Mobilize 2008

Am off to Calgary tomorrow to attend Mobilize 2008.  The original plan was for another manager from the Centre and I to be gone until Friday but we are coming back Wednesday night.  We have a couple of projects that we need to take care of in addition to all of the other work we have to do.  It's nice to get away but eventually you have to come back to all that paper collecting on your desk.

The conference is about emergency disaster relief.  While we aren't exactly in a earthquake or hurricane zone, we have been a part of evacuations of northern communities in the past and I imagine we will be doing it again.  Also the fire department requests our assistance from time to time when they are putting out larger fires. 

Wendy seems utterly devastated that I am leaving home for a couple of days.  Tonight she was out getting some movies to watch, making plans with friends, and making a list of fun things to do while I am gone.  Apparently I can be replaced by a bunch of Meg Ryan movies, chocolate, and the dog sleeping in my spot on the bed.

Technorati Tags: Salvation Army Community Centre,Calgary,Mobilize 2008

Regina

We got up early and drove to Regina today, took in the Saskatchewan Science Centre, and wandered around the grounds of the Saskatchewan Legislature where the hot weather had people out in force.  While we were walking around the Saskatchewan Science Centre, my nerve endings in my ankle and face started going nuts and I realized that it was going to be a long horrible night.  After talking it over with Wendy, we decided to drive back to Saskatoon which was frustrating but with the pain I am in now, it was the right decision.  I'll see what tomorrow brings and may post some photos of Regina in the morning.  Right now I am going to find a place to lay in pain.

The Weekender

Today I was supposed to be in Regina relaxing by a pool with my beautiful wife Wendy and our wonderful son Mark. Things at work got changed around and instead of chasing Mark down a waterslide, I am at work today after spending 15 hours yesterday at work. I don't work many nights any longer and I kind of miss it so it was good. We aren't short staffed or anything but some of the staff had some things come up that I thought were more important than a trip to Regina so our trip got pushed back a day and we are leaving early tomorrow morning for Regina which should be fun.

It is the typical family holiday, hotel with a waterslide, a trip to the Saskatchewan Science Centre and a IMAX film on Sunday and on Monday we are visiting the brand new RCMP Heritage Centre. For years I have wanted to take some photos of the Saskatchewan Legislature but we will see if the sky is blue or not on the weekend. All in all it is a recipe for a Clark Griswald type family vacation.

I don't know if the hotel will have wifi but I don't plan to be online until I get back in Saskatoon on Tuesday. Mark has been complaining that his website needs work so depending on how many photos he takes, we may just log online to upload photos to his Flickr account.

North

Ben Saunders is heading North.  An attempt to set a new world record for the fastest trip to the North Pole. 

The current record was set in 2005 by a guided team using dog sleds and numerous re-supplies in a time of 36 days 22 hours. Ben's expedition will be solo and unsupported and on foot. This route has only ever been completed once solo and unsupported, by Pen Hadow in 2003. Ben aims to halve his time and complete it in 30 days. More than geographic exploration, Ben is exploring the limits of his own human potential.

Here is some of the gear he is taking with him.

Technorati Tags: Ben Saunders,North,North Pole,exploration

Photo Friday :: Mountain

I took this a couple of year ago in the interior of British Columbia. It is my submission for today's Photo Friday.

Technorati tags: Rocky Mountains, British Columbia

Shreveport: Everything that is wrong with college bowl games

The sad thing is that I have watched this bowl game on more than one occasion.

The original recipe for bowl disappointment, though, comes from Shreveport, La.: The Independence Bowl, better known to you and me as the former Poulan/Weed Eater Independence Bowl. The GMAC, the Motor City, the Meineke Car Care Bowl ... they all owe a debt of gratitude to the Independence Bowl, which came along in 1976 and innovated the bowl scene by removing the requirement of being "a destination city" from the criteria.

Teams used to go somewhere for their bowl games; Shreveport proved that football fans were so desperate for games they were willing to ditch the requirement of a holiday destination to watch games between .500 teams playing for payouts barely covering their expenses (if they're lucky).

Technorati tags: Shreveport, NCAA, football, Independence Bowl, sports

Shark Diving

Yesterday I plopped down $35 for the right to be eaten by many, many man eating sharks in the Bahamas at Stuart's Cove.  I wasn't going to go but after seeing Bishop Tom and many of my friends deciding they thought it may be cool to die at the teeth of some sharks, I went (apparently I am part lemming).  We drove across the island to a cove, were assigned some flippers (so the sharks don't think our feet are food) and boarded a boat to meet our deaths.  Once we got out there, they lower some chum below you in the water while you snorkel and watch the action.  Sounds kind of safe right?  Not really.  First of all the liability form states that if you may not be rescued and there will be no medical assistance offered if something does go wrong.  Secondly there are not just a couple of large sharks but about 50 of them.  One just about knocked Spencer's underwater camera out of his hand and one ran into my foot.  I have never experienced physical fear in my life until yesterday when I was terrified when we got in and I looked down and saw not only sharks but some of the largest fish I have ever seen.

As time went on, the sharks came up higher in the water as they know the chum gets fed to them later.  Once we were out of the water, the feeding frenzy began and it was unreal as well.  I took some photos with Todd Littleton's SLR so when he uploads them to Flickr, I will offer up some links.  Would I go again?  I would go in a heartbeat.  It was one of the coolest things I have ever done.  The underwater video footage that Spencer took was amazing and I will post the link to Google Video once he uploads it.

Technorati tags: Bahamas, Stuart's Cove, shark diving, sharks

Soularize 2007 :: Day One

Day one of Soularize started out way too early in my humble opinion.  Either that or the night before was too short.  I woke up covered in bites from the sea lice the night before. 

So Thursday we all woke up being with small chunks of flesh missing and headed to the Wynham Resorts to board some buses and head to Paradise Island so we could get to the docks and head out a private island.  The boat was three stories and like an idiot I headed to the top deck.  The first part was calm.  We saw Tiger Woods house, Eddie Murray's private island and headed to open waters where the water got rough.  On the top deck, a bunch of us got tossed around for a bit before we got to the private island.  Many us, including N.T. Wright here when snorkeling.  I had never gone before and after Mike DeVries gave some important tips on how not to swallow sea water (global sea levels actually went down that afternoon), it was a lot of fun and not something that one can easily do in Saskatchewan, even in the summer (algae and too cold).  It did rain several times but the way I looked at it, I wasn't going to get any wetter whatever we did and that rain was tropical rain after all.  By the time we had left the island, I was pretty much sun burn free but on the way back, I got burnt nicely.

 

After another swim in the ocean, it was time for a reception at New Providence Community Church.  The church features an elaborate art garden with sculptures showing the Bahamas history of slavery and oppression.  While the reception at the church was supposed to be held in the garden, the day's rains forced it onto the church porch where wine, Kalik beer, and soda.

After the wine tasting and the reception, Bishop Tom spoke for an hour.  I am pretty familiar with N.T. Wright's work and Kingdom theology but he said some things about eschatology and the kingdom that kept me up thinking for a bit after his session and challenged me because according to his talk, I tend to separate church and state too much and perhaps give to Caesar more than what Caesar deserves.  I hope to talk some more with him about this.

Perhaps the highlight of the day was that later in the day, I was relaxing on the deck (and my bedroom this week) feeling the sea spray when Todd walks right into the sliding door hard enough to cut his forehead open.

Some more on Soularize from Alan, Kyle, and Mike.  Here is my Flickr set of Rose Island

Technorati tags: Soularize 2007, TheOoze, Soularize, Rose Island, Bahamas, snorkeling, New Providence Community Church, N.T. Wright

Wednesday

Today was spent setting up for Soularize.  After breakfast we headed to New Providence Community Church and took a tour around.  NPCC has the most innovative church campus I have ever seen.  The photos on Flickr tell the story better than I could but as a church they have a better understanding of metaphor than most congregations that I have ever seen.  They also have a Sunday school where 1/3 of the year is spent in art classes, 1/3 of the year is beach reconstruction, and 1/3 of the year is spent gardening to help reduce the financial impact of living on an island that must import 99% of their food.    Their commitment to people suffering with HIV/Aids goes beyond what I have seen anywhere else as well.

We were supposed to be there by 2 and I wanted to connect up with the Pedersons who are staying 4 or 5 miles away.  Not only that but wild dogs attacked Mark Scandrette and Jim Palmer (they ran away and I later joked, became the first two humans to record a 3 minute mile) while jogging this morning between here and there.  Back at the condo, we got stuff for supper and went for a swim in the ocean.  As I entered into the water I felt like something was stinging me all over and mentioned a tingling feeling.  I was laughed at and mocked and then everyone else started screaming in pain.  These small bug like things were biting all of us all over.  We moved into deeper water (I know, I know, the correct course of action would have been to leave) and were freaked out by a glowing thing near us, so we had to go shallow which meant more biting and screaming.  The phrase "Ahhhhhhhh!" and "What are these things"?" we said at a great volume by many of us as we retreated to the pool.

To say the Internet connection is flaky at the condo would be an understatement.  We have some radio transmission towers nearby which we think may be part of the problem.  Even Apple Support hasn't been able to help and it cuts in and out, often as I want to send an e-mail.

Tomorrow we are joining Bishop Tom and his wife on a private island with a main session with the Bishop at night.  I will blog the main session and enjoy some more reliable Internet tomorrow night.

Technorati tags: New Providence Community Church, Bahamas, Soularize, TheOoze, Jim Palmer, Mark Scandrette

Saskatoon to Toronto

I am writing this from the floor of the departure gate "G" in Toronto in the middle of the morning.  For some reason I had thought that with Toronto being the centre of the universe (tm) and all that there would be some late night flights to somewhere in the US and I would be able to get into the departure gates and relax.  I wasn't so lucky, this airport seems to be as quiet as Moose Jaw's in the middle of the night and on top of that has no outlets near seats so to pass some time I am sitting on polished marble floors with a metal bar hurting my back.  None of that is that bad except I can't find a pop machine anywhere in this place and it isn't as if they let you carry water bottles on planes anymore.  In all of my wandering around through the airport, I did manage to take some photos, find some wifi that is too weak to pay for, and see an airport cleaning employee stealing.  Sans airport employees, I have counted 12 passengers on my floor of Terminal One, it is like being in a steel, glass, and polished steel ghost town.  This would be how he rapture could be like if I believed that the end times were like that.

The flight was good which is kind of a shock considering it was on Air Canada (CR-700)  Like Warren Kinsella, Wendy and I have our own list of Air Canada disasters dating back to Ray Hnatyshyn's installation as Governor General.  This time the Air Canada Jazz crew was not only polite but helpful and energetic.  It was like I was flying on WestJet and not like too many experiences I have had with Air Canada in the past.  (update: ran into the same old surly Air Canada employees this morning.  The more things change, the more they stay the same)

It was my first Air Canada flight with the video on demand service on the back of each chair.  I was able to watch Live Free or Die Hard (the movie was based on this article) with only a little bit of fast forwarding (I had more movie than flight) and while a 7 inch screen isn't the best to watch any movie on it, it was a pretty good movie and a nice way to pass some time.

Somewhat Related Link: What Will Air Travel Look Like in Five Years

I can't see myself blogging until tonight when I get to Nassau.  I'll be blogging and vidcasting from Soularize starting Wednesday.

Technorati tags: Saskatoon, Toronto, Air Canada Jazz

A short road trip...

On Monday I am off to the Bahamas via Toronto and Miami for Soularize.  Until yesterday, I had never looked at where the Bahamas were on a map (or in my case, Google Earth) which is a good thing because it wasn't where I thought it was in the Caribbean.  I will be blogging and Twittering the conference and helping facilitate some Soularize Feedlive (if you can't make it live, you also get access to the content in the archives).  I also hope to have a Soularize cam going but we will see how it goes.  My laptop is wounded so we will see if it survives the trip.

On my way back to Saskatoon, I am spending a long layover in Toronto on October 29th.  I should be free from customs at 5:00 p.m. so if you want to grab a bite to eat or a beverage, e-mail me at coop AT resonate.ca.  If I don't respond to your e-mail, check YouTube for "jordon cooper" and "shark attack".

Technorati tags: Soularize, Bahamas, Toronto, shark attack

Photo Friday: The City

My submission for Photo Friday. Downtown Boston back in 2003 which I was at Soularize.

Technorati tags: Boston, Photo Friday

Coffee in Toronto

To save some money going to Soularize, I am using AirMiles which isn't as easy as they make it sound. Sure collecting AirMiles is easy, fill up at Shell, shop at Safeway, buy furniture at The Brick... but then you want to redeem your miles. Good luck.

Here is one flight possibility to Miami.

• Drive to Winnipeg (long eight hours but I could connect with some friends from Resonate)
• Fly to Minneapolis.
• Fly from Minneapolis to Chicago
• Fly from Chicago to Charlotte
• Fly from Charlotte to Dallas/Fort Worth
  
• Fly from Dallas/Fort Worth to Miami.

Umm, no.

Instead I am taking a late flight into Toronto and an early morning flight to Miami. To short of layover to crash but I am in around midnight if someone wants to grab some food and coffee at or near the airport. If you do, e-mail me.

Some favorite shots from Prince Albert National Park

I also cleaned up my Waskesiu Photos on Flickr.

Technorati tags: Waskesiu, photography, Prince Albert National Park, Flickr, Mark Cooper

Photos from Waskesiu

Some of my photos from Waskesiu and Prince Albert National Park on Flickr.  Wendy has posted hers as well and has blogged the trip.

Technorati tags: Waskesiu, Prince Albert National Park, Saskatchewan

I need a break

Wendy, Mark and I are heading north next week to Waskesiu for a couple of days. We booked a log cabin like the one below and will about a 1/4 block away from the beach and some of the shops that Waskesiu has to offer.

We had tossed around the idea of going to Edmonton but the idea of twelve hours of driving there and back didn't win me over. Neither did the idea of paying $1.25 a litre for gas. The big attraction was that Mark wanted to go to Galaxyland which we will take him to but there isn't enough time over two days. I will book some days off this fall and we will probably do the trip then.

Normally when I would go on a vacation like this, I would take some stuff along to "get done". I find that when I am up in the northern part of the province, I find myself a peace but also my but this time I think my to-do list consists of racing remote control cars, beating Wendy at tennis, and tossing the frisbee around.

I do want to take some photographs. For those of you who are Waskesiu regulars, anyone have any favorite places?

Our new Saturday

Wendy generally works Saturday evenings at Safeway and I work Saturday and Sunday during the day at the Salvation Army, we don't have a lot of days to get away as a family. Yesterday we woke up and instead of sending Mark to school, we got in the car and drove north to Prince Albert National Park for a day of driving around, taking some photographs, hiking, and relaxing.

Generally we take the main highway into Waskesiu but yesterday we took Highway 263 by Christopher and Emma Lakes and stopped to explore an abandoned Sandy Lake. We took Maggi along and she had a romp around chasing gophers and barked at a deer. After that we drove into a still asleep town of Waskesiu where the only life were some cabin owners and Parks Canada employees and the grocery store. Wendy posted some of the photos we took yesterday.

Because it was at the last minute we decided to go, we didn't have our iPods charged. We grabbed both of ours. Thinking back to a decade ago, it is a lot easier to grab an iPod than it is to get mix tapes, CDs or even being stuck with bad small town radio stations.

Since it is likely that Wendy and I mine schedules will be keep us from enjoying the weekend during the summer, it will be some Monday trips starting when Mark is out of school. The nice thing is that we should be expecting some empty highways and open roads.