Furthermore...

It's still hot. But really, here's an interesting article on the history of sport doping from CBC:

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/photoessay/top10-doping/index.html

You'll find all the usual suspects: East Germany, China, USA Track and Field, and, of course, Ben Johnson. Surprisingly, the article is somewhat sympathetic to Johnson, claiming that while he did indeed shoot up, he was the only one caught and so he's not really a cheater, just not a very good doper. Even 20 years later, after all the fiascos surrounding the occasion, he still will not say he was wrong. And, just in case you're still feeling the need for more drug-related scandals, Justin Gatlin, Olympic and World Champion in the 100 metre dash and co-record holder, has failed a drug test taken in April. Turns out humans really can't run that fast. At least American humans can't. Have a good Sunday. Hopefully there are no positive drug tests today.

Another Hot Post

First and foremost - it is hot!! Moving on: things are pretty slow around here with Bonnie gone. It's only five more days until I join her in Saskatoon! I'm excited. We are moving in September to a better place - closer to downtown, ten-minute walks to work and school, respectively, close to coffee shops, pubs, theatres; anything, really. It took us all of two days to realize that our current apartment was way out the way of anything fun (except Tim Horton's - no end to the fun there). It will be nice to be able to make decisions on a whim - "let's go grab a beer" and then five minutes later we are having said beer.
In the news, how does Floyd Landis sleep at night? He makes up an impossible time difference from one stage to the next - 8 mins - and the next day he wins the Tour de France. Guess which day the sample in question came from? That's right, his "impossible day". Coincidence? "Oh, my testosterone just happened to be high that day. If he has a naturally high level of testosterone, wouldn't that be factored in to the testing? The circumstantial evidence is too much. With Lance, he is just a machine. Seven years of dominance is proof of that. For Landis, to have one day of dominance combined with suspected doping is just too much. By the way, he coincidentally pulled out of an event in Belgium last weekend. Perhaps he felt the heat. Who is this guy? Okay, I got a little hot under the collar there. I'm better now. Stay cool, everyone.

Halfway Home!!

Well, it's been twelve days since I saw Bonnie last. I know, I know, suck it up. But it is hard! I'm finding that I don't do very much, even though I've got a lot to do (like cleaning the house). Don't worry Bonnie - I will clean up before I leave town. I leave for Saskatoon on the 4th. And then I will not let her out of my sight, not even once. We are travelling to Wynyard for the Dunville wedding on the 12th. I hope it's not brutally hot like it has been for the last few weeks. I might need some creative cooling tactics to keep me sane. I am excited about the trip home, to see friends and family, to see familiar places once again. It will have been almost an entire year since I saw the great plains of SK. I am looking forward to it. Look forward to more posts, for now that I have reached the halfway point my spirits are up.

Canada Day on the Hill

Well. Saturday was a great, great day, despite the spattering of rain during the fireworks. Bonnie and I got up "early" to see the RCMP Musical Ride - we made it there by 10:30 just in time to be about a hundred metres back - behind a thousand other people who have a different conception of early. We didn't actually see the show - we had to rely on the massive video screens at various places. Still, it was interesting to be there - especially when we realized that we didn't need to see the horses to smell them. There were a lot of obnoxious people about, and we couldn't stay there long. We watched the PM and GG come in and then the Snowbirds flew over top - so low I felt as though I could touch them if only I reached. Not really, but they flew pretty low. And they patched one of the pilots into the PA system so he could say "Happy Birthday Canada!" as they flew overhead. Such pride in the Snowbirds!!
We then walked around downtown for the rest of the day, after stopping at a pub to watch England lose in a shootout. The pub, located directly across from Parliament Hill, charged $2 for water!! We were appalled. They also asked for payment up front, which is a little more understandable. At about five, we went to the Canal to curl up under a tree and take a nap. Then we met some friends from Bonnie's class and went for supper before heading over to see the 'works. We managed to see the band Stars, but we couldn't get close enough to hear them, oddly. They were the last act on the main stage, a hefty honour if I say so myself, yet the lead singer chose that occasion to protest our gov't. He wore a shirt (pretty clever, actually) that read "Harper's Bizarre". I'm all for free speech and he is certainly within his rights to express himself, but I also feel that class and respect count for something. Call me old fashioned (Scott, I know you will). Then the fireworks. Like I said, it rained a little, but that did not dampen our spirits. The show was impressive - going for what seemed like an eternity but was actually only 12 minutes. That's a lot of fireworks. It was a show befitting the National Capital, to say the least. We managed to wrangle ourselves out of the crowd and made it home by 11:30. And then straight to sleep. We were bushed. What a great way to spend Canada Day!