Sibling Rivalry from a Common Mother

The Peach Arch at the Border Between Washington State and British Columbia
The Other Side of the Arch States "Children of a Common Mother"

The US and Canada share the longest, undefended border in the world. Both celebrate their national days in July. Canada celebrates Canada Day on July 1 and the US celebrates Independence Day on July 4. 

After the War of 1812, Britain and the US agreed to settle their disputes peacefully. Thankfully, we have managed to avoid any real fights since then. Still, there remain many differences. The video lists 25, though I'm not sure I would really cite Quebec as Canada's Texas....

Bad Apple or Bad Arkel?

At First Glance, Arkel "Map Cover" Looks Delightfully Obsolete

For quite a while now, I’ve had an Arkel “Large” Handlebar bag. Similarly, for quite a while, I’ve had an Apple iPad. Specifically, it’s an iPad2. A couple of days ago, it occurred to me that the somewhat obsolescent iPad might fit into the otherwise obsolescent map container on the Arkel bag. Well, as you can see from the photos, the two simply will NOT go together. An iPad Mini would fit into the Arkel, but even the newer iPad Air is just too big. I guess that if I want a bike-mounted navigation module, I’d have to stick with an iPad Mini size. Not that I really have felt a burning need for something of that sort. For music, even a “phablet” phone is plenty small enough to fit inside the waterproof container.

My first inclination was to debit Apple as making their iPad just a bit too big. BAD Apple. However, further investigation revealed that the iPad is smaller than a standard piece of letter paper. What’s more, even letter paper is a little too wide to fit into the Arkel map container without folding.

Perhaps the oddball size of the Arkel container is a Canadian thing.* Their metric fetish might mean they avoid standard size letter paper. Perhaps Apple should have made sure their iPad fit inside an Arkel Handlebar Bag transparent holder. Either way, I’m now in discussions with my favorite daughters about an iPad2 versus iPad Mini swap that’d be more handy for carriage to the nearby library than for any GPS navigation use. Still a bike with an integrated GPS seems oddly attractive…

Nope, a Full-Size iPad is Won't Fit in "Landscape" Orientation - Though it is Close Enough that Somebody Could Have Adapted

Nope, A Full-Size iPad Won't Fit in "Portrait" Orientation

*Yesterday, at our Jaguar Club concours d'elegance, I said to one of our Canadian entrants, "Can you tell me something about Canada?" When he answered affirmatively, soon he assured me that Canadians used the same size letter paper as we Southern Imperialists and not some frenchified size or even a UK size. It is good to hear the the Canadians DO follow sanity beyond how they spell "tire" (NOT tyre). Informed that Arkel is based in Quebec, he allowed that all bets might be off since THOSE people could be assumed to do all manner of odd things.

25 Years From Flight to Flight

Yesterday marked Canada Day and the first flight of the Bell Helicopter 525 Relentless in Amarillo, Texas. I do not know if this was coincidence or intent. I was fortunate to work on that program for much of its early development, though I was unable to see its first flight in person. It was one of the few “completely brand new” developments that most engineers get to see in their careers nowadays. It was a collaboration of the Bell sites in Texas and in Canada, as well as many suppliers. The first flight is shown below.

A while back I got to see “my own” previous first flight of a “completely brand new” aircraft. It was the YF-23 Black Widow II. It’s first flight will be 25 years ago next month (August 27). Its first flight is shown below. The quality isn’t as good since it was my own video shot at the event at Edwards AFB. Less than a year later, we had signs up around our area saying “will design the world’s most advanced fighter jet for food.” I pray the Bell 525 works out a lot better. Only time will tell. 

Eleven and ZERO



Canadian Skip, Jennifer Jones,
Considers the Start of the Gold Medal Round

It was one of those. A record that cannot be broken. It’s a record much like “unassisted triple play” or “perfect game” in baseball. You see, Team Jennifer won the womens’ curling gold medal for Canada with eleven straight wins. It was their first since 1998. They did it against a good Swedish team that was defending the gold for their country.

I watched it from “pre-match” at 5AM until the Swedes collapsed in the 9^th End after an 8^th End Canadian score that was only microns closer than themselves to the Button. Heck, I didn’t even get a chance to ride out for espresso at my usual time!

The Canadians got a Double Steal in the 9th End

To their credit, the Swedes were a class act, but this was THE Canadian year. With even a “double double” possible…

This Shot was GOLDEN!

Go GOLDEN Girl!



Jennifer Jones, From Wikipedia

This marks the start of the winter Olympics. This year marks the first that Jennifer Jones has made it to the Canadian Olympic Curling Team. It's also likely to be her last chance.

Seriously, it's time to do ONE placing better. JENNIFER!!!

From My Own Post Made Four Years Ago. Maybe Jennifer Can Do What Cheryl Couldn't QUITE Get Done

IT's TIME to GO FOR GOLD in 2014! As Cheryl Said, "It's a Rough Road to Greatness."

Monday's the FIRST Round. As Bernard forecast four years ago, "today is your day.

Watch the video in FULL screen.

"Jennifer, Make us PROUD in 2014!"





Spring Snow

With all the talk about flowers, I noticed it is true what I was told about "not being out of the woods until Easter." Seen this morning outside my Quebec hotel...

Blogsy Post and Cyclist in the Dark

I've gotten a bit of a "view from behind the windshield" this week of a cyclist in the dark while I'm up here in Quebec. It has put me into a bit of a quandary. The cyclist in question has the legally required equipment and, in addition, wears high vis clothing.

Despite this, and despite the fact that I am FAR more attentive to cyclists than are most motorists, I found it difficult to judge closing parameters and how best to pass. Perhaps this is due to a combination of snow alongside the road, lights from other traffic, and perhaps a far, "off to the right" lane position.

My best photo of the situation is shown below. And in case you were wondering, my training kicked in and I made a full lane change when it was safe to do so in order to pass. A couple of motorists followed my example instead of cutting the guy close. Perhaps occasional ice contributed.

I'm not suggesting things would necessarily have been helped had he been riding in a more assertive lane position (though I believe it likely), but I was surprised to see what little help any of that high vis stuff is under the right (actually wrong) conditions.

Just sayin, be careful out there in the dark, snowy conditions. AND, if you often drive and encounter cyclists in the dark with other traffic on the road, how do YOUR experiences compare. Back in Texas Tarrant suburbs, I rarely see cyclists in such condition, though I ride in them daily. Hmm...

UPDATE - The cyclist had a reflector, reflective stripes on his panniers and a high vis vest. The red spot on his helmet is a blinky - looked like a Planet Bike Superflash, though not as bright as mine. I don't recall there being any other light - the low red is a reflector and wasn't very visible until I got close. I do not know if it was a CPSC or SAE reflector. My own reflector is an SAE which reflects better than a regular bike reflector in the lane position I usually am riding on similar roads. I shall have to do a future post comparing reflector types. I did not note it in the original post, but, while I'm far from being an uncritical fan of bike lanes, this might be one situation in which they might really pay off because there are no crossing conflicts and a "to the right" cyclist is difficult to assess and act properly with as a motorist. I do not know if a cyclist assertively controlling the lane would have made it easier - I have never seen one in such conditions.
 

Timmy Gets Fancy

Well, Tim Horton might be feeling some competitive pressure. Not from Starbucks, which is mostly shut out from Canada, but from "the Maple Leaf Chain;" namely the great Canadian colossus sometimes known as "McDonalds" and their popular "McCafe." Lattes? At Tim Horton? What will come next; biscotti?

Personally, I'm not sure that Timmy's got all its marketing right. You get free wifi at McDonalds and that lets me text under the new Apple iOS without paying the exorbitant AT&T foreign data rates. Just remember: "McDouble, sans ketchup; ici; sandwich seulment, s'il vous plait."

Yup, I'm in Quebec once again. Somehow, I find that -17C in Quebec seems a LOT warmer than 2F would in North Texas. I'm not sure why this should be so...

Je Me Souviens

Coat of Arms of Quebec

Is the motto seen on Quebec motor vehicle license plates. It also sums up a lot of the last week that will probably never get posted on this blog.

Lots of Stuff Happened This Week. This is Only One.
Je Me Souviens

For reasons totally unrelated to this post, I inquired of a French Canadian colleague about the motto's meaning. She indicated that "I remember" means that they had excellent memories of the past; going into the future. At the time, I remembered Wolfe and Montcalm, and the battle, (and, only to myself, Benedict Arnold), but, as I got to ride my road bike for the first time in many days, the Quebec motto; "je me souviens" could just as well apply to many of the bike posts I have read, and even sometimes commented on, while I was up in Quebec during the last week. What's more, they apply to world news.

Those Quebecois bear close watching, and pondering, as I ride from point to point around the DFW Metroplex. And, Thomas, this morning's ride was extra nice, even though no motorist was anything other than considerate or polite. What's more, I think the Chipseal affair is wrapped up and tied with a bow.

Je Me Souviens...

Rantwick's Tree is Safe - For the Moment. Quebec Trees are in Groups!

As Rantwick Says, A Group Might Well Overwhelm the King

IMO, We, in North America, Can TAKE THOSE Europeans On!
Je Me Souviens

On My Way Home, I Noticed Rubber on the Edge of a Bike Path.
I Noticed it AFTER I Almost Suffered a Diversion Fall
Je Me Souviens

This Guy Honked From His Parking Spot. I Think, However, His Honk was Not Intended Towards Me
I was Sipping Coffee at the Time. Who Knows if He'd Have Waved on the Road
Je Me Souviens

Back on the Bike After a Week of Driving
Je Me Souviens

Unlike Tim Horton, Starbucks has Free WiFi
Je Me Souviens

Smooth Roads and Light Traffic
Je Me Souviens

Semi-Serious Tribute

Y'all listen up. It's Canada's day today! It's time to call my mom...

Shivering in Texas for Canada Day

Buddy in the Background. Helmet on the Table. Stuff in the Frigid Interior

Today is my mom's birthday. It is also "Canada Day." When I was much younger, it was called "Dominion Day," but we're more egalitarian nowadays, even though the Queen is still on a lot of the money.

Anyway, in honor of the great north, I imbibed my coffee this afternoon inside in air conditioned frigidity rather than sit outside next to the bike where it was pleasantly warm. It was so cold inside that the ice in the triple filtered ice water hardly shrunk at all. The temperature outside? I have no idea but it was somewhere between 95F and 100F. July in North Texas is pretty predictable...

For my reader(s) north of the border, I leave you with memory of the Queen's Canadian Banner. Just be thankful I didn't embed THIS link once again!

Queen's Canadian Flag. More Properly Known as "The Royal Standard of Canada"

Tim Horton and a Cyclist's Impression of Quebec

Tim Hortons, Saint Sauveur des Monts, Québec. The Closest Tim Hortons to Dallas is in Kentucky. I Wish it Was Otherwise
The Ski Hill is Up on the Right. Québec Snow in Late February is Much Icier than BC Snow at the Same Time

OK, OK, it isn't enough to talk about Tim Hortons in comments about a post that actually SHOWS a photo of a bike rack at a restaurant of a chain that has its world headquarters in Des Plaines, Illinois. Tim didn't have bike racks. I looked. Tim also didn't have free wi fi, as did that place with the maple leaf grafted on to its arches. Free wi fi is highly desirable when you get a message from ATT telling you that your unlimited data does NOT apply and you'll get stuck for  $15.36/MB.

In many ways, Québec was infused with bicycle indications. The first of these came when I arrived at Montréal's Trudeau Airport. Right in the area where we arrived at customs, there was - a bicycle cop. She was outfitted much the same as the Fort Worth bicycle police officers, but I'm not sure exactly how useful a bicycle would be in a crowded terminal. About as useful as a Segway, I'd guess. Do Segways have locks? Regardless, the bike would be good to get to the other end of the terminal but then you'd capture the scofflaw on foot, or so I'd imagine from having watched too many movies.

The airport was lacking in some other bicycle amenities, however. There was no place to rent a bike at the terminal, nor did they seem to know where I might go locally to rent one. There also appeared to be no practical way to depart the airport by either bicycle or even by car. Fortunately, the GPS in my rental car eventually got me out of the airport, where soon I noticed that all the freeway onramps had signs posted to let me know that no bicycles or pedestrians were allowed on these limited access roads. This is different than Texas, where cyclists are not, technically prohibited from any but a few toll roads. Montréal's freeways in the city center were more logical than those in Vancouver, but neither place made paving over the city center the priority it would have been in an equivalent US city.

In the morning, I got to my business meeting and noticed that one intrepid cyclist had tracked through the snow and ice to work. Later on, I talked to an engineer that knows the cyclist and noted that he lived fairly close by. I can empathise. I was also told that cyclists were catered to by the businesses around Québec. This time, I didn't have a chance to spend much time around downtown Montréal. Perhaps in a future trip. I shall try out those separated pathways for myself, though the local reports I heard were less glowing than what you read in the press.

I also searched for some Jakeman's syrup, but all I saw was the stuff in maple leaf bottles. You know, the stuff that Rantwick showed in his very initial FARATS post. I didn't buy any because it's readily available here in Texas at TJ Maxx for less than half the price. Rantwick chose wisely when he elected to pick Jakeman's instead.

Airport Syrup - Same as Texas TJ Maxx at Twice the Price

Snow is No Big Deal at Trudeau Airport

Theory and Practice and Canada

The Queen's Canadian Flag. More Properly Know as "The Royal Standard of Canada"

“In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is.” In theory, this quote is from Yogi Berra. In practice, there are at least two other claimants.

In theory, I’ll be in Canada this week. In practice, I’ll be in Quebec. Looks like a return to warm woolen socks!

Avez-vous Jakeman's? Parler lentement s'il vous plaît.

Greatest Forgotten Moment in Sports History



Even the U of W has Forgotten This Proud Moment

PaddyAnne prompted this post. She humorously mentioned curling as a means to help with ice biking. THAT reminded me of the 2010 Winter Olympics, in which "Team Bernard" took on the rest of the world and brought home a silver medal for Canada in women's curling. I dearly wish they'd managed to get the gold, but it was not to be in 2010. Still, it represented an approach to sports that has largely disappeared. The era when it was not simply government teams, but individual teams that got to compete. An era such as in "Chariots of Fire," when athletes competed as much for their school or locality as for their country.

This prompted my recollection of the "greatest forgotten moment in Sports History." The day the University of Washington Crew beat Nazi Germany.

We all know about Jesse Owens beating the Nazis in "the Hitler Olympics," but few remember other events in which Adolf was upstaged. My own favorite was the victory of the Husky crew over Germany and Italy. The English were involved as well, but they didn't win a medal. The Huskies beat the world.

To make a long story less long, the Huskies came, and they won. The video shows the ways that progaganda tries to spin things after the fact. I suggest watching the first few seconds, and then fast forward to the part after a minute into the video. In all fairness to the Germans, they DO play part of the US National Anthem at the end. Go Dawgs!

This is a reason why one of the acquisitions that I plan, but have yet to make, is a single-seat scull. In the one and only time I called in to a radio talk show, when the Seahawks were on their way to a loss in the Superbowl, I prompted faint recollections of this event. Others also still remember occasionally such as below:

Obituary of the Last Husky Crew Member who Passed Away in 2009 - Seattle Times

Seattle Olympics - You can see the Husky crew GOLD amongst all the highlights if you look

Despite the Picture at top, the crew is not TOTALLY forgotten even at the UW

"Germany, Italy, and Britain all moved ahead, with the leader, Germany, at least a length up. Fighting the quartering headwind in lane six, the Huskies began to increase the stroke rate. Finally, with about 500 meters left in the race the lakeshore changed, disrupting the lee in which Germany and Italy were racing. The quartering headwind was now evenly felt, at about the instant Hume and his crew began to sprint. By now we know what happens when this crew would sprint, and the confidence they had in each other; every race in 1936 this crew had fallen behind, only to gain it back. The last 200 meters were a blur, with Hume bringing the stroke rate up to an unheard of 44, the crowd chanting "Deutsch-land, Deutsch-land, Deutsch-land", and yet it was in that last 200 meters that the United States went from third to first, crossing the line about ten feet in front of Italy, with Germany third.

"The exhausted crew rowed in front of the grandstand, then to the dock, where a wreath was placed over the head of each oarsman and the coxswain. There were no interviews. The men stayed in their quarters that night. The next day they received their medals in the Olympic stadium; after the games were over, they went home various ways, some choosing to travel Europe, others going straight home.

"Historically speaking, the 1936 Washington crew would have been memorable without the Olympic victory. By sweeping the Hudson for the first time, the crew established itself as the deepest to date; with the varsity coming from lengths back in the last half mile, it established itself as one of the strongest.

"But with the almost surreal Olympic victory in pre-war Germany, the crew became legendary. And although the story itself seems to have a life of it's own - every perspective is different, and the years blur some of the details - the fact remains that this is the first Husky eight-oared crew to complete their season as undefeated National Champions - and - World and Olympic champions. And forever will they hold that honor."

If you watch the German propaganda video below, I suggest you watch the first several seconds to get a feel for the tone, then fast forward to a minute into it, where the "big eight" race is about to begin. After a lot of German rowing, somehow the Huskies suddenly win a bit after three minutes into the video as the crowd chants "Deutschland, Deutschland." Regardless of Husky Pride, I salute the 2010 Women's Canadian Curling Team. A throwback to a bygone era. Team Bernard! Go Canada! Alberta!
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UW Beats the Nazis in Germany in 1936.

I Wish "Team Bernard" Could Have Repeated the Moment in Canada in 2010

Sill, IMO, the Greatest Forgotten Moment - They Even Play "The Star Spangled Banner" a little in this German Video

In all seriousness, it is not the numbers of people that pay attention that measure greatness, nor even the final record. Greatness is within each of us. Ignore the Husky crew if you will, but watch the video below and remember. We were all to young to see the Huskies win. The last Husky crew member is now gone, but we can all remember the Alberta women of 2010 and how they almost beat the world. Regardless, y'all would be wise not to make fun of curling in front of me...
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At the Moment I Posted THIS Video, It Had Seen 224 Total Views in Over Three Months. Hardly Viral. A Future Greatest Forgotten Moment in Sports History?

Canadian Invasion!

The Queen's Canadian Flag. More Properly Know as "The Royal Standard of Canada"

It seems like only YESTERDAY that we were enjoying our beautiful North Texas Indian Summer, with a daily high of 79F. Wait, it WAS yesterday. Below is tonight's forecast. While Big Oak, Apertome, and others from the frigid north may chuckle. This is really due to a Canadian Invasion. You see, the wind has shifted to the North and it comes to us straight from the snow-covered Canadian wastes.

However, you will not see me complaining about the cold, at least not unless it gets into single digits. You see, to quote a famous half-American who MIGHT have been talking about people in Texas: "...they are a tough and hardy lot. We have not journeyed all this way across the centuries, across the oceans, across the mountains, across the prairies, because we are made of sugar candy." Many note: "If you don't like the weather in Texas, wait a day or two and it will change." And so it seems likely this week.



Note the Forecast Temperature Tonight and Friday. Big Oak Gets His Wish!



Does He LOOK Like He is Made of Sugar Candy?

Returning Inspiration Back to Rantwick

Don't play the video unless you happen to BE Rantwick or other person with the Queen as your Sovereign. I have to admit those Frenchies can be even more amusing than their North American cousins...

Hey, what can I say, Jaguar used to race as well! For the more serious version, complete with the words Rantwick claims not to remember, there's also the video below:

I noticed they also have various versions of "Oh Canada," but I'm sure that we'll see one or another on the "Rantwick, Eh" blog someday. Maybe on July 1st, in celebration of my Mom's birthday.