recursion

Welcome Spacing Readers!

2012-02-24T18:35:00.001-05:00

Hi folks. If you’re arriving here from this article in Spacing Wire quoting me, you might be wondering where to find the letter I wrote to Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon.

Here are the two relevant links for your reference:

Enjoy -- and do stick around if you like!

See also (other skate-related articles)...
• Is Skateboarding Illegal in Toronto?
• Speed! Thrills! Women! FUBU Skate Race Recap
• Aftermath - 2011 Toronto Board Meeting
• The rise of Patrick Switzer, Downhill Skateboarder
• Our first longboarding tragedy
• Grappling with another longboarding death

Past letters to government officials...
• A Pratfall of Monumental Indiscretion
• Please reconsider the proposed service cut to TTC Route 101 - Downsview Park

WITHOUT CAUSE - a political comedy

2012-02-22T02:11:00.000-05:00

Without Cause - starring Gary Webster

Sometimes, you lose. Gary Webster stars in Without Cause, a political comedy about a career bureaucrat who gets summarily fired, after a lifetime of service -- for not following the Mayor’s orders.

Hijinks and hilarity ensue, as the city’s transit strategy is thrown into turmoil! You’ll laugh. You’ll cry! You’ll never look at municipal politics the same way again, once you’ve seen someone terminated Without Cause. Produced by The Ford Brothers.

Opens Feb 21, 2012 in theatres near Toronto.

Graphic based on an original photo by: Charla Jones / The Globe & Mail
Prompted by Shawn Micallef’s #WithoutCause meme.

Further reading...
• Transit planning gridlock as TTC general manager sacked (G&M)
• TTC Chief Gary Webster fired (CBC)
• TTC: Transit commission fires chief general manager (Star)
• TTC commissioners move to fire GM Gary Webster (NP)
• Webster ousted in close TTC vote (Sun)
• TTC Special Meeting Feb. 21, 2012 Petition via S.21B (TTC pdf)
• TTC Special Meeting Feb. 21, 2012: minutes (TTC pdf)

Wait a second, that’s ME!!

2012-02-21T18:27:00.001-05:00

I recently noticed to my amusement that the climber in the background image for this season’s Tour de Bloc website is me. It’s great that they chose a photo of a normal recreational climber (rather than one of the many serious competitors out there)...

Hey that’s me! (right forefront - click to expand)
Photo: possibly Dennis Barnes (not 100% sure--e-mail me if you know!)

The photo is -- I believe -- from the 2009/2010 series -- the first comp at the then-newly-opened True North Climbing Gym in North York, Ontario. Apparently I had a good time!

That’s my friend Mike Palma in green, scrutinizing a sequence.

In the picture I’m (presumably) about to finish an intermediate route. I also remember another problem from this comp -- seen on the left slab wall. The climber in black with splayed legs is working it -- a low numbered but surprisingly challenging problem where you stood on these big yellow blocks and traversed across the slab.

Alas, content obscures me on most of the pages on the site -- but who cares. I’m ‘internet-climbing-famous’! w00t!

Prospective sponsors, take note...

See Also...

(most recently) Crushed at Coyote Rock Gym - TdB Season 9
My ongoing series of Tour de Bloc comp recaps, from an intermediate climber’s perspective
Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: Hey that's me! In which I discover I make a peripheral appearance in a widely-circulated internet chain e-mail/set of pictures

DuckDuckGo is now my default search engine. Seriously!

2012-02-16T13:23:00.001-05:00

DuckDuckGo - a better search engine?

It sounds funny to admit this, but I’m excited about a new search engine.

It’s called DuckDuckGo, and it recently had its first day handling over a million searches.

I think that’s pretty awesome. Most people would say that there isn’t any room left for innovation in search, with Google long ago having achieved dominance in the marketplace (The last nascent search engine that garnered media attention, Cuil, was an abject failure).

But DuckDuckGo has two key advantages -- from a user perspective -- over Google. The whole premise of the upstart is that it won’t track or bubble you.

In other words, DuckDuckGo takes privacy seriously, and they don’t attempt to personalize your search based on history or other identifiers -- the whole concept of Eli Pariser’s Filter Bubble Problem.

It’s a clean, simple, impartial search (kind of a hybrid based on search APIs from major sites like Yahoo, Wolfram|Alpha, and Bing) that has been filtered for SEO spam and is private -- it won’t send your searches or computer profile to third parties as Google does. Not to mention it’s improving all the time feature-wise.

Gabriel Weinberg,
DuckDuckGo’s motive force

And yes, it’s legit -- with coverage in WIRED, Time, and other major publications.

Put together by Gabriel Weinberg, the site also features many cool and powerful techie shortcuts that let you rapidly search specific sites, or using other engines -- for example, you can type !w to search Wikipedia -- along with many other goodies.

There are some drawbacks, as numerous observers have noted. DuckDuckGo can be a bit weak on the following:

Searches where there’s a recency element
foreign language searches
speed
it has a silly name

I like the fact that results are fairly uncluttered. You may not realize it -- until you try something else -- but Google searches have become a wasteland of distraction and advertising. Google’s inescapable new privacy policy allowing them to link together and share what you do across all their sites is another factor for consideration.

Hopefully, DuckDuckGo will prod Google to improve their own approach. Fred Wilson (the noted venture capitalist and an investor in DDG) puts it like this: “Best case, DDG is to Google what Firefox was to IE.”

Bottom line, I’ve decided to live with DuckDuckGo for a while, as my default search engine. We’ll see how that goes!

Check it out -- DuckDuckGo (You can also use ddg.gg for less typing)!

See Also...
Eli Pariser's Filter Bubble Problem
Gabriel Weinberg discusses the premises behind DuckDuckGo
Stop Facebook from tracking you, with Disconnect
How to Opt-Out from LinkedIn Social Ads

Spread the word about DuckDuckGo -- please share this post.

Happy Valentine’s Day - Nerd Edition

2012-02-14T07:53:00.000-05:00

Try googling this today:

sqrt(cos(x))cos(300x)+sqrt(abs(x))-0.7)(4-x*x)^0.01, sqrt(6-x^2), -sqrt(6-x^2) from -4.5 to 4.5

Happy Valentine’s Day folks!

(Or, as some of us like to call it, Happy Singles Awareness Day!)

[function courtesy Wolfram Alpha, I believe. Though we learned about cardioids in grade 12 if I’m not mistaken.]

Your love will keep me warm: Tauntaun valentine

Crushed at Coyote Rock Gym - Tour de Bloc 9

2012-02-13T10:03:00.001-05:00

Catherine Laflamme on Women’s Finals #2

The Tour de Bloc series of bouldering comps keeps rolling on!

Coyote Rock in Ottawa played host for the latest event, just two weeks after Gonflé à Bloc in LaSalle.

Just for kicks I’m going to switch things around and first describe how the finals went down, and then relate my own experience in qualifiers.

“Some of the strongest climbers are from Ottawa and Quebec region,” I heard one of the spectators explaining, “which means that people have to go all out here.”

That certainly seemed to be the case!

Problem #2, Men’s Finals - burly

Women’s Finals! A photo finish...
I was torn on who to cheer for in the Women’s Finals.

Iyma Lamarche at the top of #3

I have a hometown affection for the irrepressible Iyma Lamarche, who was fresh off a win at Climber’s Rock -- congrats Iyma! -- but I was also secretly rooting for Thomasina Pidgeon.

The latter finished 2nd at the last two Tour de Bloc comps I attended (Vertical and Climber’s Rock). Would it finally be Thomasina’s turn to stand atop the podium this season?

Thomasina Pidgeon flashing #4, forcing Iyma to do the same...

Well, you certainly can’t say she didn’t deserve a win. As the scoresheet indicates, she flashed all four problems with style and grace. And so did Iyma -- which meant that the tiebreak went back to qualifying scores, where Iyma came out ahead. Coyote makes it the third time in a row Thomasina has come in second. Quite an accomplishment in itself!

(A nascent rivalry brewing here, perhaps?)

Clarrie Lam on Problem #1

Catherine Brunel-Guitton came in third, barely missing out on flashing everything as well, requiring a single extra attempt. Congratulations to Iyma for the victory (yay Iyma!) and to all the women finalists!

Men’s Finals
It was tough going for the men, but the effort and attitude was glaringly evident. Fred Charron’s intensity was palpable. Almost everyone was stumped by problem 1, and it kind of set the tone. Problems 2 and 3 looked super burly, and problem 4 seemed to have an impossible ending.

Mark Button gamely working Mens #1 -- a wretched set of holds

It looked as if Sébastien Lazure was going to take another win as he managed to send the first three problems. On one of the early problems he electrified the crowd by frictioning the surface with the palm of his hand and scrambling to complete the topout.

Sébastien Lazure on Problem #3. All he needs is a cape.

When Lazure set up on Problem #4, the whole crowd was watching to see if he would make the last move. He almost did -- for an incredible instant, he was clinging to the finish hold -- but he couldn’t hang on.

This set the scene for the last Finals climber -- Yves “Chainsaw” Gravelle. He had only sent two of three problems, and consequently he needed to send problem #4. The winner would be decided by the outcome of his attempt. Check it out:

[link]

Wow. That’s an athlete in motion. Look at those abs!

Mark Button came in third. I enjoyed watching him sit calmly between problems.

Congratulations to Yves, Sébastien and Mark!

Qualifiers -- my novel experience
After my surprisingly awesome results at Vertical I was feeling under the weather. The exertion beat me up and I had to lie around for a week recuperating. Consequently I tried to keep my expectations in check for this event. I only had a rusty outing on Thursday where perhaps I went a little too hard.

Yours truly checking out Coyote Rock

This was my first time visiting Coyote Rock Gym. Coyote has been operating for 20 years. In that time, they’ve filled every possible nook and cranny in their location with climbing surface -- I was impressed at the inventive and creative nature of the layout.

I was overwhelmed. They set so many qualifier problems for this comp -- seventy!

Wide spread = inconsistent

It meant there was a huge variety of challenges of all sorts and styles to explore.

I had a novel experience for me -- a widely spread out scoresheet. Usually, my problems tend to be clumped together -- if I have a good session, it’s a high clump, and if not, it’s a low clump.

27 problems separated my top and bottom problems!

My score as a result was not pleasing, but in all honesty it’s tough for me to judge whether I had a good or a poor session. The reason is I flashed one problem which I was thrilled to get and totally satisfying -- #52.

I had the pleasure of watching Catherine Laflamme do this problem shortly before my attempt, and sometimes when you see a person do a problem with such control, you can delude yourself into thinking you might be able to do it too.

52-orange: an epic thriller; it was 80% desperate moves (for me).
The whole time I felt like I was peeling off...

Starting on 1 and pushing off 0 (right foot), you get 2 with right hand. Heel hook 1 with left and cross over into 4 with left hand, stepping on 3 with right. Lean waaay rightwards and hit 5 (skipping 13). Your feet cut out for a precarious moment until you can get established on 6 and 7. A big committing launch to hit 8 with left hand and shake out. Stabilize on 9 with right hand, and hop right foot to 10. Make a desperate bump right to 11, step left onto 5, hit 12 with left. I’m short so I jumped up with my left foot onto 8. Ms. Laflamme simply bumped left from 12 to the finish, but I wasn’t confident enough being outstretched like that. Instead I put weight on my left and went for a wild overhand right hand to the finish.

57-orange: the 'spurious' problem;
I heard they messed up the numbers

I let out a big roar on completion. I’m not sure if it’s poor etiquette to do this, or ridiculous, but sometimes I can’t help but yelp in celebration. It’s that transcendent moment of unlocking everything I have, of existing purely in that joyful teardrop of action -- that’s why I climb.

Would I trade completing that problem in exchange for a higher score? I... don’t think so. Not unless you replaced it with another epic. It probably gassed me and cost me the completion of a couple of other problems, but the satisfaction of finishing it was immense!

The other problems I completed were ok but nothing super exciting. 57 was easier than the numbering indicated. 47 was fun, located in the same cave as 52:

47-white: A nice overhang. In retrospect I should have also attempted 38.

43 was kind of awkward, as was 35:

43-blue: The crux was getting
up onto the vertical corner...

I did #35 (white) specifically to practice my friction-work

48-pink: I couldn’t quite get to the orange block

It was the failures that intrigue me, and make me acknowledge I need to adjust my pacing.

I got away from the desired strategy.

When you attempt a hard problem, you have to make an accurate assessment of its difficulty relative to your present energy state and ability.

You need to know when to abandon it, and avoid using up all of your energy for the rest of the comp.

45-blue: I got stuck (like everyone else) at the crux below
the top-out: after, of course, a long pumpy burn

That entered into my struggles during this comp.

I got seduced into working on several enjoyable problems which really felt doable, and it affected my climbing.

I simply made too many unsuccessful attempts, and the payout was zero. I think my thrashing on the above two killed me on my subsequent attempts on 51 (something crimpy that normally would be my style), 42 (a straightforward climb I should normally be able to do), and 40. I also flailed on the start at 44, which annoyed me -- I hate it when I can’t get into the meat of a problem.

51-white and 40-red: Arghhhhh...

The social aspect of these comps can be smile-inducing. I was very happy to run into Charles Croy, who used to work at my home gym. If only I had sent 51, that might have put me within hailing distance of catching him... Charles, good to see you [I stupidly forgot to take any pics of you!]!!

By my typical metrics it wasn’t a great outing:

• Beat my secret nemesis: N/A
• ‘Qualify’ for Women’s Open Finals: no (would have been #9)
• Finish out of the bottom third in Men’s Open: no (55/75)

31-aqua: put a smile on my face.
(I did it after the comp)

I’m pretty sore; it’s going to take me a few days to recover. But I definitely enjoyed working a bunch of the problems, and I just wish I could stay in Ottawa longer to return and session some of them.

And 52? I’ll be dreaming about it for days...

True North is a month from now. Time enough to prepare, and train...

Photos
Click here to view qualifier problem photos for Coyote.
Click here to view mens and womens finals photos.

Thanks!
Thanks to Coyote Rock Gym, the organizers, sponsors (MEC is the lead sponsor this year), the setters -- 70 qualifier problems plus finals must have been a huge challenge -- and the many, many volunteer judges.

Thanks also to Bonnie for giving me a lift from downtown to Coyote, and to Charles for giving me a lift out after finals. You’re awesome!! +1 Karma!

See Also...
• My ongoing series of Tour de Bloc comp recaps, from an intermediate climber’s perspective

As usual I will link here to other photos/blogs, as they get posted! [feel free to send me links!]

Update -- Ashbridges Bay Skate Park response

2012-02-09T19:30:00.001-05:00

Ward 32 Councillor McMahon:
Apparently paying attention

I received, in response to my recent letter to Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon (regarding the diversion of Section 37 funds from Phase 2 of the Ashbridges Bay Skate Park), the following communiqué, which presumably went out to every skater who took the time to contact her.

It’s good to know that some Councillors are ostensibly listening:

-------------
Beach Skateboard Park Update from Councillor McMahon
Feb 9, 2012

This week Councillor McMahon met with community stakeholders and has come up with an alternative plan to get the Beach Skateboard Park bowl built. She met with representatives from the community, skateboard enthusiasts and city staff and been thoroughly impressed with everyone’s commitment to this local park and facility.

“The project was always approved, we just had to ensure that the financing responsibilities were shared as widely as possible,” explained Councillor McMahon.

“Balancing the requests and demands of other local residents who are facing disruptions caused by the TTC Ashbridges Bay storage yard construction project is never easy. I am happy to say that we’ve found some new sources of support that will allow us to divert some of the TTC monies to other local community benefits. The construction tender should be ready to go out in the next few weeks.”

The bowl represents the completion of the skate park project that has been ten years in the making. “Nobody questions the importance of this facility to the community and how it lives up to our shared priorities of youth recreation, connected communities, vibrant park spaces and stewardship,” she stated.

“Anytime I’ve been by this skate park there are people using it. It’s taken an underutilized corner of the park and made it a hub of activity. Local parents and youth organize events, paint murals and even do the maintenance and clean-up of the skate park. This is the type of stewardship and engagement I support and encourage in all our parks, with groups like Friends of Moncur Park, the Icemasters, and others,” says Councillor McMahon.

“I’m looking forward to spending time at the skatepark to meet some of these local park champions soon.”

Updates as available will be posted on Councillor McMahon’s website.

-------------

For now, I am willing to accept this as a sincere acknowledgement from Councillor McMahon of the importance of the skate park to the local community.

Of course the devil is in the details, and like many as-yet-unbuilt city projects, “I’ll believe it when I see it.” (meaning Phase 2) There remain key unresolved questions:

What were those new sources of support, and what were the amounts involved?
Will the change in funding impact the design or the timeline for construction of Phase 2?

We’ll see what happens. This appears to be a positive step forward for the park and a good example of citizen activism, as I know many people got in touch with the Councillor. In particular, Nicky Young and Dave Buchanan deserve credit for taking action and making sure this issue got visibility. Steve Jarrett has long been the park’s key local proponent.

I must also grudgingly give the Councillor some credit for a quick response during a time period where the attention of most of Council has (understandably) been on the transit file...

Skate on!

Previously...
• Letter to Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon: Why Jeopardize the Ashbridges Bay Skate Park?

See also (other skate related articles)...
• Is Skateboarding Illegal in Toronto?
• Speed! Thrills! Women! FUBU Skate Race Recap
• Aftermath - 2011 Toronto Board Meeting
• The rise of Patrick Switzer, Downhill Skateboarder
• Our first longboarding tragedy
• Grappling with another longboarding death

Additional reading (external commentary)...
The Town Crier’s article on what happened...
Spacing Wire’s summary (in which my letter is quoted)

Condo Developer Borg

2012-02-09T07:33:00.000-05:00

I’ve previously mentioned that the latest renderings for the Minto/Freed condo project at Front and Bathurst had been leaked online.

The scale of the design is huge. The side facing Bathurst in particular presents a massive, overpowering wall to the west. This was my initial reaction to the render:

The Condo-Developer Borg have landed -- at Front & Bathurst.
Resistance is Futile!

‘We are condo-developer Borg. Your historic neighbourhood will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.’

Nevertheless, joking aside, it’s a bit of progress from the even-larger design that had previously been proposed. I think the facade is at least original, and a welcome break from the ubiquitous glass towers that have been the rage in Toronto.

They simply have to do something to humanize the Bathurst side...

Related posts
No I’m not involved with StopMintoFreed
The Wreck of Rock Oasis -- In Pictures

Letter to Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon: Why Jeopardize the Ashbridges Bay Skate Park?

2012-02-05T09:23:00.001-05:00

Councillor McMahon,

On January 31, 2012 -- at your request -- the Toronto Transit Commission voted to divert a previously-secured $300,000 funding arrangement intended for use in completion of Phase 2 of the Ashbridges Bay Skate Park.

I wish to express my unequivocal concern regarding this turn of events. This unprompted, unplanned diversion of funds jeopardizes the successful completion of the skate park, and should be reconsidered.

The Ashbridges Bay Skate Park is a signature Toronto Parks and Recreation project, and has been well over eight years in the making. It has involved extensive community consultation, planning, outreach and communication.

Many members of the skateboard community are shocked and upset by your actions on this matter. They view this outcome as a betrayal of their ongoing good-faith participation in the lengthy municipal process of building this park.

Diverting the funds at this late stage should be a City Council decision to make -- especially considering the large sum of money involved. This funding was originally secured in relation to a new TTC storage and maintenance facility, at Leslie Street and Lakeshore Boulevard. Everything was approved in December 2009, by the TTC Commission and the Toronto City Council budget process.

I realize that the Ashbridges Bay Skate Park was previously championed by your predecessor, and that because of your significant differences in opinion regarding municipal policies and approach, you may be predisposed to question particular projects or initiatives undertaken in your ward.

I appreciate and understand this. However, I urge you -- in the strongest possible terms -- to recognize the greater benefit to the community represented by this skate park.

The Phase 2 design for the park incorporates a world-class kidney bowl. When constructed, this feature will draw international skaters, their families, and locals alike -- to visit and enjoy the attractions of Beaches-East York.

Toronto deserves a world-class skate park. We asked for it. We demanded it. We worked diligently through all of the proper channels, in partnership with all of the many stakeholders -- to get this project underway, to have shovels in the ground.

After years of campaigning, the city finally built Phase 1 -- and now we’re ready for Phase 2. The park has already been the host to nearly every major skate demonstration and contest in Toronto, as well as playing the host to several highly successful summer camp programs for children.

It is the most-highly used skate park in the city.

Ashbridges Bay Skate Park is more than just a recreational facility. It is a gathering place. It is a spot where lifelong friendships are made. It is a model for successful community infrastructure and investment.

On Friday February 10, there will be a rally at City Hall regarding this project. I invite you to attend, and to learn more about this project and its importance.

Councillor McMahon, although I am exceptionally disappointed by the recent turn of events, I am confident that when you ultimately consult the community, you will discover that support for this project is very strong indeed.

I trust you will act accordingly, and work to restore funding for Phase 2 of the Ashbridges Bay Skate Park.

Sincerely,

Nathan Ng
Skateboarder

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sent to:
Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon
Toronto City Hall
100 Queen Street West, Suite B28
Toronto, ON M5H 2N2

cc:
His Worship Rob Ford
Mayor, City of Toronto
100 Queen St. W.
City Hall, Second floor, West
Toronto, ON M5H 2N2

Ulli S. Watkiss
City Clerk
Toronto City Hall
100 Queen Street West, 13th floor W
Toronto, ON M5H 2N2

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE -- February 9
See Councillor McMahon’s response here.

Ashbridges Bay Skate Park
City Hall Rally Feb 10!

Fellow skaters: make sure your voice is heard!

Get in touch with Councillor McMahon, and respectfully communicate why Phase 2 of the Ashbridges Bay Skate Park needs to be completed.

Contact information for Toronto City Council can be found here.

A rally in support of the completion of Phase 2 is slated for February 10 at 1pm, at City Hall. More information can be found here.

Also: read this Beaches Metro article about the redirection.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

See Also...

• Is Skateboarding Illegal in Toronto?

• Speed! Thrills! Women! FUBU Skate Race Recap
• Aftermath - 2011 Toronto Board Meeting
• The rise of Patrick Switzer, Downhill Skateboarder
• Our first longboarding tragedy
• Grappling with another longboarding death

Past letters to government officials...
• A Pratfall of Monumental Indiscretion
• Please reconsider the proposed service cut to TTC Route 101 - Downsview Park

Imperial March: Dogs versus Floppies

2012-02-02T00:36:00.000-05:00

Volkswagen’s ‘The Force’ was a viral hit

Under pressure to follow up last year’s viral Super Bowl ‘Force’ commercial, Volkswagen released a ‘Bark Side’ commercial teaser which has been making the media rounds lately.

The teaser consists of a gallery of dogs barking the Imperial March theme song from Star Wars:

[LINK]

(Notice that the pug never utters a sound?)

Personally however, I prefer this out-of-date-technology-inspired version:

[LINK]

We’ll find out on Sunday whether Volkswagen can top its previous outing...

Update: Here’s The Dog Strikes Back, Volkswagen’s followup commercial. What do you think?

See Also...
• Star Wars Uncut - Director’s Cut
• Top Ten Star Wars Spoof Videos
• Top Star Wars Spoof Videos Continued

Vertical Validation: Gonflé à Bloc 3e édition

2012-01-30T19:51:00.002-05:00

Gonflé à Bloc 3e édition!

I just had my most enjoyable bouldering comp performance this season.

The 3rd edition of Gonflé à Bloc was held at Centre d’Escalade Vertical in beautiful Montreal (LaSalle). Since I had a tremendous time there last year, I couldn’t resist a short weekend trip for another climbing adventure...

Getting There in One Piece
[Skip this if you want to jump straight to the comp description]

Jeremy Dowsett of Climbing Hold Review generously allowed me to disrupt his affairs and crash at his place for a couple of nights -- without his hospitality, I’m not sure the logistics would have worked out. Climbers are such an accommodating lot; it’s great when we help each other out. Thanks Jeremy!

Now that’s some transit!

For those of you haven’t been to Vertical before, the gym is located at the Cégep André-Laurendeau, not too far from Station Angrignon at the west end of the green line.

I find the Métro in Montreal quite interesting, in that so many stations have been constructed and in an interlocking pattern. It’s a denser coverage than Toronto, which feels more linear, and spread out.

Leaving Angrignon: a stroll in the park...

Exiting from Angrignon, there’s a short 20 minute traipse through the park to get to the gym. The alternative is a bus route which I have yet to figure out.

One of these days, I’ll give up and rent a car to travel... In the meantime, three cheers for public transit!

My performance -- quite satisfactory

Excellent results (for me)

In the lead-up to this particular comp, I wasn’t feeling super strong, but neither did I feel weak or injured.

Recovering from the Climber’s Rock escapade took me out of action for about a week, so I only had a short ramp-up and maintenance window to get prepared.

Here’s how I did versus my previously stated targets:

• Beat my secret nemesis: N/A (she was at a different comp)
• ‘Qualify’ for Women’s Open Finals: yes!
• Finish out of the bottom third in Men’s Open: yes!

Two out of three! I almost made the first page, even (albeit there’s a huge gap which is unlikely to be traversed anytime soon).

I finally felt like I had climbed well, and had achieved a corresponding result. I didn’t feel that way about earlier outings: Grand River Rocks was a thrashing; and I felt intimidated at Climber’s Rock.

Thinking about Strategy and Preparation
The whole point of this season is try to improve my climbing. I want to systematically, incrementally get better -- to focus on process more than results. I’m not sure how far I’ll get, but I want to strive.

Yours truly at Vertical sporting a
CHR shirt and a Boulderz hoodie

I want to mention here two useful articles about competition performance, written by some climbers in my local community. I want to share them with you because they offer practical advice that everyone can apply.

The first is Florent Balsez’ How to Qualify for Tour de Bloc Finals, regarding preparation and certain tactics during the comp. The second article is Aaron Eden’s Competition Strategy.

I recommend reading both articles, as they will give you something to think about in your approach.

Eden specifically counsels planning the sequence of problems:

Climb the easiest one to make sure the body is warm, then proceed to the hardest and work your way down. This way, as the body get tired, it’s not trying to do something increasingly harder.

Session Recap: Qualifying Problems
Of course, theory often flies out the window when reality appears and smashes you in the face.

I warmed up on something easy, and then selected 33 to begin, a delicate slab manoeuvre...

33-white: Using the two big maroon pieces looked straightforward...
(Click any photo to expand)

That was a mistake! I couldn’t even get on. The left hand foothold was horribly slick, the first pinch wasn’t good, and I never got my right foot up to the start hold.

I gave it a couple of tries, with total failure each time. Balsez and Eden both discuss energy management and limiting the number of attempts on any given problem, so I decided to move on -- there were 60 problems after all; maybe this one wasn’t my style.

I moved over to 34, immediately to the right:

34-yellow: round finish holds are evil

I struggled on this as well -- I managed to get my left hand on the finish hold, but it was round on top and I couldn’t switch my feet to get the second hand on -- and so I came off. It was a lot of effort and I wasn’t sure I wanted to work it. So I abandoned that too.

Although it was still super early, I could feel the beginning stirrings of worry that it was ‘not going to be a good session’. I had nothing down and was a tiny bit pumped.

29-white: easy peasy

Luckily I turned around and found 29 on the central tower, which was a simple problem. It wasn’t high enough to count on my final scoresheet, but it got the juices flowing positively.

28-red: more easy!

I followed that up with 28 on the suggestion of a pair of climbers, Bonnie and Shawn, who hail from Ottawa. I thought it would be thin, but all the holds turned out fine if you placed everything carefully. This was a good confidence booster and got me back on track.

I tried to work 36, but like many people got stuck on the second last hold, invariably slapping the finish hold but not in a controlled way:

36-dark green: matching on that 2nd last hold was such a pain...

I had about three attempts, and then -- keeping with Eden’s advice -- accepted the failure and moved on.

I wandered into the back room. A competitor told me 39 was good, and it didn’t look so bad, so I went for it:

39-red: no issues on this traverse

I’m not sure what the intended sequence was, but there was a trick for using the corner in the middle that made completing 39 a breeze. I think this was the ‘giveaway’ problem -- honestly they should have put in a couple extra moves. Not that I’m complaining! After this I did 30 (see here for full set of qualifying photos), and was starting to feel good.

I paid a visit to the steep cave. Normally caves are not my cup of tea as my regular gym has mostly flat bouldering, which means I’m weak on powerful overhanging sequences.

I examined the problems there and thought, I’ll try one or two, but then get the heck out in order not to waste my energy getting destroyed by the angles. Another competitor, Dan, nevertheless urged me to try 41.

41-blue: if you could hang on past the second move...

His suggestion worked out: after a couple of muffed attempts at the start, I sent it to my surprise. After the second move your feet cut out and your hips swung back -- if you could only hang on, sort out the feet, and make a strong reach to the first big tongue -- the rest of the problem was pumpy but manageable: big moves, but everything was deep enough such that a lack of finesse wasn’t important. This turned out to be my top scoresheet item.

Also in the cave was 37:

37-orange: A committing, somewhat wild finish

It was challenging to get off the ground, but once you were on the big piece it was just three compact moves (right, left, left), and finally a long, upside-down-and-mildly-out-of-control launch to the finishing hold. It was crowded in the cave and I almost kicked a guy in the head on my send. [Would my completion have still counted? Technically, probably not... Spectators beware!]

Don’s positive attitude helped significantly -- the notching of these two meant I now had 3 decent problems on my scoresheet (41, 39, 37), along with some low intermediates.

I left the cave and ambled over to the main bouldering section, where I encountered the problem that made my comp a successful one: 40. Stupidly I didn’t manage to take a clear photograph of it, so I’ve labelled it:

A bunch of us settled into working on it. It was very pumpy -- overhung, hard to get onto, with big pinches, and mediocre feet the whole way.

The problem went like this: First, you had to do about 3 or 4 vexatious, strong moves to get to the big piece in the middle (A). The big piece had a ridge on top and an undercling. At that point your feet were poor due to the overhang. Most people would try to go for the blue hold directly above (B), and fall off -- that hold sucked. I stuck it once, but doing so sapped me, and throwing for the far left hold (C) from it spit me right off.

After several attempts, each draining me physically, I took a break and went elsewhere. I felt however, that this particular problem was achievable, and that I should return at some point.

Which I did. What eventually worked was throwing for C with left hand while underclinging A with the right hand -- a long, powerful, stretched out move. Then it was a matter of adjusting the feet calmly (on D), moving up the right hand to B, then bumping to the finish. I nearly came off on the move left, but stayed on, and as soon as I adjusted my feet I knew I was going to finish.

I let out several big whoops while I finished and afterwards. Sometimes you just can’t help it. That’s the sensation we all climb for -- the conquering of personal limits.

In the interim before I finally got 40, I sent 31 which wasn’t hard. That wound up being the low problem on my scoresheet:

31-mustard: not hard (didn’t take a good photo)

I tried to get on 48 (white tape, above) but it was too stiff for me to make a decent attempt. Apparently I should have tried the green hold problem to the far right with the peace symbol -- but I never tried it. It was somewhere in the 40s.

35-dark green: would have been annoying not to complete this

The last problem to wind up on my scoresheet turned out to be 35. It was a puzzle for me, and I concede it would have irritated me had I not been able to eventually get it. The issue was that I couldn’t do it the way most people solved it.

The main sequence I witnessed was this: On the start hold, right hand crosses over to A. Left hand to B. Step right foot on the start hold and then, straight arm-mantling with left hand on B, hit C with right hand. Match hands, get foot on B, finish.

I couldn’t seem to get the mantle on B; I kept falling backwards. I wound up doing it the way I think it was intended: Right hand cross to A, left hand to B, swing left foot out to E, match hands on B (hanging/pulling to the right), left hand up to D, right hand up to C, hop feet onto B, finish.

Other Notable Attempts
There were several intriguing problems which I briefly essayed but didn’t dwell on.

43-blue: I decided it would pump me out so I gave it up

I thought 43 might be doable as a project or the focus of a session, but after a couple of pumps I chose to concentrate on 40 as being more attainable.

42-white: A sucker-punch finish hold

In the last 10 minutes of the comp I gave 42 a few attempts. It was pumpy. You were deceived by the third last hold (left hand), which was really solid. The right hand was mediocre, but every time you got to the position you’d think, no problem, I can bump my right hand the short distance to the finish block and send this thing!

Except you’d hit this downward sloping groove on the top of the block and slowly slide off. You never had the chance to match with left before sliding off. Frustrating!

The beta apparently was to switch to your left foot, and extend your right toe to hook around the right corner. This would allow going up with the left hand... I never made it, the right toe hook was too far and scary for me. There was a big pad for this problem but you definitely wanted to have a spotter on it -- it was easy to roll off the pad.

54-white, on green volumes: cool!!

54 (I think that was the number) was the most interesting problem. I couldn’t move past the first sphere. All kinds of amusing straddling and contortions resulted from this. I don’t know if I could ever do this problem, but I would have liked to try projecting it.

I also messed around on 45, but never got anywhere serious on it. I gave 38 in the cave a half-hearted try with 2 minutes left but I didn’t do the sequence right. I think I might have been able to get it with proper attention.

Click HERE to view my set of Qualifying problem photos. [I didn’t take photos of everything, but most of the major intermediate and high problems are covered.]

The Finals
Everyone was super-amped. Between socializing with other climbers about the comp and eating some food, it took longer than I expected to change, so I wound up staying to watch the finals. A glance at the results tells you it was a tough set of problems:

Tour de Bloc Vertical 2012 results

Nevertheless we got to witness some amazing efforts from all the finalists.

Catherine Laflamme on 2, Ayo Sopeju on 2, Florent Balsez on 1

Women’s victor Melissa Lacasse electrifying the crowd by hanging onto 3

Thomasina Pidgeon magically finishing the second
problem en route to her second-straight second placement

Even winner Sébastien Lazure struggled on 5...
But he looked good doing it.

Congratulations to the winners, Sébastien Lazure and Melissa Lacasse!

Click HERE to view my full set of Finals photos for Gonflé à Bloc 3e édition...

Concluding remarks
As mentioned, I was happy and satisfied with my performance. I managed to send the problems I really wanted in my heart to get. And I had a ton of fun.

There’s something intangible I like about the setup at Vertical. Maybe it’s just the friendly people. I think the padding in certain areas is a bit sketchy, but that’s what spotting is for. Everyone was very welcoming, notwithstanding my fragmentary command of the French language.

Lots of room at Vertical

The physical organization this year was well-thought out -- payment at the front desk, registration on top of the boulder, a snack area that helped assuage my starving belly, even a countdown timer so you instantly knew how much time was remaining...

Next up is Coyote in Ottawa. We’ll see how that goes! I’m keeping my expectations in check -- my elbow is pretty angry right now, and it’ll be tough to top this session. Nevertheless -- I’ll be practicing at the gym in hopes of improving that extra bit...

Thanks!
Thanks to the organizers, setters and volunteers! You put on a fun experience!

Thanks to Shawn and Bonnie for giving me a much-needed lift to the station -- I was not looking forward to trudging through Parc Angringon in the darkness. Hope to see you at Coyote!

CHR mascot...

Lastly I want to thank Climbing Hold Review again for hosting me and providing me with a comp t-shirt, affectionate feline companionship, and delicious, delicious late-night noodles.

What a great time!

See Also...
• My ongoing series of Tour de Bloc comp recaps, from an intermediate climber’s perspective
• Ghislain Allard’s photo set from the comp
• Steve Bourdeau’s finals photo set
• Nicholas Charron’s finals photo set
• Guy Pomerleau’s photo set
• Evolving Movement’s description

Star Wars Uncut -- Director's Cut

2012-01-21T02:13:00.003-05:00

Remember Alderaan

I’ve previously described the continued proliferation of Star Wars remixes and parodies as

“... a remarkable indicator of the pervasive socio-cultural impact of George Lucas’ epic space opera franchise.”

Now comes the fantastic news that the crowd-sourced project known as Star Wars Uncut has finally been released in a stitched-together Director’s Cut!

From the description:

In 2009, Casey Pugh asked thousands of Internet users to remake "Star Wars: A New Hope" into a fan film, 15 seconds at a time. Contributors were allowed to recreate scenes from Star Wars however they wanted. Within just a few months SWU grew into a wild success. The creativity that poured into the project was unimaginable.

SWU has been featured in documentaries, news features and conferences around the world for its unique appeal. In 2010 SWU won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Creative Achievement In Interactive Media.

Without further ado, here it is -- all two hours of it -- maximize to full screen and grab the popcorn!

(link)

It’s a magnificent achievement of... I’m not sure what, but I find it uproarious. The best feature of this project is also its worst -- if you hate one fan’s heretical interpretation, it only lasts 15 seconds. Conversely if you love a scene... 15 seconds later a fresh blasphemy gets underway. Some parts are awful, others are wonderfully inventive.

It’s more or less unbearable to watch in its entirety, but curiosity at what’s going to show up next keeps it going... In a peculiar way, the exercise is about seizing back control of the story from George Lucas. It’s ours to mangle, not his. (Spoiler alert: It’s not Greedo that fires first in this version...)

Bonus remix: I am your father - Silent Film Edition

(link)

See Previously...
Top Ten Star Wars Spoof Videos
Top Star Wars Spoof Videos Continued

Remember Alderaan graphic by Steve Squall via Felix Ip

What’s to come at Front and Bathurst

2012-01-20T22:53:00.002-05:00

New renderings of the Minto/Freed project at Front and Bathurst have leaked online --

The Borg have landed.

and I actually think the revised look is original, at least by Toronto standards.

Kablam!! This is what change looks like. (If you were hovering in space above the rail tracks, which is where you’d have to be to get this view)

The project remains monstrously huge. Whether it adequately addresses the height issues raised by the local community will be an ongoing discussion.

Full disclosure
I readily admit that I am still selfishly, unreasonably, boringly bitter over the loss of what used to stand at this corner -- but I’m grudgingly coming to grips with the reality of it.

I miss the old shed (tear).

It seems like the architect for the project, Rudy Wallman, listened to some of the feedback regarding the banality of previous renders, and has presented something intriguing for consideration.

Render images via: urbantoronto.ca.

Related posts
No I’m not involved with StopMintoFreed
The Wreck of Rock Oasis -- In Pictures

Crunch Time at Climber’s Rock

2012-01-15T12:49:00.001-05:00

Who designed this delightful t-shirt?

On Saturday, Climber’s Rock in Burlington -- one of my favourite gyms -- hosted the latest Tour de Bloc bouldering competition. It was a doozy.

Huge congratulations to the always-smiling Iyma Lamarche on winning her first TdB comp!

Iyma CRUSHES!!

As for me, I’m feeling quite sore. I can’t even close my right hand into a fist. Where’s the Advil...

Session Recap
I did better than I thought, but not as well as I wanted. It’s a by-product of setting expectations for myself.

Earlier this season, I arbitrarily set myself three specific metrics for every comp -- let’s see how I did:

• Beat my secret nemesis: no
• ‘Qualify’ for Women’s Open Finals: no
• Finish out of the bottom third in Men’s Open: yes!

One out of three -- better than last time!

45 and 42 -- just a touch too steep for me
(click to expand any photo)

The steep, high overhang on many of the surfaces at Climber’s Rock is intimidating, and makes for burly climbing. My final score was 2036. I hit #s 40, 36, 34, 32, 29 and 28.

40: a crimpy traverse leftwards. Notice my high problem is straight vertical...
(finish hold cut off top left; was a big bucket)

I had a strong start and sent 32, 36 and 40 fairly quickly, but then I got bogged down working 45 and 42. I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to get 45. I felt like it was within my capabilities if I could just stick everything... but alas, it was not to be.

36 - careful but not onerous

This drained off a large chunk of my energy, and I had to settle for 29 and 28. Even then I struggled on 29, and had to work it a few times.

29, a muscular yet balancy problem

Glancing at the scores, I’m encouraged, but I still have significant scope for improvement. I’m one ‘high’ problem away from where I wanted to be -- if I’d landed 45, that would have been 170 additional points. It would mark a significant step for me to get two problems in the 40s.

I snuck 34 in near the beginning -- it looked easy but the overhang made it more pernicious than I thought

I need to climb more overhangs -- and get mentally comfortable with it. I tend to climb flat vertical stuff, and I could tell that I wasn’t as efficient or controlled as I should have been on the angles. It’s definitely a weakness of mine.

The Madness of Crowds
It was pretty crowded at times; I guess I am just going to have to get used to that in Open. They scheduled the Rec and Experienced session to partially overlap with Open (instead of during the morning session with Youth), so when everybody was on the mats at the same time, it wasn’t ideal. I don’t like waiting in lines... it throws off my rhythm. There’s pressure to send, because if you don’t you have to go back to the end of the line...

I’m speculating here, but they probably did this so they could have judges for Youth.

On the other hand, it’s neat when you think about having so many great climbers assembled together in one spot. These events really are a kind of community gathering, a shared experience of fun...

Thanks and kudos
Thanks go to Climber’s Rock, the sponsors and the organizers for a solid event. And kudos to the t-shirt designer; I love the chicken!

Congratulations again to Iyma on her fantastic victory (yay Iyma), as well as Dave Voltan who edged out what seemed like a deep field in the Men’s Open.

Next up -- a quick trip to Montreal... Have to train well.

See also...
• More photos of assorted problems from the comp
• Read my series of Tour de Bloc comp recaps
• A great photo set from Aidas Odonelis
• Aaron Eden’s perspective on the comp as the chief routesetter
• Dustin Curtis’ uninhibited take, again from a routesetter’s view

• Miguel Jette’s photos and discussion of the comp
• Paul Serianni’s footage from the finals
• Jesse Nobredega’s personal account of competing in youth

Dustin and Aaron’s versions are fascinating because they give ‘the other side’ of the comp.

Fantastic bonus treat
Janek Armstrong doing problem 23 Matrix-style. A must-watch for the sheer joy of movement. [link]

City budget underway: let the snarling begin

2012-01-11T18:05:00.000-05:00

The City of Toronto Budget process -- always a contentious adventure -- is now underway for 2012.

The Budget Committee approved the proposed 2012 City Budget, which now moves to the City’s Executive Committee for consideration.

The reductions are numerous. The Toronto Public Library budget (for example) is being decimated -- literally.

Observer Matt Elliott acerbically describes the approach as

“Austerity-as-ideology, not austerity-as-necessity.”

It’s a tense conversation that lays bare the difference in perspective and vision between Ford and his allies, and the rest of council.

You see, it’s not merely about scaling back expenditures for Ford -- it’s about justifying whether funding for certain programs should even be taking place. Unlike most of my progressive-leaning friends, I do think this is a valuable question to ask. Whether Ford’s clumsy approach is going to get anywhere is a separate matter.

As the Budget proceeds through to council for debate (likely next week), look for plenty of fireworks on this subject.

What do you think about the proposed budget? Have we allowed program creep to expand the scope of what the city provides, unsustainably? Or are we cutting out investments critical to our idea of how the city should work?

Should we be spending more, or less -- and on what services?

Photo sources

Bay Street looking north from Front, April 1904 Photographer: William James, City of Toronto Archives Fonds 1244, Item 2
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford kicks off the Metro Bowl at the SkyDome, Nov 2011 Tara Walton, Toronto Star

Help Advance Osteopathic Science!

2012-01-10T13:46:00.000-05:00

Would you like to ADVANCE THE FRONTIERS OF HUMAN KNOWLEDGE?

Of course you would.

My friend John Barnet -- skater extraordinaire, masterful climber, and generally a great guy all around -- is in the final stretch of his studies at the Canadian College of Osteopathy.

To finish his thesis, Barnet is conducting an investigative study to

“determine if the Venous Sinus Technique, a non-invasive manual cranial osteopathic technique, will affect circulation through the jugular vein, which drains blood from the head”.

He needs volunteers!

Participants are required for his osteopathic study. The results of this research will contribute to Osteopathic knowledge. The circulation will be measured, on two separate visits one week apart, using a Doppler ultrasound, which is a safe and non invasive tool. To participate you must be healthy, between the ages of 18 – 60 and have not received osteopathic treatment. Treatments will be provided without cost. To volunteer, contact John below. You can make a difference!

Contact: John Barnet
E-mail - sloperville@hotmail.com

INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA
The inclusion and exclusion criteria for the proposed study are a modification of previous research completed on the JFT (Greco, 2008). The inclusion criteria for the subjects include:

Healthy volunteers between the ages of 18 to 60
The exclusion criteria for the subjects include:
Previous osteopathic treatment
History of head injury or brain trauma
Disorders of the central nervous system
History of acute pathologies including cancer
Medications that affect blood flow or the central nervous system
History of pelvic, spinal or skull fractures
Individuals suffering from cerebrovascular disease
Subjects suffering from cardiovascular disease
Pregnancy
Vascular shunts

The study will be taking place at: Shoreline Chiropractic Clinic, 3293 Lakeshore Blvd West, Toronto. (Basically Kipling and Lakeshore)

The experiment portion should take about an hour in total. The Follow Up measurement will take 20 minutes.

Dates
Experiment:
January 28, Noon until 18 are completed
January 29, 9am on

Follow Up:
Feb 4, 3pm on
Feb 5, Noon on

If you can help John out, that would be awesome!

Signed up for the Yonge St 10k!

2011-12-31T12:50:00.001-05:00

Years ago when I was in shape
Around the Bay 30k

The new year provides most people with an opportunity for reflection on their physical goals. Due to some nagging injuries and other problems I’ve fallen severely out of running condition, but I’m hoping to get back on track, starting today...

I just signed up for the Yonge St. 10k, organized by Canada Running Series (CRS).

A plethora of spring races
The event used to be sponsored by Sporting Life, but that relationship got screwed up, in a sad illustration of how political meddling often results in unintended side effects.

There used to be two fall marathons in Toronto. Some members of council and city staff didn’t like how this disrupted city roads, so political pressure was exerted to move one of the marathons to the spring.

Unfortunately, the date that was chosen -- May 6 -- was the same as the original date for this 10k. That meant the 10k had to move. This wasn’t suitable for Sporting Life, which proceeded to sever the relationship with CRS. The latter organization then decided to hold a run on April 22, while Sporting Life scheduled their own 10k, three weeks later on May 13!

As a runner that’s kind of funny to me, since now there are way more spring races than before -- I hope the short-sighted members of council who opposed two major fall events feel somewhat chastened...

[Note: I’ve glossed over the heated wrangling that occurred between race organizers; see the linked articles at the end for a detailed account. I’ve picked the April race specifically because it works in my calendar. I don’t have any affiliation -- I’m just happy to run, and I hope all the races are successful. Other runners in the community may have stronger feelings, which I can understand.]

Race goal
I’m going to shoot for sub-50 minutes. Anything approaching 45 minutes will be great. I never was a fast runner.

Longer term plan
It’s a modest plan with modest goals, but it’s a lot better than sitting around, so here it is:

Run a 10k in the spring, per above
Run a half-marathon in the fall, and see how that goes (sub 2hrs, shoot for 1:55)
Run a full marathon next spring (or at least the Around the Bay 30k, which has always been my favourite race)

This might seem like a slow ramp up -- why not do a half this spring? -- but I’ve been extremely frustrated with getting injured in the past, not to mention I’m getting a bit on the creaky side what with the climbing, so I’m going to take it easy this time around.

I’ve really missed the running lifestyle. I look forward to getting back into a regular training regime.

Anyone want to join me? (Early bird rates are still on until Jan. 2!)

Let’s do it!!

Read more
‘Marathon wars’ flare up over spring races (Toronto Star)
More races than ever in Toronto this spring (National Post)
Sporting Life’s version of events

Read the ‘Best of this Blog’ -- please?

2011-12-28T10:07:00.000-05:00

Whole lotta typin’ going on...

I was compiling a ‘Best of 2011’ list for this blog, but then while I was putting it together, I decided to sneak in a few overlooked nuggets from previous years.

I consequently wound up with a fun selection of past entries specifically chosen for quality, personal satisfaction, and popularity with readers.

Check it out! As always, comments or feedback are appreciated.

And thanks for reading!

See also
Recent... - a magazine-style layout of recent entries
Archives - a complete listing of every post in this blog
Dynamic view - a dynamic rendering of the archive

The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast - How the Queen’s English has Changed Over Time

2011-12-25T16:02:00.000-05:00

Her Majesty the Queen

In 1932, George V began a tradition of broadcasting a Royal Message to the Commonwealth of Nations at Christmas. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has continued this annual tradition.

I was going to simply post the Queen’s Christmas Broadcast for you to enjoy, but this reminded me of a study on language and pronunciation which I’d like to share with you.

You’ve probably heard the expression, “the Queen’s English”, referring to a certain accent of English as spoken in the south of England (aka Received Pronunciation).

This accent is often associated with money, privilege, and the upper class -- the British monarch is held up as an example of perfect diction. In The Merry Wives of Windsor, Shakespeare refers to ‘an old abusing of God's patience and the king's English.’

Interestingly, Her Majesty the Queen arguably no longer speaks the Queen’s English of the 1950s. In fact, it turns out that the Queen’s speech has perceptibly drifted, becoming “definitely less upper-class” according to royal biographer Kenneth Rose.

This drift in the Queen’s pronunciation was empirically studied by Jonathan Harrington, Sallyanne Palethorpe and Catherine Watson, who published research in 2000 that acoustically analyzed those Royal Christmas Broadcasts, to see whether the Queen’s pronunciation of certain vowels changed over time (Monophthongal vowel changes in Received Pronunciation: an acoustic analysis of the Queen’s Christmas broadcasts, in Journal of the International Phonetic Association, later abbreviated in Nature).

The researchers found that there had been a “fairly dramatic change from the 1950s to the late 1960s/early 1970s, with very little change thereafter to the mid-late 1980s”.

Listen for yourself -- here’s the Queen’s Christmas Broadcast for this year: link

and for comparison, the 1957 Christmas Broadcast: link

God Save the Queen! And Merry Christmas!

Complete reading:

The Nature summary cited above (pdf)
The original study by Harrington, Palethorpe and Watson (pdf)
Jonathan Harrington’s 2006 followup in the Journal of Phonetics, An acoustic analysis of ‘happy-tensing’ in the Queen’s Christmas broadcasts (2006)
To read the layman’s summary of all this, see How the Queen’s English has grown more like ours in The Telegraph
The transcripts for all of the Queen’s Christmas Messages since 1952

Too many deaths at the Toronto Zoo?

2011-12-16T04:24:00.000-05:00

A Sumatran Tiger
photo via: Wikipedia

It sure seems like there are have been a lot of animal deaths at the Toronto Zoo lately.

A few days ago Brytne, a 13 year old Sumatran tiger, was mauled to death by a breeding partner, in an incident that zoo handlers were careful to stress as ‘really bad luck’.

Look at this list of recent animal deaths at the Zoo, compiled by the Toronto Star:

October 2011: 10-year-old polar bear Aurora gave birth to three cubs and “rejected” them. Two died. (She killed two previous cubs the prior year as well)
Oct. 21, 2011: Rowdy, the zoo’s oldest male African lion, was euthanized, just a few months after his mate, Nokanda, died of cancer. The lions had been companions since Nokanda moved to the zoo from Philadelphia in 1997.
July 2011: 15-year-old Nokanda, a white lioness, was euthanized after vets discovered she had cancer.
February 2010: Tongua, a Siberian tiger, died after surgery. The 17-year-old animal did not recover from sedation.
August 2010: Samantha, a 37-year-old Western Lowland gorilla was euthanized after a stroke caused her to lose control of her limbs and experience seizures.
June 2010: 32-year-old orangutan Molek was euthanized after blood tests revealed his kidneys had stopped working.

Plus, there are all the elephant deaths -- four in four years. We had a herd; attrition reduced this to a lonely troika, providing the impetus for city council’s contentious vote to finally move the pachyderms to a wildlife sanctuary.

What is a normal animal mortality rate for zoos?
Deaths are inevitable when you manage a sizable population of wild animals. Animals get older. They interact. Accidents, illness, and injuries occur. The looming question is, what’s ‘normal’? What are the comparative metrics for zoo animal mortality rates? Is the Toronto Zoo doing better, or worse than we should expect, for a facility of its size and population?

[A cynical person might comment that the mortality rate for every zoo is always 100%]

I wonder if this is, in a certain sense, a foreboding turning point for the Zoo -- when key members of its animal stock have disappeared. Its management, ongoing existence and funding are openly being questioned. There have been numerous controversial discussions about selling or leasing it to a third party for operation.

Is a municipally-operated zoo no longer part of our shared future vision for this city?

I think that zoos are an important mechanism for urbanites to stay connected to nature. Does the educational value of the zoo outweigh the potential loss of that connection? Whenever I visit the zoo, I am filled with a sense of wonder at the myriad forms of life on this planet. Yet zoos are inherently artificial creations -- an imposition of structure on natural life.

I’d love to hear what you think in the comments.

See also
Council votes to send elephants away
No more elephants at the Toronto Zoo

Calvin Updates His Status

2011-12-10T11:53:00.000-05:00

Ever wonder what Calvin’s Twitter stream would be like?

A slight adulteration brings this Calvin and Hobbes strip into the current age. I’ve been mulling about various aspects of remix culture lately...

Fair Use Statement
This post may contain copyrighted material for which the usage has not been pre-authorized. Such material is being made available with the intent of providing commentary and critique of an educational nature. All Calvin and Hobbes images are copyright © Universal Press Syndicate and are the original artwork of Bill Watterson. This post is not associated with Universal UClick, Bill Watterson or any other unmentioned publishing company in any way. No infringements of any copyrights or trademarks are intended. It is intended that persons visiting this post do so for personal reasons only.

This material is presented to you under the auspices of 17 U.S. Code, Section 107, with the understanding that this material is provided in a not-for-profit manner, for educational purposes only. The appearance of any content in this post does not automatically imply that you have the right to use it; if you wish to procure a license to reproduce any of the materials contained within, please contact the content owner directly. No financial loss is intended to Universal UClick, Bill Watterson or any other copyright owner. In making the above statements of request and intent it is intended that this post should therefore be protected under the 'fair use' provisions of copyright law.

Additional light reading
No copyright intended - Andy Baio
Remix - Lawrence Lessig
Copyright and Remixing - Edward Lee

Grand River Rocks Thrashing

2011-12-04T13:07:00.000-05:00

Grand River Rocks
TdB poster

Ooof! I had a rough outing at yesterday’s Tour de Bloc bouldering competition.

I didn’t accomplish any of my goals. My comp strategy was a farce. But I did get to check out a sweet new climbing facility in Kitchener, called Grand River Rocks.

Notwithstanding my lacklustre performance -- I had a great time.

Soreness Rating: 9 out of 10 aspirins
I’m declaring a new metric for measuring my appreciation of a particular comp. The greater my level of soreness the day after, the more I’ve enjoyed myself.

It’s a subjective assessment of how enticing the problems were, in terms of luring me to push hard on them. In other words -- how fun was the problem-setting?

The primary cause of today’s discomfort:
#37 - short, sweet, and brutalizing. My apologies
to innocent bystanders for all the noisy profanity.

The result from yesterday: Ooof. My right shoulder is locked up, and my left elbow is disturbingly angry -- will be icing it today. An unequivocal success!

Grand River Rocks -- worth the trip

Roughed up at
Grand River Rocks

Grand River Rocks hosted yesterday’s session. It’s a brand new gym, located in a retrofitted industrial warehouse just off of downtown King Street in Kitchener.

My ride to the comp -- thanks Pia!! -- was competing in the morning, so I arrived way before most of the other Open competitors.

I thus had a chance to kill some time and surreptitiously quiz Josh Tuffin about the joint (his abs are the ones featured on the poster, incidentally).

Grand River Rocks Founders: Mike, Josh, Scott, Christoff
photo: Aaron Schwab of Aaron Schwab Photography

Since the demise of Higher Ground several years ago (at the now defunct Pioneer Sportsworld in Cambridge), there hasn’t been a real climbing facility in the KW area, beyond small non-public bouldering walls at the two universities. So for local climbers, Grand River Rocks is a welcome development.

View from the entrance

Opened in August, the gym is housed inside a former warehouse for Canada Cordage, a rope manufacturer that still operates across the street. The place has about 9,000 square feet of climbing surface, and 36' high ceilings (with the slant, some routes are probably 45 feet). It features a massive central top-out boulder with a couple of arches, and climbing walls along the outside.

The J shaped central boulder -- it can be topped out, although
not for the comp yesterday

This layout (and the bright lighting) provides for a pleasantly airy and spacious feeling -- with plenty of room to climb, to stretch and work out, or to just hang around and spectate. There are separate changerooms for men and women -- with lockers available -- and a refreshingly cold water fountain.

Canada Rockworks helped to build the walls and the boulder, which are comprised of a steel superstructure overlaid by plywood and concrete (?). It’s a very distinctive look and feel.

#42 -- the easy corner problem everyone did (including
myself. Though it frustratingly took me a few tries!
Thanks for the encouragement Keith)

It’s apparent that a lot of thought went into the design of the walls and the bouldering. There are a ton of curves, corners and angles -- some subtle, some crazy and aggressive -- that open up many different creative opportunities for problems.

Great angles and surfaces

If I lived in Kitchener, signing up for a Grand River Rocks membership would be a no-brainer.

I asked Josh about how he came to start the gym. He had climbed and travelled for many years in various places, was trying to figure out what to do with his life, and finally -- along with three other close climbing friends -- decided to go for it.

Part of the appeal was not having to answer to anyone else but themselves. They scouted a number of locales, and entrepreneurially financed the operation via friends, family, “and any other source we could think of.”

#40 -- devilish. If I could, I would return to session this.

The founders were able to acquire a large quantity of their holds at a discount, from the previous owner of Higher Ground. Many shapes they own aren’t even produced any more. There’s also a healthy mix of brand new holds.

According to Josh, the partnership has been very successful to date. They’ve been able to spread out the myriad stresses of starting and operating a new business amongst the four of them, and they’ve been able to balance off their different individual strengths.

It’s been a thrilling experience for all of them -- and it makes them happy to share their passion for climbing with others.

#38 -- argh. I never figured out the sequence to the finish.
And neither did most of the other climbers I saw who worked it.

I’ve been struck by the increasing prominence of bouldering in climbing culture. The design of recently constructed facilities such as Grand River Rocks reflects this shift in attitude. Bouldering isn’t an afterthought for gyms anymore; it’s now a key part of the experience being offered.

Or perhaps I wasn’t paying enough attention before.

My lacklustre performance -- ugh
As mentioned, I had a tough time. I only finished one problem that I really worked on (#37), and everything else seemed to spit me off. The comp had 50 problems, so I was aiming for stuff in the 30s, but I wound up struggling mightily both on the walls and on the scorecard -- I did 42, 37, 30, 29, 27, and 25.

I wasn’t calm enough on either orange or red.

My time management was poor. I simply could not send anything decent for the first hour. About half-way through the session, I wasn’t even sure if I was going to get the minimum six!

#31 -- I was really frustrated by the start on this.
I kept falling on my ass.

This is actually a telling commentary on how a slight difference can drastically change my perception of how I well I did. There were about 3 problems I felt I had a legitimate chance on, which I didn’t get. If I had only sent 2 of those 3, I would have been amply satisfied with the results...

I guess it’s a matter of keeping perspective. Good effort at least.

I had fun on #29, even though it wasn’t too
rewarding points-wise

Results
Yesterday’s results can be gleaned with a little navigation at compseason.com. I wasn’t able to stick around for Finals, but it looks like Eric Sethna edged out Florent Balsez in Men’s, and Cloé Legault [have you seen After 5 with Ms. Legault? Check it out!] fended off Erin Ford-Zieleniewski for the win in Women’s.

Congratulations everyone!

The comp had an impressive turnout -- 200 competitors.

Goals for this season
It’s always scary to state goals in public in case you fail. But they’re kind of amusing, so here goes anyway. I’ve decided on three personal goals for the comps that I attend this season:

• Try to beat my secret nemesis
• Qualify for Women’s Finals (yes, I know I’m not a woman)
• Finish out of the bottom third in Men’s Open.

Unfortunately I failed on all three measures yesterday. Damn!

But if there’s anything that bouldering teaches you, it’s stubbornness, and perspicacity. I just gotta give’r next time.

#30 - tricky finish for people with short arms

I’ve been trying to improve my climbing. Meaning, regular bouldering sessions, and actually working on areas of weakness -- in other words, training. It’s kind of a change from my normal recreationally-oriented approach.

There’s certainly room for improvement. It’s a process of self-discovery -- just what am I capable of? Can I push myself to achieve it?

Oddly, I felt stronger going into yesterday than I did for the comp at Rockhead’s, but the outcome was quite different. I’m going to continue training -- and we’ll see what happens. Wish me luck!

Thanks guys!!

Need haircut badly!

I want to thank Pia and Tracey for the ride to the comp, and Omar for the ride back to Toronto. I hate riding the bus by myself, so the lift is much appreciated.

Thank you to the generous folks at ClimbingHoldReview for flowing me a snazzy CHR shirt! Jeremy -- I tried my best but I just wasn’t clicking.

Aaron Schwab graciously let me use his photo of the GRR founders (he also took the photo that’s used in the comp poster!).

And of course thanks to Grand River Rocks, the sponsors, and the TdB organizers for putting on a great comp.

Lastly, to whoever set #38 -- I hate you. Excellent job.

ps. Was it just me or were the medics at the last two comps super attractive?! Women in uniform... Ahem.

See also...
• Read about my previous Tour de Bloc experiences -- fun!
• Other assorted photos I took from the comp can be found here.
• Kuge Rikuya’s account (knowledge of Japanese or Google Translate useful)
• Aaron Eden’s description of the Finals
• Nancy Hogan’s videos from the Finals
• Dustin Curtis -- the main setter -- provides his view of the comp

Occupy North Pole!

2011-12-01T00:13:00.000-05:00

Santa Claus is the 1%.

Santa: a corpulent image of corporate excess
Illus.: Thomas Nast, 1881

He only works a single day each year.

Yet he merrily exploits an unpaid labour force of bedraggled elves, who toil away frantically inside a mass-production factory, euphemistically known as ‘Santa’s workshop’ -- or is that Santa’s sweatshop?

(Do the elves have a labour contract? Or are they essentially slaves? An impartial third-party audit of the elves’ working conditions has never been released to the public.)

Just look at him: plump, jolly Santa is the very image of excess. In The Night Before Christmas, he’s described as being ‘dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot’. And who is the gluttonous recipient of the milk and cookies, year after year?

Santa’s List: Orwellian tool for
oppressive social conditioning?

Santa -- one man, alone! -- wields the monopoly power to decide whether you’ve been naughty or nice. By what means did he acquire his capricious and judgemental authority? We never held any democratic elections for this.

Doesn’t that strike you as an unseemly and inequitable concentration of influence for a single person?

Where is the transparency and accountability in his decision-making process? If your name shows up in the wrong spot on that arbitrary, notorious List of his, you wind up with a lump of coal instead of a present! Sure, he claims to check it twice -- that’s supposed to be quality control? What are the safeguards to prevent systemic fraud or other abuses?

And, most importantly with respect to the Occupy framework, why does Santa consistently give rich kids more expensive gifts than to poor kids? Social justice is being failed.

“He knows when you’ve been good or bad” -- since when did we grant Santa unfettered access into our homes, to conduct Panopticon surveillance for every moment of our personal lives? It’s a gross invasion of our privacy rights -- the first step towards a totalitarian dictatorship.

Notice how, during the busiest travelling time of the year, Santa flies with impunity across national borders -- without any checkpoints, customs inspections, or security monitoring whatsoever. No lines or waiting for the privileged old elf! Of course, he also lives in magnificent isolation at the North Pole -- free from taxation, and sheltered from the prying eyes of the masses.

Santa: shilling for conspicuous consumption

Despite all this, the federal government insists on providing Santa with an ongoing, heavy subsidy -- mail addressed to Santa is typically answered on his behalf by legions of ‘volunteer’ postal workers.

He doesn’t need to lift a finger, and the feds are there to bail him out from all those tricky questions kids can ask.

In return, few figures serve commercial interests as eagerly as Santa Claus. For example, Haddon Sundblom famously portrayed Santa as a dedicated Coca-Cola quaffer for several decades (A persistent meme continues to circulate that Santa’s red and white uniform is a deliberate invocation of the Coca-Cola corporate colours. Coincidence? Perhaps...).

To conclude, we need to re-examine our blind acceptance of the man in red.

Under the deceptive guise of patronizing beneficence and ritualized good-cheer, Mr. Kringle has insinuated himself into a position of deeply secular symbolism, antithetical to the roots of Christmas.

His materialist emphasis on gifts serves only to whitewash greed as a value, and to drive shopping behaviour during the holiday season. When children make their annual pilgrimage of obeisance -- while he sits regally on his throne at the mall -- what’s the key question he asks of them? “What do you want for Christmas?”

That is how the cultural indoctrination of lifelong consumerism begins.

I invite one and all to join with me in protest -- and together let’s #OccupyNorthPole!

Santarchy 2005, Toronto: The movement for change begins
(yours truly w/ grey beard)

Take Action Now Against Santa’s Moral Fascism
Photo: New York Daily News

We are the 99% -- not Santa
Photo: Steve Rhodes

Attempts to contact Santa for comment have not yet met with a response.

--
Support resources for this post provided by: United Snowmen Against Climate Change.

The Wreck of Rock Oasis -- In Pictures

2011-11-24T18:49:00.000-05:00

Disclaimer: Unsupervised, unauthorized exploration of structures undergoing demolition is not recommended. Such activity may be dangerous or illegal. You are responsible for your own actions and safety.

Earlier this year, a condo developer demolished the gritty industrial structure that housed my old climbing gym, The Rock Oasis. It only took about a week to raze 120 years of rich history into the ground.

Sic transit gloria mundi!

Standing tall for one last night...

The destruction of Oasis was personally heartbreaking. I loved climbing there -- in spite of its flaws. Although these photos were taken months ago, it’s taken me a long time to publish this post. The hesitation stems from emotional inertia.

Intellectually, we all knew what was going to happen. But actually seeing the physical Victorian-era bricks and beams strewn and twisted about -- that has been tough to stomach.

These assembled photos (from several sources) are part of my process of moving forward. They’re ugly, and awful, and make me feel sick, but they are also an acknowledgement of reality.

They are a record of what used to be at the corner of Front and Bathurst, and of the violence required to tear it down. If you loved the gym, you’ll hate these pictures. Sorry.

(And yes, I’m still angry that the developer chose to dismantle the place so early, when they didn’t have to. It will be at least another 6 months, easily, before anything even happens with the site.)

I’ve arranged the photos into three different parts, and added credit/commentary where desired. Certain shots are thematically repetitive -- that’s just the way it goes.

Click below to view each set (opens in a new window).

Part 1: Demolition

Part 2: Last Night On Earth

Part 3: Aftermath

Stay tuned -- I have one final post left in this series. It will be a different photo collection -- a nostalgic look at all the nooks and crannies of our old place. I’ll get to it eventually, I’d say in a month or two...

Comments are always welcome!

Note: Rock Oasis still operates; they moved to a transitional gym in the city’s east end.

Context and intention

This post is a pictorial coda to my essay: Farewell to Rock Oasis.

Covered in the Globe and Mail, mentioned online by Gripped, and overall positively received, the essay deals with the forgotten history of the building (also known as the Doty Engine Works), and the surrounding neighbourhood at Front and Bathurst -- as well as the history of the climbing gym itself.

Check it out if you haven’t read it!

See also:
No, I’m not involved with StopMintoFreed

Bonus shot, for good luck:

Can you guess what this is?

IRS Tax Form FAIL

2011-11-22T14:25:00.000-05:00

While struggling through some tax forms for Uncle Sam, I noticed this tucked away in the fine-print:

The IRS isn’t shy about taking up your time...

It’s like something from a Soviet-era bureaucracy. What’s striking is that the times listed are estimated, expected averages! And that’s for a single form. Heaven forfend if your ‘individual circumstance’ is complicated.*

And how exactly, did they arrive at these precise averages? Did they time 1,000 average filers to see how long it would take? (e.g. where did the 2 extra minutes come from to ‘prepare and send the form’? Is that reserved for licking the envelope?)

According to Forbes magazine, 6.1 billion hours are spent annually filling out tax forms. That’s an incredible statistic:

“... the equivalent of more than 3 million workers toiling away full time, all year. By way of comparison, the Federal government employs the equivalent of 2.1 million full-time civilian workers and Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest private employer, has 1.4 million workers in the U.S.”

I’m no raving income tax abolitionist (ahem), but surely there must be room for simplification. The productivity drain here is monumental and absurd. No wonder an entire industry thrives around tax-preparation -- it’s too complex for normal citizens to deal with.

One last irony: the above photo is from the section of the form subtitled, Paperwork Reduction Act Notice.

Have you got a tax-form horror story? (American, Canadian, or other nationality) Share it in the comments!

* in my case it turned out fairly straightforward -- unless perhaps I did not truly understand the form...