Icefield / Jasper Weekend: Part 1

Whenever Chana and I go away, whether it be for the day, a weekend, or a full holiday, there's one thing you can always count on: There will be pictures. In fact, there will be lots of pictures. I've become something of a shutter-bug over the last couple of years and, I have to admit, I usually spend a large portion of any outing with my camera in front of my face.

On our most recent getaway, Chana and I managed to snap over 500 pictures in 3 days! Of course, as can be expected in this era of digital cameras, many of those shots are the "errors" in the "trial and error" method of photography. Still, we ended up with plenty of fascinating pictures (in my opinion) that will help us preserve the awesome memories of the trip for years to come.

Now, I not only struggled with summoning the ambition to get some of these pictures ready for the web, but also how to show them off without either uploading them all to Google or overloading my own personal webspace. I wanted to post them in a way that would allow you go see them anytime you want, no matter how far into the archives this particular blog post recedes. After much thought, I settled on setting up a Flickr account separate from the one I use for my "Photo of the Week" pictures. Since Chana and I tend to leave the city any chance we get, I'll use this account strictly for posting pictures from these little trips.

This first set of snapshots was taken during our stay at the Icefields Chalet. Clicking on any one of them will take you to the Flickr page for that photo. There you can find a description of the picture, and even see it full size for maximum effect. If you'd like to see the whole set from this "Icefield/Jasper Trip", click here. There are only 7 pictures so far, but more will be added following future blog posts. To do it all at once would not only be tiring for me, but probably a bit of an overload for you as well.

Pretty considerate guy, aren't I?

Anyway, I can only hope you enjoy looking at these photos half as much as we had taking them...

Wait for It...

Looking for some cool pictures of the glacier we visited? Chana sent you, didn't she? Well, my apologies, because I've been way too busy to deal with the ton of snapshots I collected last weekend... And by "busy", of course, I mean watching Ask a Ninja clips and laughing my ass off!

So, while I'm waiting for my new butt-implants to arrive from eBay, I'll see if I can't get a couple of pictures edited and worthy of Chana's claims of excellence... But not tonight. Tonight a friend and I are going to see Disturbed! Let the ear-bleeding begin!

In the meantime, I'd suggest you check out the Ninja. His wisdom is quick and deadly...

I look forward to writing a real post for you... real soon! HYAH!

In Search of a Sunrise

A few weeks ago, on a weekend when my daughter was away visiting her Mom, I happened to get up nice and early and go out for a stroll. Luckily, I live quite close to one of the most amazing locations in our city... Nose Hill Park.

If you check out that link, you'll see that it holds the record as Canada's largest municipal park and measures a whopping 2784 acres! Now that's a park!

Anyway, as I was saying, I went for an early morning walk, camera in hand, and headed for Nose Hill. At first, I was just going to walk up the east side of the hill to see if I could get some good sunrise shots. Unfortunately, facing east meant I was facing the flattest, most unattractive part of Calgary. So, I walked a little farther into the park.

Before long, it was easy to forget that I was in the middle of a city. I was surrounded by nothing but wintry scrub grass, leafless trees, and silence. I guess it was early enough that the growl of traffic hadn't grown loud enough to penetrate the solitude of the park. I was smack-dab in the middle of one of the most peaceful walks I'd ever been on.

It occurred to me that I might get a good photo of the morning sun shining off the Rocky Mountains. The only problem there was the fact that the mountains weren't visible from where I was. I'd have to walk across to the west side.

Did I mention how big Nose Hill is?

One pond, three ducks, and four dog-walkers later, I arrived at a place that gave me a magnificent view of the west side of Calgary, complete with the majestic Rockies as a backdrop.

This is a 170-degree panorama of what I saw that morning. Those of you who remember the '88 Olympics should have little trouble locating the ski jumps at Canada Olympic Park...

Revelation: Part Two

It's true. No coffee. 29 days. And counting.

April 10 was the last time I had a cup of coffee. In fact, it was the last time I had any form of caffeine. That's right... No cola, no tea, and no chocolate either. Can you believe it? Do you know how hard it is to have 6 kids in the house at Easter and not eat chocolate? Torture!

Now, those who know me might be considering stocking up on water and non-perishables as this has generally been thought to be one of the signs of the Apocalypse. But you might want to read on before you max out your Home Depot card on building supplies for your bomb shelter...

As Chana quite correctly pointed out to me, I've done this little "decaffeinated" routine before... It was 2 years ago, almost to the day, that I started an impromptu "Caffeine De-Tox Program" which lasted a whole 30 days. You can read about it here, here, here, and here. The reasons are the same this time around and, as with last time, I will definitely be going back to drinking coffee sometime in the near future. For now, however, I'm curious to see how long this will last. Now that the physical addiction has been broken (the headaches were a killer!) and the habit of always having a coffee cup in my hand is almost gone, I'm sure I'll be able to go as long as I choose.

We'll see.

So, the name of the blog will stay the same... The caffeine may have left my bloodstream, but I can assure you it hasn't left my mind! And when I do decide to sip from the blessed chalice of java once again, I want my first one to be memorable, so be prepared with some good suggestions, okay?

Revelation: Part One

The codes have been cracked! The puzzles are solved! And, most importantly, the secret has been discovered! All that remains is to reveal it to the rest of you...

Wudrich emailed me early Friday morning with his very analytical breakdown of all the clues given, summarizing with an accurate deduction as to the nature of my clean little secret. I'm quite happy that he did, too, because the next puzzle would have involved me breaking into the Louvre and defacing some highly prized works of art and I was beginning to get cold feet about the whole thing!

Unfortunately, a busy weekend prevented me from posting this any sooner... But better late than never, right? So, without further ado, here is Wudrich's email, word-for-word:

Everything in quotes is direct from your page

"I have a secret." - Not anymore.

"It's not a dirty little secret. True, it is a relatively small one, but quite clean, really." - Depends on which part you talk about. That filter is questionable.

"Some people already know my secret, but I've been lying to the rest of you for 16 days now." - here is where it gets interesting.

"For the first few days, my secret was nothing but one big headache... First there was the dull throbbing in my forehead, followed by tension around my temples. Before long, it was the sharp, stabbing pain behind my left eye that I've come to know as a "cluster migraine"." - also known as Caffeine withdrawl

"... I still can't seem to get it off my mind. I get up in the morning, shower, dress, and start thinking about my secret." - What else do you think of after doing those things.

"... friendship began when I was 16 years old... (...if I'm not mistaken, over breakfast) that a long-lasting relationship was forged." - Or perhaps Folgered?

"... in High School, I really only saw my friend on weekends. In college, we were practically inseparable. When I was unemployed, we got together a lot less frequently." - obviously the last due to lack of funds.

"... I've become more of a "home body", put on some much-needed weight, (I'd say) and become a Dad. My friend hasn't really done anything dramatic, per se, but has definitely become a lot less complicated than when we met. In fact, I think some of the very things that I found most appealing originally are completely gone now. Yet the friendship remains because I can appreciate this friend for what they really are when everything else is stripped away." - hmmm some body went black and didn't go back.

"Lately, though, I've been thinking that maybe we hang out together too much." - oh addiction, is there anything better

"I've recently found myself feeling kind of "needy" toward my friend, and I don't want to be that person." - Isn't admitting it the first step?

"So, I decided to "take a break" " - step two

In conclusion Dr. Watson the black liquid in the large cup is the culprit. Hopefully going on 25 days now you have quit the coffee habit and are no longer a caffeinated mind, well maybe not completely. You never know how long it takes for its affects to wear off and those cola products can offer a substitute. Well, I say congratulations if I am right or "wwwhhhaaaaatttt????" if I am wrong. Either way I can't wait for more clues.

Well, since the secret is out, there won't be any more clues. However, there are more details to follow... I promise...

Stay tuned...

Clue #2: A Poem

Making You Work For It

In light of all the hype surrounding Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" and the ever-approaching release date of the movie by the same name, I've decided to play a bit of a game along those lines...

For those of you who haven't read the book, it involves a series of ever-more-complicated codes and ciphers that lend clues to the ultimate puzzle of the location of the Holy Grail (there's more to it than that, like religious zealots try to reveal supposed Church cover-ups, but you get the picture).

Now, about my game...

As most of you probably know, I have a clean little secret. Well, what better way to reveal said secret than by letting you figure it out for yourself? You see, this way, you get to have a bit of fun and I get to keep my secret a little longer. The fact that it's a cheap way to get some easy blog mileage is irrelevant...

Hidden in my next few blog entries, then, will be puzzles or codes that will lead you to a series of clues. These clues can then be used to figure out what I've been keeping under my hat for 21 days now.

You may discuss within the comments, if you wish, and I will acknowledge the first reader to properly decipher each clue. Once all the clues have been given, though, I would encourage you to email me with your answers, just so you don't accidentally give it away to someone else (how many times have you seen that happen on Wheel of Fortune?).

Will there be a prize for figuring out the secret? Good question! Right now, I don't know... But you'll be the first to know when I find out!

So, sharpen your wits, get your pencils and Ovaltine Decoder Rings ready, and see who among you will be the first to uncover Cuppojoe's Clean Little Secret.

(Certain individuals are exempt, as you already know the secret... You know who you are.)