigenics site and see how they communicate their potentially frightening product in a positive way. Those writers and marketers deserve a hand. Lastly, a reason I like Navigenics is that their service is affordable, about $2500 USD for your initial testing and then $250/year for updates, etc. It isn’t dirt cheap, but it is something most people I know could afford, if they thought it was that important.

So, does Navigenics scare you? Would you do it? Let me know.

On March 16th, 2008, Ian Robinson published an article in the Calgary Sun entitled Poet Proposal Lacks Rhyme or Reason, which argues that Calgary should spend tax dollars on practical improvements and maintenance of the city, rather than on a civic poet.

Robinson’s article gives me some degree of amusement, simply because he plays into (and plays up!) stereotypes of the Calgarian male: straight, virile, opinionated, proud, simple, and recalcitrant. I suspect he’s sipping a beer, pleased to know his work has irritated anyone left of far-right! However, he might need something stiffer. His article uncovers a personal desperation for a civic poet who will inspire his imagination.

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