Ran, Fatty, Ran

So…gasp…I…huff, puff…actually managed…wheeze…cough…to complete the 5 km Rat Race I shamelessly begged for donations for a while back.

This was the first real “race” I’ve been in (I can’t call it a real “real” race since it was for charity and whatnot, but it was as real as I’ve done), and I was pleasantly surprised with the results.

I set myself 4 goals for this race: 1) Don’t die, 2) Finish the race, 3) Finish in under 30 minutes, and 4) Finish in under 25 minutes. I’m pleased to say that I totally nailed the first 3. I managed to finish the run with a time of 27:53 and came in 416 place. That’s better than 799 other people there (in your face, Lale Kustu). Anyway, for the full results go here, or see below

So, did I learn anything? I found out that you tend to run a lot faster in a race than when you’re running on your own. I learned that my knees still hurt. I learned that having the woman who finished after you vomit near you isn’t all that fun at the end of the race. And I learned that I kind of enjoyed it and might do it again, motivation permitting.

Thanks to everyone who pledged me…you’ll be happy to know the money went directly the to the Southwestern Ontario Association of Bartenders and Beer makers. Couldn’t have done it without you!

Lucky day!

Yeah, haven’t been feeling the blog mojo lately, so you get stuck with this little tidbit: I found a unicorn!

Now I can check that off my list…what mythical items are left to find, let’s see: a unicorn, an antwerp, a live gnome, Muk Muk, pixie dust, my dignity, Canada’s national identity, my lost idealism, a purpose, Narnia, a hobbit and a truly socially compassionate Republican.

Photo courtesy of Associated Press

Cleveland Steamer Set to Sail!

So, me and my Toronto entourage are off for a weekend of fun in sunny Cleveland. Expect a couple of days of silence as we enjoy the hospitality of Jimsey as he squires us around The Metropolis of the Western Reserve.

In light of this, I thought it would nice to pass on a little Cleveland trivia:

1. Cleveland boasts America’s first traffic light. It began on Aug. 5, 1914.
2. Cleveland became the world’s first city to be lighted electrically in 1879.
3. Babe Ruth hit his 500th career home run in Cleveland.
4. Cleveland was the site of the first successful coronary by-pass surgery.
5. Cleveland is named for Moses Cleaveland, a surveyor who settled the town in 1796.\
6. Cleveland was originally called “Cleaveland”, but a newspaper editor changed the spelling so that it would fit in his masthead.
7. One of Cleveland’s twenty sister cities is West Mayo, Ireland.
8. Dorthy Dandridge and Ruby Dee are from Cleveland.
9. Oh, and Paul Newman, too.
10. In 1853, Cleveland had the first U.S. African American newspaper (The Aliened American).
11. The gas mask was invented in Cleveland in 1916.
12. In 1967, Carl Stokes became the first African American mayor of a major U.S. city.
13. Cleveland had the first rapid transit service from the airport to downtown in 1968.
14. Arsenio Hall was born in Cleveland.
15. I know a guy who lives there.

See you at the Cuyahoga!

Silly Searches, Vol. 2

Continuing Ben Co.’s fluff theme from yesterday, I’m pleased to unveil a continuation of our series on whacked out searches that brought people here.  Without further ado, I give you Silly Searches, Vol. 2

1. “calvin and hobbes” - If you want guaranteed hits on your blog, post about Calvin and Hobbes.  Doesn’t seem to matter what you post, anything will do.  Since we posted this comic we’ve had 4,357 searches for this…not including all the variations (”Kelvin and Hobbes”…c’mon)

Daily Fluff

Believe it or not, I don’t have anything that is infuriating me today (outside of my works network, which I won’t get into…grr).  So, how about a little harmless fluff courtesy of Gizmodo?

It seems that Panasonic has developed a lil’ robot (under 7″) that just climbed part of the Grand Canyon in 7 hours and on two AA batteries.  Called the EVOLTA (like revolt? like I, Robot? eep!), it’s a cute little devil.  Coming to a crawlspace near you…equipped with a camera…hooked up to the Feds.

Image courtesty of Gizmodo

Goodbye, Gardiner?

On Friday the Toronto Star led with a report that Mayor David Miller has finally gotten behind a plan to start tearing down the god awful Gardiner expressway along the Toronto waterfront. While the proposed plan doesn’t remove the entire expressway, it is a promising start.

The proposed plan (which is light on details) suggests tearing down the 2.5 kms of the Gardiner, from the Don Valley Parkway to Jarvis street. The stretch is highlighted below (click for larger image).

Toronto Jimfoolery

So, like….I took some pictures of the de facto capital of Canada. This is a follow up to my pictures of People I’m still not sure what to make of the city. Don’t get me wrong, its a good city (sit Ubu sit). I’m having a hard time comparing it to any of the cities I’ve been to. I can say though, with a very high level of confidence that its better than Edmonton.

Well anyway, here’s the link to my flickr photo set, and as usual here’s a few snippets:

From somewhere on Toronto Island

Wispy, like my hair.

Toronto Tomfoolery

So some posts might not have far reaching appeal to mass audiences. This one pretty much has an appeal to about 7 people, 3 cats and 2 Snoopys and 1 Dirigible.

I know in a previous post I mentioned that I was moving away from Picasa towards Flickr. I think I’m partially doing that. For random silly pictures I think I’m going to keep going with Picasa since so many of my friends have a google account and commenting and following is still decent in Picasa. But as mentioned before, the resolution algorithms on Picasa blows, so “real” photos will be handled by flickr.

Anyway, If you want to see some general tomfoolery, shenanigans and skylarkings by some of Ben Co.’s greatest minds and followers, click here. Generally speaking most pictures involve beer, standing looking stupid, sitting looking stupid or posing stupidly.

A small taste:

Me and my BFF Racecar Snoopy