What I am reading

I am now on holidays looking for a good book and it is tough as I have recently had a good run of interesting reads.


Once a Runner is the legendary running novel by John L Parker and a must read for runners. First published in 1978 Parker sold it out of the back of his car at races from which it gained a cult following and critical praise . It was just republished this year so I grabbed a copy and was not disappointed. Once a runner is an enjoyable bit of fiction and a motivating read for anyone interested in running. It was pretty cool to get a glimpse into the psyche of the 70s running scene as Parker himself was an accomplished runner and sprinkles his book with real world characters, especially those from the hardcore the South Florida running community.


The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann recounts the tale of Percy Fawcett, the renowned explorer who went missing in 1925 while searching for the mythical city of El Dorado. Percy Fawcett is an interesting character and really the last of a dying bread of old school explorers (Apparently Indiana Jones was inspired by Fawcett so he is Ok in my book). The book describes Fawcett’s legendary ability to survive in the jungle and his dogged determination to explore the Amazon while also recounting the many failed attempts over the last century to discover what actually happened to Fawcett and his two companions. Grann provides a great deal of insight into Fawcett, as he gained access to private family documents, as well as an interesting bit of background into the Amazon. Grann keeps the story moving and you constantly find yourself amazed that Fawcett survived as many expeditions as he did. A great story of exploration and mystery that leaves you thinking that there is still more out there to discover.


Born To Run by Christopher McDougall is one part anthropological study of the Taraumara of Mexico, one part fitness self-help manual, one part human anatomy lesson all tied together by the crazy characters and culture of extreme endurance running. I enjoyed this book much more than I anticipated as McDougall keeps the story moving by focusing on the interesting array of characters he meets while trying to unlock the mystery of pain free running. Yes, I know it sound like an incredibly lame premise for a book but it really becomes quite an interesting story of self-discovery and the limits of human endurance while keeping a sense of humour and never getting bogged down with spiritual, soul searching rhetoric.

I have now switched to some fiction and have started Elephant Song by Wilbur Smith. My wife says it is was one her favourite novels so it seems like a good beach book.

1st Rant of Summer

My family and I have officially hit the road for a trip down to Gabriola Island to kick off our "vacation" portion of our holidays. As we stopped off at my parents house on the way I sat down to relax, read the paper and clear my mind of projects, household chores, schedules and appointments. With a clear and unburdened mind it suddenly hit me as I read about the new harmonized tax to be introduced in BC.

I @#$#%&! hate business. Not the average Joe trying to provide a service or product and make a buck but the business that our government talks about benefiting from every new policy that screws over the consumer. The type of business that seems to think you are a lesser human being if you are an employee. The type of business that thinks that gouges in the good times and then wants concessions in the bad times.

I mean come on, we are in the worst economic downturn in nearly a century and our government decides this is a good time to increase consumer taxes through the HST because it will provide some saving to businesses. I am sure that is a nice consolation to the guy who just lost his job at the mill. The upside is he really won't be affected by having to pay an extra 12% next time he is out for dinner since he doesn't have any money to eat out anyways.

Here's an idea to help businesses, reduce consumer taxes to encourage me to spend more.

My wife and I play the game. We went to university so we could get good jobs, we bought a house, buy RRSPs, pay into our pension, pay our bills on time and shop local when we can. However, as we are faced with dropping real estate values, disappearing investments and a pension plan that most likely is a mirage our government decides it is a good time to nail us with some more taxes to help support "business" through some hard times.

I would simply like a little more effort put into solutions to help business that don't include Gordo sticking his hands in my pockets.

Ahhhh....... Summer

Well, I find myself midway through the third week of a ten week summer and I am almost done my summer projects (at least the must do ones) to go along with a steady diet of food, drink and socializing. The best part is that we really haven't even started what we would consider our holidays, we just haven't been working. It has been so relaxing that I really don't have anything to write about but in the effort to at least keeping the appearance of this blog being up to date I thought I should post something. So below are a couple of pictures of one of our cabin squirrels doing his best humming bird impression and then testing out the guarantee on my father-in-law's squirrel proof bird feeder.