Biking Through Red Rock Canyon – What a Blast!

As you may have read previously, my new found passion is cycling. I try to get out there as much as possible but given my geographic location, Southern Ontario, Canada, it’s a little harder finding the right weather and view on a day to day basis. Sure, we have beautiful mountains in Collingwood, Ontario and maybe even some nice bike paths by the lake front in Toronto and of course there’s Niagara-on-the-lake. However, on a day to day basis when you’re trying to get your riding into gear – the weather doesn’t cooperate. It’s too cold or too wet or snow etc… I did find however, on my most recent trip to Las Vegas that there is an amazing cycling way of life out there. Just outside the main strip is very bike friendly and these trails not only connect you from neighbourhood to neighbourhood, but they also connect you to the amazing scenic sites such as Red Rock Canyon.

The canyon is considered a category 2 hill which I didn’t know what that meant(remember I’m still new to this). I did find out in a hurry though because it was a pretty special ride! I rented a bicycle for about $40.00 and it did way more than my bicycle at home did for me. It showed me downhill speeds and uphill speeds that I have never experienced before. So, let’s just say that I really don’t want to get on my own bike anymore – or at least for now. I will be bike riding again and I really like the organized rides too.

I’ve been scoping out the charity rides that start around 50km but I am looking for a better bike to do it with – my current bike is a mountain bike and although it helps me build huge muscles in my legs, it’s watching all of the other cyclists fly past me that is getting to me. No I don’t have an ego but after all this time of watching these guys fly past me I wonder why they never told me how easy the hills would have been with a better, lighter bike like the ones they are riding and like the one I rented. Sorry guys, I figured it out – it’s not the legs or the fitness(it helps no doubt) but it’s a lot to do with the bike too. Enuffbs already!
PS – take the 3 minute drive through Red Rock Canyon.

Posted on February 17, 2013 by Mylife in Health, Sports, Travel Comments Off

Newtown, CT Tragedy – Absolutely cowardly and shameful.

I’m just reaching out and getting it off my chest that I’m sending my sincerest condolences to the family and friends of these victims. I totally want to hurt people in such a way that motivates others not to ever do anything like that again. So what is it that could motivate a “crazy” person to NOT want to do that. If they want fame, we give them nothing, if they wanted a big burial, we give them nothing and throw their ashes in the city dump with the rest of the garbage. Maybe bury them at sea or not allow them to be buried in a cemetery or again, just incinerate them and throw them into the city dump.

I think the crazy people that commit these terrible crimes should receive the same horrific treatment. We as a society should investigate what they are really afraid of and give them the same ending. Basically, if they are afraid of cremation then we actually cremate them and dump them in a sewage drains etc… Whatever their fear is we need to investigate and make it happen.

I guess nothing I say really matters because those poor victims and their families are really going to re-live this tragedy for years to come.

Maybe we need better ways to detect and help people with mental illness – it really does affect us all.

Again, my sincerely and heart felt condolences go out to these families and let’s get everyone involved some help.

Enuff…

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Mylife in Uncategorized Comments Off

Prevacid – taking it for many years

I have been taking Prevacid(Lansoprazole) for over a decade. I would even go as far as saying that I have been taking it for over 15 years. For the most part it has worked for me in a positive way. I do have some issues with it though. For starters, my doctor didn’t do enuff for me when she prescribed it. Prevacid was prescribed to help me deal with acid reflux – it’s true and it really helped a lot. However, what I didn’t know was the side effects. I don’t mean the “could cause confusion or whatever else…” I mean it depletes other nutrients like magnesium and vitamin B-12. Nobody ever told me that nor did they tell me that without magnesium or B-12 I could develop other issues too.

A lack of magnesium can cause Panic & Anxiety, depression and a boatload of other chronic illness. Yes, i know it says confusion on the box – did i have to think it was 3 levels deep as to why i would develop confusion and what would come to feel like “nerve damage” all over by neck and back? Why wasn’t I told any of these and if I couldn’t handle the information then why didn’t my doctor just prescribe me Prevacid along with B-12 shots & Magnesium supplements?

I really don’t know the answer. She either didn’t do her job or she was really doing her job well. Here’s the old conspiracy theories alive and well in 2013. Big pharma didn’t share this info with anyone and since my “doctor”(who probably considers her self a scientist – except without a lab) doesn’t have the time and/or isn’t paid enough to spend the time with me. Therefore, she wouldn’t and/or couldn’t know which nutrients get depleted when taking this medicine. Which probably means that most doctors are the in the same boat – they read their “medicine journal”.

So, do I really think that she wants me sick? So that business is booming for her and other doctors or is it that she didn’t even know because she didn’t do her own homework - was the info available? Was it available 15 years ago or just now? Either way, I’m looking for a new doctor now. I need someone who has more time and is very anal about getting to know what meds are given to their patients and what they can or can’t do.

A lack of B-12 and magnesium can cause serious nerve damage and I consider myself one of the lucky ones. I started taking B-12 shots for myself and now I also take a magnesium supplement daily too. I hate blaming other people and I guess this really is my fault because we are our own doctors these days so we better start acting like it.

So therefore, the lesson today is for anyone taking Prevacid or any other medicine for a long time – please try and find out what nutrients it depletes and correct it because your doctor won’t tell you – they don’t have the time.

Enuff already!

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Mylife in Health Comments Off

Biddingo Complaints?

Dear Shelene Sinclair, I have, yet again for another year, wondered why is it that I use Biddingo for looking at bids. I don’t like the way your company treats me, I hate the way your company “talks” to me as a prepaid client – I just think your company sales team is down right rude and arrogant. Your organization makes me feel like I’m in collections with the government as opposed to wanting to do business with them. Read more

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Mylife in Babbling, Politics, Uncategorized Comments Off

Another trip to NYC – Best poached eggs

I had to go back to one of my favourite NYC brunch spots. Iron Chef Forgione’s restaurant in Tribeca – called Forgione’s of course.. I had these eggs that were spectacular! I don’t know how these guys think of these dishes but I have to say that it felt like everything that needed to be in that dish was there. It was like an architect was involved in the creation. It started with a perfectly roasted potato base that formed a pocket on each side so that the eggs could fit right in. Of course, once you pierce into the yolk it all runs into the potato and the potato does a great job providing the perfect amount of crisp-ness and also made to act like a sponge for the delicious yolk.

The best part is that even though I come across cheap – I really have no-idea how much it cost. It was that good!

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Mylife in Food, Travel Comments Off

Ten tips to help you cut your Internet bill – The Globe and Mail

1. Move to a wireless local area network to reduce your cabling costs, which are a big piece of a network installation. With your computers and even phones on a wireless system, cabling costs can be almost eliminated.

2. Get to know your network usage. If you have the knowledge of how much bandwidth your employees use, then you can adjust your internet service accordingly. Tracking usage trends gives you the ability to gauge what services you will need in the future, making sure you aren’t paying for something you don’t need.

3. Offload your extraneous internet traffic to a secondary DSL. Surfing traffic eats up a lot of your bandwidth. If you use a fibre connection to support your business, consider moving less important surfing traffic to a low-cost DSL service, reserving the fibre for priority items such as cloud applications, email or voice over IP.

4. Take advantage of new technologies for small business. For example, you can install a relatively inexpensive application that will let employees use their smartphones over company Wi-Fi as their primary business phone. A smart ISP can help you classify your internet service to prioritize voice quality for VoIP, allowing you to do away with traditional desk handsets. Not only does this lower costs, it improves employee productivity by increasing mobility.

5. Use the Cloud! So many services are available via the cloud that companies have traditionally had to pay a huge upfront cost for. By moving your data storage, back-ups, mail server or even software over to the Cloud, you can eliminate purchase costs and pay a more manageable monthly fee.

6. Avoid service agreements with data transfer charges. Just like a cell phone contract that only allows a certain number of minutes, your internet service agreement may only include a certain level of usage. Make sure you have an unlimited agreement to avoid any overage fees.

7. Carefully reconcile your bills for errors. Often times large telecommunication companies make billing errors that are never caught. Ensure that your bill matches the costs that you have agreed to.

8. Factor customer service into your financial calculation. If your accounting department spends two hours a month with a billing rep fixing errant invoicing, how much is this costing you in productivity?

9. Assess how much network downtime is costing you. When your network or internet service goes down, how long does it take you to get in touch with your provider and get things working again? Any downtime at your company’s end prevents employees from performing their jobs optimally.

10. When in doubt, ask for help. Networking professionals who are familiar with both local area networks (inside your office) and wide area networking (out to the Internet) can help you assess what strategy is best for your business. An expert will be able to tell if upgrading will improve efficiency or just be a waste of financial resources.

via Ten tips to help you cut your Internet bill – The Globe and Mail.

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Mylife in Technology Comments Off

Hurricane Sandy kicking some butt and causing grief all over.

If you’re one of the lucky ones you get to complain that Hurricane Sandy is stopping you from going out and riding your bicycle. Wow, what an awful thing to say. People are homeless, without power, food and heat and some have even died. Why on earth would anyone complain about not riding a bicycle. Let’s try figuring it out. Are these people really complaining about riding their bicycle or is there something more?

Personally, I think that their really is something more. I feel horrible that there are people really suffering during this hurricane. Without mentioning the real tragedies like people dying, most people feeling this weather pattern will have their lives altered for a long time.

So therefore, the truth about people, like me, complaining is probably more about giving us something to talk about. Probably because we wouldn’t want to imagine how bad things can really be. Not because we’re naive but most likely because we like to dream.

I’m sure I speak for most of the complainers when I say I don’t want to watch the news. I’d rather watch The Big Bang Theory or some comedy. Life has become too serious. There’s a lot of coldness in the world already without the news broadcasters dramatizing the already horrible events.

Let’s change the way we think about news. Let’s remember to remind ourselves that it helps keep us humble. Live today for what it is – a safe place if we’re that lucky.

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Mylife in Babbling, Uncategorized Comments Off

Cycling – My new found happiness!

What can I say – I love cycling! It caught me by surprise and I can’t let it go. I only ride about 20km three four times a week but I’m hoping to do a lot more as I get better gear and in better shape. I’m learning that it’s important to do all of the right things to make it enjoyable. You definitely need a partner to ride with and it doesn’t hurt to have your spouse on board too. I haven’t figured out what sort of goal I need to make for myself. I mean I have some short term goals but I feel the need to find my long term goals too.

I guess we’ll just have to say.

Chat some more soon.

Sorry, I brought this up because I was riding one night and I had some kids stand up through their sunroof while driving in the opposite direction and throw a McDonald’s drink at me – they missed but enuff already!

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Mylife in Health, Sports Comments Off

Egypt – Hold on to your wallet

My wife is addicted to travel - seriously, It’s an addiction. Of course, I can think of worse things to be addicted to and I will admit that I do enjoy traveling once I get to our destination. But I get pretty uptight getting ready to go. So, we went to Egypt a little while ago and I now have a new respect for Egyptian drivers on the roads. I am a pretty confident driver myself – or so I thought. However, these guys are the real deal and they truly are the real pros. They drive very fast and have a lot of skill – although it would be reasonable to think that the movie “One flew over the cuckoo’s nest” was filmed here. To understand what I mean, I suggest you take a quick peak on www.youtube.com and see for yourselves how they drive there. Words really wouldn’t give it the justice it deserves.

Anyway, aside from being impressed with their driving skills and seeing the pyramids (which is pretty spectacular) there’s not a whole lot to compare something like that to – I gotta tell you that the amount of Sheister-ism in Egypt (I know there is such a word because I just used it ) is pretty much up-there where sheister-world is concerned. We got off a tour bus and there they were – gypsy style sales pitches right in your face and all around and they gets so close to you that you feel like you need to hang on to your clothes. It almost makes you feel smothered and your personal space is extremely violated. I suggest you keep one hand on your wallet/purse and the other on your partner. The people were pretty nice at that point but like anywhere else in the world – if you go looking for trouble you will find it.

Well we weren’t looking but we sure did find it. I am talking about this little man here in the picture to the right. He really seemed nice and soft spoken and came across like such a gentlemen who seemed genuinely interested in making us happy. Wow, was I wrong! I asked how much would it cost to get up on the camel for a picture? He said, without flinching, $3.00USD and we can get on the camel. Let’s keep in mind here that dinner for 2 in a mid-ranged restaurant is about $20.00USD for locals. So, of course, it wasn’t expensive for us and I immediately agreed and asked to be next on the camel. My wife was ecstatic, she gets on the camel and I take a few pics of her then she get comes off the camel and I get on the camel and take a couple more shots – then Mr. Sheister 4ft tall guy holds the camels face close to us and we take a shot of that too. The novelty starts to wear off so I say “thank you” and I hand the soft spoken little man $10.00USD for both our pictures. Oh boy did I ever miss the “small print” in that agreement. He wanted $45.00USD and he wanted it now – he started raising his voice saying that we were ripping him off and that’s when these 7ft tall men (no kidding)started coming closer and closer to “help” their poor little old friend that was a victim and being ripped off.

He says that he told us that it was $3.00USD to get on the camel and $3.00 to get off the camel. Then he “apparently” told us that it was $3.00 per photo that we took and so after all that we owed him $45.00USD. I said “no way amigo” – you said $3.00 and I’m offering you $10.00 and that’s it! He wasn’t happy with that and started getting upset and in our face so that other, bigger, Egyptians would come to his rescue. Luckily, I saw his “play” a mile away so I called on our “our” security guard that traveled with us and carried a “US Secret Service-style” machine-gun in his suit which was pretty intimidating since the ammo-clip stuck out about 6″ out of his suit jacket. He came over to us fairly quickly and pushed the guys away from us and ordered us not to pay a dime. I finally settled with the guy for the original $10.00 that I was offering him. Then I told the security guard that I would make it up to him and thanked him for getting me out of trouble. We came we saw and we made it out of there with our cash, our pics and a clear message that who has the biggest clip is the boss. Nice try boys – Enuffbs already!!!

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Mylife in Travel, Uncategorized Comments Off