Barrett Breaks Special Olympics World Record

Photo credit: Doug Brown, Special Olympics Photo Volunteer

London, Ont.: Saturday morning, power lifter Jackie Barrett broke a Special Olympics world record lift in squat at 265.5kg. The packed venue at the University of Western Ontario in London Ontario gave the mighty competitor a standing ovation.

 Barrett has been with the Special Olympics for 23 years and has been training in power lifting for the past 15 years.

About this impressive, record breaking accomplishment, Barrett said, "It felt great. I felt I almost didn't get it, but I did." When asked when he decided he'd go for the record-breaking lift Barrett explained, "I decided after my second attempt. I felt I had enough left in the tank and then I went for it."

Later Saturday, Barrett may attempt a new Special Olympics world record in the dead lift. That category of the competition takes place in the early afternoon.

Daniel Reid, a coach with Team Newfoundland, was ecstatic. "I think it's super. He was undecided if he would even try to do it because he would have to do it on his third attempt, but he did it, and he made it look easy. We're all very proud of him." 

About the 2010 Special Olympics Canada Special Games: The 12th national summer competition was held in London Ontario from July 11 to 17. More than 1,400 athletes, coaches, and mission staff representing all ten Canadian provinces plus the Yukon and Northwest Territories attended the seven-day sporting event. More than 1,000 volunteers and event officials worked to make the event a success.

Athletes competed in eight official sports, including athletics, five and ten pin bowling, power lifting, rhythmic gymnastics, soccer, softball and swimming. This national competition serves as the qualifying event for athletes to become members of the national team that will compete at the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens, Greece.

Blogger reader in training

It is being widely reported that children, and older kids, raised reading books rather than pointing and clicking around the Internet are brighter with better concentration spans. I find this hard to believe. There must be more going on than simply Internet vs. printed words on the page.

That said, my little granddaughter seems to have taken to books. And I'd say she was a bright little thing. Maybe there is something to all this book stuff after all.

Cheers,
Rockinon

Geek Dinner

This was the "Thank you" Geek Dinner for me. You see, it was at a previous Geek Dinner that I learned about SSDs and how these are faster and more rugged than the traditional hard drives found in notebook computers. As I was planning an almost six week driving adventure across North America in a 42-year-old British roadster, a Morgan Plus 4, well known for its rough and bumpy ride, this was great to know. The Dell notebook I eventually bought had a 256GB SSD and it withstood the weeks of bouncing tucked behind the seat of my Morgan very well.

I also had a chance to thank the young woman who recommended the Fuji brand of cameras to me. She was using an earlier model of the Fuji camera I eventually bought for the trip. It proved to be a solid performer and very well built.

I brought my notebook to the dinner and when I ran into a problem showing someone my blog page, the screen carried a message saying there was a server problem, this person removed the incorrect information which had been entered into the DNS fields of my computer during the trip.

I had to bring out my "Thank you," again.

The Vacation Continues

We are now in Thessalon and winding down. This was the shortest drive we have had in quite awhile. Tomorrow we only have to drive three hours to a ferry and then we can relax. After the cruise, we have only a one hour drive.

The next day we drive home!

For more info see my post on the Digital Journal.

The Vacation Continues

The stuff you see driving down the TransCanada highway over Lake Superior.

I'm blogging on my vacation on the Digital Journal.

The Vacation Continues

Sioux Narrows in the Lake of the Woods region of Northwestern Ontario.

 For the whole story, see the post on Digital Journal.

The Vacation Continues

Only a week left and Judy and I will be back in London, Ontario! But now, we are in Kenora in the far northwestern part of the province.

The Vacation Continues

With a loud dramatic crunching sound, the bumper fell from the car and wedged under the roadster.

 If you have been following my posts on Digital Journal, you'd know my Morgan was hit in Gorda by the Bay. Today the fender fell off the roadster and wedged under the car. The whole story has been posted on Digital Journal.

The Vacation Continues

If you are following the Morgan Adventure, there are two more posts on the Digital Journal.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/blog/7636

http://www.digitaljournal.com/blog/7637

The Vacation Continues

A young violinist on the main street of Fort McLeod, Alberta. The street was closed for an arts festival.

We are now in Alberta and today we should end up in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. My heart seems stable as does the Morgan. The old car seems to have rallied to the moment and is on its best behaviour. It only gives us trouble after we stop. Some say this is the elevation or the western gas causing vapour lock but I know this is the car telling us that it just wants to get us home: "Don't stop me. Let me run. I'll get you home," it is saying.

More pictures posted on Digital Journal.

The Vacation Continues

I never expected parts of the state of Washington to look like this. Where are the mountains?

For today's post, see the Digital Journal.

Cheers!

The Vacation Continues

A steep climb and massive wind turbines greeted us entering Washington.

Yesterday we cleared Oregon. It is now checked off our list. We are in Washington and we'll be here again tonight: Spokane. After that it is British Columbia and Canada. It may not be "home of the free and land of the brave" but it is the home of government-run medical care.

When your ticker is losing its mojo, Canada looks better and better. One of the first stops in Canada will be a hospital or medical clinic. I'm going to check on the strength of my heart meds. I'm wondering if I could be taking a little more of this metoprolol. Right now I am on a minimal dosage.

The downside to this stuff is that you must take it regularly. Don't stop! It comes with this warning:

"Do not stop taking metoprolol without talking to your doctor. Suddenly stopping metoprolol may cause chest pain or heart attack. Your doctor will probably decrease your dose gradually."

I think the Morgan is having sympathy pains. Yesterday, on the steep road into Washington state the engine balked, lost power and stopped for no apparent reason. But the little car restarted beautifully and has run fine ever since.

I've got confidence in both my little roadster and my heart. Hey, I've known them both for a very long time.

Cheers!

Oh, I may not post tonight,

I may go to bed early and get a really good night's sleep.

The Vacation Continues

After a day and a half in the hospital to treat a runaway heart rate, I am back on the road. Judy and I are now in Oregon with the Morgan.

Cheers!

The Vacation Continues

The Morgan has had a day at the mechanics and is now running beautifully. Maybe it will now go another few thousand miles and get us home.

The big picture opportunity of the day was offered by the kite-surfers spotted south of San Francisco in the Pacific.

For more information, see: The Digital Journal

The Vacation Continues

Rockinon rocked down Highway 1 today from San Simeon to Santa Cruz. Big Sur was amazing. It was a great Morgan run. For more, see my Digital Journal post.

The Vacation Continues

Stayed at the Hacienda. A ranch home designed for William Randolph Hearst by the same architect that worked with him for decades on his castle-like home near San Simeon.

Drove from the one former Hearst property to the other via a mountain road across the Fort Hunter-Liggett military base. What a road!

Today's picture is a view from this road.

More info is posted at:
http://www.digitaljournal.com/blog/7445
http://www.digitaljournal.com/blog/7446

The vacation continues . . . Rockinon rocks on!

I'd heard of dust devils but until today I had not encountered them. There were literally dozens of dust devils to be seen out on the Nevada desert Thursday. Driving through that in an old Morgan was quite the buzz.

I posted some of the events of the day at: http://www.digitaljournal.com/blog/7272

Rockinon is on Vacation!

It may be almost summer in London, Ontario, but in the Grand Tetons above Jackson Hole the snow is still six-feet deep beside some of the mountain top walkways. Blogging on trip on Digital Journal.

On Vacation_Rockinon visits Yellowstone and more

One of the geyser basins in Yellowstone National Park.

By now you know Rockinon is on vacation. The Morgan has put Yellowstone National Park behind it and is on its way to Providence, Utah. What's in Providence? A wonderful B&B, I hope. But this is just a stop before the next major place to visit: Yosemite!

I'll be back covering London, Ontario, come some time in July.

For more info on the trip see the Digital Journal.


Cheers!

Why blog on hiatus

I'm on vacation! For more information see my Rockin' On: the blog post.

Thousands hike to the top of Crazy Horse Memorial. Yes, those are people.

And I was one of the thousands making the climb.

Yes, this is B&B fare!

This is the Badlands of South Dakota.

And when my wife and I are not enjoying the fabulous scenery, we are enjoying the fabulous breakfasts at the various B&Bs at which we have stayed.

Cheers! (Remember: if you want to know more, follow the links.)

Back-lit water

Out for a stroll, I noticed how the early evening sun back-lit the lawn sprinklers. I thought it would make a picture, and it did.

And that really is it for London Daily Photo until sometime in July. The hiatus is on!

Cheers!

What are these flowers?

Shot with my new Canon PowerShot S90.

I know, I know, this blog is on hiatus. But, trimming a yew at my front entry, I noticed this flowering plant hiding under the dense, green foliage. It wasn't there last year and neither my wife nor I planted it. So, what is it? It sure is pretty.

Note how the reds and greens really pop. This is because they are complementary colours which means they are opposite each other on the colour wheel. The use of complementary colours is intrinsically a high-contrast approach.

A splash of colour, a drop of rain

This blog is on hiatus. See my previous post for an explanation on why I won't be posting again until sometime in July.

But today I took Fiona out to inspect the garden foliage and flowers after the rain stopped. I had to return with my camera to share some of the images.

Now, what was I saying about taking a much needed break?

--- All shots taken with my new Canon S90. I am very happy with my new camera but it takes some getting used to. ---

New people, an important part of town

Shot with my Canon PowerShot S90. An excellent little camera.

I've run Fiona before, and I'll probably run her again. Allow me to explain why.

Bloggers who post daily photos from cities and towns around the world often show urban sites --- or should I say sights? I find the images of cityscapes from around the globe very interesting. Often the pictures show new buildings of which the blogger is extremely proud. But cities enjoy more than just a constant stream of new buildings; They enjoy a constant stream of new people.

Fiona belongs to the London stream. She is a new resident of Southwestern Ontario. As young as she is, she is most certainly not the the newest resident. This stream of people is large and fast moving. Of course, Fiona is still moving through headwater territory; Me, her grandfather, I'm moving rather quickly to the end of this river.

Fiona may be only a little more than eight months old but she has quite the sense of humour. She loves to giggle with the baby in the hallway mirror. Once, while I was holding her, she grasped the mirror on the our antique umbrella stand and pulled herself forward in order to peek behind the mirror. Discovering that there was no one there, she looked back at me with a puzzled expression.

The baby in the framed photo looks a lot like the baby in the mirror, except this tyke doesn't move. This baby is frozen in time and trapped immobile in a frame. Fiona can hold this picture in her two hands and rotate it and turn it and whenever she glances the actual image, the baby is always there.

For Fiona the picture is a constant delight. I hope today's picture is a delight for you.

À bientôt!

And now I must say, "À bientôt!" In a little more than a week, my wife and I are heading off for a 40 day adventure. We're driving across the United States and Canada in my aging Morgan. The car and I got old together. It is question which one of us will break down first.

I have bought a Canon PowerShot S90 and a Fuji HS10, complete with spare batteries, for documenting our trip and I am bringing a Dell Studio XPS with an SSD drive for filing the occasional story from the road. And I finally got a cell phone and a GPS.

My daughter, her husband and Fiona are keeping the home fires burning, the lawn cut and weeds pulled, by living in our home while we are gone. This is wonderful. Fiona will think of our home as her home and she will be even more comfortable when visiting us in the future.

I'll be filing stories and pictures to Rockinon: Travel when I get the opportunity.

Hope to see you all back here sometime in July,
Cheers,
Rockinon (Ken Wightman)

Some of my favourite pictures from London Daily Photo.

Northern Walking Stick
Evening Mist
Captain Rex --- possibly my most frequently hit image. Even Lucusfilm in California has visited.
London Lobster --- this is another frequently hit picture. I shot this right at the dinner table.
A Drop of Rain

I hope you had some favourites, too. Cheers!

Jogging

It seems to me that I'm often confronted by articles claiming that folk today are in very poor shape compared to their counterparts in the 1950s. I wondered what was being said about fitness sixty years ago.

Surprise! Surprise! Word back then was that American kids were out of shape --- especially when compared to European children. In December 1953, Dr. Hans Kraus, M.D., associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at New York University, claimed the United States was becoming soft.

He said that 56 percent of  U.S. students failed at least one component of a comprehensive fitness test while 92 percent of European children passed the same test. A few years after this Canadians were being told that some mythical Swede outperformed them. I say mythical because later the government admitted that the whole Swede story was made up to embarrass Canadians into exercising. (It worked, and the myth is still repeated.)

One thing I am sure has changed over the intervening sixty years: many seniors are in better physical condition today than their counterparts from the 1950s.

Fishing on the Maitland River

The South Maitland River is a stream located about an hour and a half north of London, Ontario. Fishermen take a variety of fish from the Maitland, including small mouth bass, rainbow trout and white perch. According to Hook and Bullet, "If all goes well, the white perch will be hooked by your crickets, the small mouth will be biting your maggots and the rainbow will be grabbing your wax worms."

Maggots?

Known 'em since hatching

Shot with my new Fuji HS10. The lens is everything I hoped.

Another shot from my Fuji HS10.

The ducks and geese at Springbank Park are used to being fed, but they do like to keep a little distance. But with this lady the birds literally eat right out of her hand --- and slowly, gently, with confidence steeped in trust. It appeared this lady and the birds were friends.

When asked, she said that she had been feeding these birds since the day they hatched. These birds now come not at the sight of a handout but at the sound of this woman's voice.

Like I said, these birds and this lady are friends.

Swarming, sex-craving ants

There were ants swarming everywhere in Springbank Park a couple of weeks ago. Some sections of curb were a quarter inch thick with swarming ants for 50-feet or more. I'm pretty sure they were ants. I checked the Internet and PennState says its easy to tell ants. Just check their waists. "The waists of ants are thin and appear to be constricted . . ."

So since the swarming ants were along the curbs in the London park, I think it is safe to say these were "pavement ants." These ants are normally slow, sluggish, short-legged, and often nest under pavements and foundations.

According to PennState: Usually in the early spring and late summer these ants leave the nest and swarm. Females and males mate and the males die soon after. (I guess we can add another thing these ants like to do on pavement and near foundations: have sex.)

The mated female , now a queen, is soon laying eggs. She feeds and cares for the first generation until they are mature adults. After that they and succeeding generations care for her. She remains in the nest producing eggs the remainder of her life.

Oh, about that waist-checking advice, I wouldn't bother. PennState adds: "Respect these small insects since they do bite and some can also sting." In other words, if you can see this waist you're way too close.

Green Trilliums

I thought the green striped trilliums were really cool. They are --- but they are also diseased. The green striped trillium at the top of the picture is the same as the three flowers below, except for one thing, It is infected with the bacterium Mycoplasmas.

The infection causes the normally white flowers to exhibit varying amounts of green in the blooms. In fact, sometimes the entire trillium is green rather than white. The disease also distorts the shape of the petals and may even cause the plant to have more than the usual three petals. Diseased trilliums have been know to have as many as six petals.

So the diseased trilliums are pretty and in a very dramatic fashion. Is there a downside? Unfortunately, the answer is yes. Eventually, the affected trilliums die from the stress of the infection.

Blue jay test

London Daily Photo has some new equipment. Two new cameras, a Canon S90 and a Fuji HS10, plus a new notebook computer - a Dell Studio 16 XPS with a 250GB SSD drive. Why all the new toys? LDP is about to go on a hiatus and Rockinon Travel will be getting a little needed attention.

You see, my wife and I are taking my Morgan and hitting the road come the end of the month. Our daughter, her husband and Miss Baby are going to keep the home fires burning while we are out gallivanting. (Maybe I should teach them to blog?)

We're going to drive right across the top of the U.S., hitting Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone, and Yosemite before reaching the Pacific and visiting San Simeon. Then it is up the coast to San Francisco and then on up the coast all the way to Washington state.

Then we are heading into the mountains and north to Canada. Once in Canada, we are heading home.

It will be a long trip in an aging British roadster. But then, I am an aging British roadster owner. We were both new when we met some forty years ago. (Actually the Morgan was new; I already had a couple of decades under my belt.) No comment on my wife's age. She's ageless.

I'll try and blog whenever possible, posting both stories and photos.

Today's picture is a blue jay at our backyard feeder. It is not a great shot but it is interesting as it was shot from inside our kitchen through the window looking out onto our backyard. The Fuji has a 24mm to 720mm lens and it works well. Unfortunately, the small, electronic viewfinder goes dark when you take a picture and the camera does suffer from shutter lag. (I keep hunting for settings to minimize the drawbacks.) Mix these two minuses together and you have a situation that many would find intolerable.

When I am more familiar with both cameras, I'll post a review on the Rockinon photo blog.

April showers are a month late

It has been cool lately, frosty in fact, but it has also been very wet --- lots of rain. It even snowed briefly this morning. Luckily it did not keep snowing. With the leaves already on the trees, snow can linger on the limbs of the larger, aging trees and tear limbs free if too much snow falls.

Red-Winged Blackbird

A red-winged blackbird at a backyard feeder in London, Ontario, Canada.

I thought that red-winged blackbirds were mainly birds of marsh areas as they are very common in the wetlands bordering Lake Erie. But, I guess I was wrong as they are very common this spring at our bird feeder.

PodCamp London

Steve Groves: Ldn. Free Press web strategist.

This weekend was Podcast London. There is a strong "geek" community here in London, Ontario. I use the word geek because the group of computer wizards themselves use the term in a humorous, modest manner.

An intrigued Ryan Wiseman, left, meets with Nick Wynja.

These are bright, in many cases brilliant, people. And Saturday they shared some of their knowledge.


A young man, Nick Wynja, gave a demonstration on shooting and editing video using nothing more than an iPhone. He can have the finished ready-for-air clip back at the television station before the competition has returned to their cars.

Newspapers, with their growing Internet video presence, could also use this technology to advantage.

Work at a paper? Check out this VeriCoder Technology link and their 1st Video app.

An sound editor is a word conductor.

Another speaker talked about editing sound with respect. He approached a speech recording as others might approach a piece of music.

There is a rhythm, a cadence, to our speech. John Meadows told us, "If people can hear your edit, your edit isn't working."

Rod Lucier points to the Creative Commons symbols in use.

Rodd Lucier, left, discussed copyright and the  development of the Creative Commons designations and symbols.

For an explanation of the various CC symbols, check out the Creative Commons site.

All images shot at the event are covered under the Creative Commons designation.

It spells NUJV. Huh?

Speaker, Nik Harron, told the audience the Beatles, in this famous picture, are spelling out a word in semaphore and it isn't "Help." Spelling help was the original idea but it was decided "those letters didn't look good." NUJV appears in the picture. 

I think that is another way to spell "Oops!"