Start of the week…

Posted on February 18, 2014 by kdarcy21

The Family Day weekend was relaxing.  Didn’t do anything much on Sunday – went for a walk with the dogs and that was about it. I felt very lazy, napped a couple of times, had a relaxing day.

Family Day, yesterday, was pretty good.  Finally got a haircut, feel about half human now at least.  I like getting my haircut about once a month and I hadn’t gotten it done since the middle of December – what a hippie I was.  Did some grocery shopping as well, dogs needed some food – they would likely get cranky if I didn’t feed them.

I am sure the week will be a busy one.  As I have indicated, my co-worker has moved along to greener pastures.  Today is his first day at his new job, in the oil and gas sector, not sure of the company.  I wish him well.  In a city this size, I sort of doubt that I will ever run into him again. We aren’t really friends so I doubt that I will try to contact him.  I presume that BDO will hire a replacement at some point in the near(ish) future.  In speaking with my boss, he agrees that we need to get the right person for the job and not just fill the seat.  I am glad we are on the same page there.

No baseball this week, during the week anyway.  We have two evaluations this weekend – we will get to see the pitchers and catchers and see what they are like.  The Rockies, the club I am coaching needs about 6 players in the upcoming draft.  It will be interesting for sure.  I do have some stuff that I need to do for the umpires association as well actually – I need to get on that.

The Olympics are more than half over by now.  Canada is doing well, not quite as well as we did four years ago in Vancouver though which is too bad.  The women go for gold in hockey against the US – that goes on Wednesday or Thursday.  Unfortunately, I will be working so I won’t be able to catch the action.  The men continue, finishing third – not sure who they play next.  Looks like they won’t be facing the US in the Gold medal game though, I think they meet in the next round if they meet at all.

Going to start my day and week – hope yours is a good one.

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A long weekend…

Posted on February 16, 2014 by kdarcy21

I am in the middle of a long weekend.  Tomorrow is Family Day.  No plans, other than taking the dogs to the dog park and let them have some fun.  I think we might do that today as well.

Yesterday was a busy day of baseball evaluations.  The indoor facility that we are using is pretty good, it is call Absolute Baseball Academy.  My club, the Rockies, needs to draft about 6 players for the 2014 season.  We can draft up to 10 players but I really don’t have any interest in bringing both clubs up to 15 players each – that is a little heavy of a roster.

I have been involved with drafts before, but in those drafts, we drafted players for one year, not potentially 4 or 5 years.  We have seem some pretty good talent, a lot still to see – we haven’t seen any of the players pitch as yet.  There is also a set of twins that obviously want to play together – they impress me more each time I see them.  The draft is in a couple of weeks.

Anyway, back to the long weekend.  Nothing really planned today – I do need to get a haircut and get some dog food but I think it will be a more relaxing day than anything else.

People will be working at the office both today and tomorrow – we have a lot of deadlines in February so staff have stuff to do.  Hopefully I won’t get called in for any IT emergencies.  Speaking of IT, I am now alone in the Calgary office as my co-worker tendered his resignation and has moved on.  I wish him the best.

If you have tomorrow off, enjoy Family Day.

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Back on the field…

Posted on February 12, 2014 by kdarcy21

Tonight we start indoor evaluation for Base Ruth Calgary.  I am looking forward to getting back to it and getting on the field.  It won’t quite be the same as actually stepping outside onto the diamond to coach again, BUT, it is a little too cold to do that right now.

The BRC program is a little different than what I have done in the past.  There are currently 5 different clubs in the program, each club has two teams.  I am the club manager, so, overly in charge of both teams and I will also be the head coach / manager of the AA club.  The coaches that have been in the program for a few years are with the AAA club.

Players entering the league need to participate in at least two evaluations.  Coaches & managers are at the evaluations taking notes and rating the players.  Players are then put into a draft, divided into rounds – same as any regular draft works.  Come draft day, teams draft players into their clubs, depending on need.  It is important to draft wisely, drafting a weak 15 year old player and he could be in your program for the next 4 years.  My club, the Rockies, get the first draft spot this year.  We do need a catcher, BUT, there aren’t a lot of catchers trying out.  Guess we will see.

Two of the three diamonds that we play on are within a 5-10 minute drive of my house.  One of them is not going to be available at the start of the summer, some irrigation work from the fall wasn’t completed when it was supposed to be and is going to be finished in the spring.  Typical of city contracts it seems.  At least the same issues that I used to have with the city and baseball are pretty much the same in Calgary as they were in St. Catharines.  Actually, I am guessing that things are much better here – at least the city appears to care about sports and kids playing as opposed to the draconian attitudes that were prevalent with parks and rec staff in St. Catharines.  Luckily, I don’t need to deal with them anymore.  So, it won’t be a long drive at all to either of those two diamonds – pretty easy travel time.  The third diamond isn’t too far, but, depending on what time I have to arrive, traffic conditions could be awful.  The third diamond is at Foothills Stadium, right beside McMahon Stadium in the north-west part of the city.  I am hoping that a majority of our weekday games will be at one of the closer diamonds.

So, it starts today.  I am looking forward to the ride.

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The Olympics and other stuff…

Posted on February 7, 2014 by kdarcy21

Today is the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics.  It was on live this morning sometime, it is on tape-delay in a few minutes.  I will catch some of it, perhaps all of it.  I do enjoy the Winter Olympics, Canada tends to do better now than during the Summer Olympics.  So, in short, Go Canada !!!

Other stuff.  Well, my co-worker is leaving for greener pastures.  Next Friday (the 14th) is his last day.  I will have to support the office by myself for a few weeks/months.  It will likely be a bit busy, but, since it is tax season, for IT, it is actually our slower time of the year.  The position will be filled, they do want to get the right candidate as opposed to just hiring someone to fill the position.  I wish the best to SH, hope you do well.

I attended my first umpire association meeting this past weekend.  It was a good meeting, some stuff coming on the horizon.  I have my second coaches meeting with Babe Ruth Calgary this weekend.  We start indoor evaluations this coming Wednesday so I am sure we need to make sure we are set and ready to go.  I am looking forward to getting back into coaching – should be a great summer of baseball.

Not a heck of a lot else going on.  Don’t plan to doing too much this weekend – want to relax.  Hope that you enjoy yours and, again, Go Canada !!!  Bring home some GOLD !!!

 

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Walking

Posted on February 4, 2014 by kdarcy21

I decided to try something new for me – walking to work.

It is just about 3km one way, depending on which route I take of course.  I started yesterday.  It was a pretty cold morning, around -18C or so, not much wind, luckily.  I would like to lose some weight, walking is easy and, apparently, good for you.

It took me 30 minutes to get to work.  There is a stretch that is downhill since downtown is in some sort of bowl.  Coming back, it took slightly longer, about 32 minutes so I guess the hill accounts for the additional time.

When warmer weather hits, which I am sure it will at some point, I plan on riding my bike into the office.  We have a bike lockup area so that will be great.

Right now, I go home at lunch to let the dogs out so I am walking about 12km per day.  Add in a walk with the dogs in the morning and it totals about 13km per day.  That’s gotta burn some calories.

I am saving myself $96 per month on a transit pass and since I really don’t use transit for anything else, I won’t be paying much for the bus or train at other times.

Today is a littler colder, currently about -24C so dressing properly for this cold is pretty important.  I am hoping that by the time I start to ride my bike, my legs will be ready to go.  Here’s to trying to get a little more fit.  🙂

 

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The RV Show

Posted on February 1, 2014 by kdarcy21

I decided to go to the RV show today at BMO Centre.  I also decided that I would walk.  There.  Around the show.  Back.

Well, it is a little over 4km to the BMO Centre from my place and apparently, I walked about 2km around the show and of course, a little over 4km back.  So, a grand total of just over 10km walking today.

My feet are a little sore.  They aren’t used to being used quite that much in a day.  Good practice and exercise though.  I plan on walking to work starting Monday.  Then home at lunch and back to work then home after work.  That will be a total of 12km per day. I will either feel great after doing this for a bit, or it will kill me.

Anyway, the show was pretty good.  I have no intention of buying a brand new trailer, no real intention of buying a used trailer either.  I like to look.  I haven’t been to an RV show in a few years.  A lot has changed.  First off, they are WAY lighter than they used to be.  The last time I looked, all that I could tow would pretty well be a pop-up trailer.  Now, trailers that used to be 7000 lbs are now 3000 lbs.  Not sure what they’ve done in a few years to make them so much lighter, but that is great.  Now you don’t need to own a huge pickup truck in order to have a decent sized trailer.

I saw stuff from small, 3 sleepers trailers all the way to full motorhomes worth $500,000 dollars.  Quite the variety.

As I said, not planning on buying, I like window shopping.  Now, my feet are recovering.  Definately got my exercise for the day.  For the weekend for that matter…

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The Weekend

Posted on January 31, 2014 by kdarcy21

My weekend started at noon today – as I mentioned.

I dropped by the police station to fill out my request for my police check – should be delivered in about 4 weeks.  Too bad my previous check that was completed for Big Brothers couldn’t be shared.  Oh well.

Bought some stuff for Super Bowl on Sunday.  Denver versus Seattle.  I am pulling for Denver and have a bet with my boss – the loser buys lunch when I visit Ontario this coming summer.  Tomorrow, I am thinking that I will visit the Calgary RV show.  I am not looking for an RV, they are WAY too expensive, but, at some point I would love to get a small trailer that I would be able to tow behind my truck.  Something big enough for me and two dogs – doesn’t have to have a shower and what not – very simple.  At the very least, I will see how much they go for.  Some of the dealers also have used trailers so perhaps I can get some contact information.

Since the cold weather has returned, I can now take the dogs to the dog park again without fear of my yellow lab coming back as a black lab.  The ground is, once again, quite frozen.

I also have my first umpire association meeting.  I am sure I will be brought up to speed on issues that are pending.  Hopefully there aren’t too many politics – guess we will see.

So, I am sure the weekend will zip by.  Enjoy yours.

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A Half Day Off

Posted on January 31, 2014 by kdarcy21

I am off this afternoon. I have some running around that can only really be done during the day when everything us open.

I’ve mentioned that I will be coaching with Babe Ruth Calgary this summer. Well, I have to have a police check done including a vulnerable sector check as well – working with youth, gotta be safe.

So, I have to zip to one of the local police detachments and fill out some paperwork I am sure. I need to find my passport as well, need that plus my license.

I also need some stuff for Super Bowl. You know, you can eat healthy.

Enjoy your weekend. If you’re in Calgary, try to stay warm. 🙂

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Municipal Politics

Posted on January 31, 2014 by kdarcy21

I typically do not get involved with Municipal Politics.  Before I started working at the Region of Niagara, I didn’t get involved in Regional politics – thankfully, in Alberta, we don’t have that wasted second tier of Government.  Here, we have 3 levels – seems to work.

I really do not understand the people of the City of Calgary and why they returned Mayor Nenshi to the job this past Fall.  He defeated his nearest competition by a huge margin.  Now, in saying that, although it was a huge margin, a HUGE majority of the City did not vote at all.

I would like to know exactly what Nenshi has done for the City of Calgary?  Perhaps he worked some long hours doing whatever he did during last years devastating floods – he made some news conferences and called people who were being idiots names.  It was entertaining.  He is not a good Mayor, not for this city, not for any city.  I would happily take Mayor Ford of Toronto and his fiscal responsibility AND all of his excess baggage and issues in a heartbeat to get rid of this bum.  Tax raises over 5% over the last few years and about the same forecast for the next few – REALLY?  Where, exactly, do you think that the average person is going to get this?  Am I getting a 5% raise at work?  No, not quite.  Not even close.

Now, I read in the Calgary Herald that the Province is considering giving cities the power to create additional taxes.  Wow.  What a BAD idea.  Nenshi will go nuts, I am sure.

It quite amazes me that he is so popular.  I was thinking that I must be missing something.  I have looked.  I can’t find what I am missing – not at all.  People are saying he should run for Prime Minister.  I can’t imagine.  I guess I would have to look into moving to Australia.

We have another few years of this guy and his tax increases and his dumb smile – maybe that’s why he’s so popular – it’s gotta be something.  I can’t believe that the people of this city are that dumb – they can’t be.  I hope, I really, really hope that in a few years people do smarten up and toss him on his butt, outside of City Hall.

 

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That was some boring hockey…

Posted on January 30, 2014 by kdarcy21

Yesterday, my work had an event at Brewster’s, a restaurant right around the corner from the office.  Sort of a meet and greet – there are a lot of new staff in the office with co-op positions starting in January for the busy tax season.  The pizza and wings that were served were quite good – I will be back for more at some point in the near future.

We had some snow yesterday – the forecast called for 2-5cm.  Yeah.  I really love how the weather people can be wrong so often and still have good paying jobs.  It would appear that forecasts now are no more accurate than they were 30 years ago.  I mean, in general, we can use them as a guideline, but nothing else really.  Anyway…  So, not sure on how much fell – 10cm perhaps a bit more – this generally causes people in this city to forget, completely, how to drive.  I know that I have ranted, many times, about the lack of driving ability my fellow Calgarians have, so I won’t go into detail now.

To get to this event at Brewster’s, I decided to take the bus.  There is a stop at the corner of 8 Street and 11 Avenue – that is the same corner that the restaurant is on.  Convenient – yes.  Well, I caught the bus at 4:50pm and the just under 3km ride took me a little over 40 minutes.  The traffic was crazy.  I likely could have walked a little faster and if it wasn’t -10, I likely would have.

Anyway, had a good time at Brewster’s and then headed off with a co-worker to the Calgary Hitmen game.  I won tickets, at work, again.  I seem to be very lucky with ticket wins.  Some people are, I think, becoming suspicious.  I am not sure.  Is it a coincidence that the people who are drawing the tickets may have, in the past few weeks asked me to look at a personal computer issue?  Well, who am I to say?  Anyway, glad I “won” the tickets.

So, we head to the train station for the short ride to Saddledome.  We arrive a little late, find our seats and settle in.  The game is at 0-0 – good, I think, we didn’t miss anything.

Well, it remains tied at 0 for the first and second – this is the least scoring I have ever seen at a Hitmen game, typically it is a high scoring affair.  Calgary scored one in the third period – great – some action, finally.  I enjoy defensive football games, I do not enjoy low scoring hockey games.  There is much more scoring, 4 more goals in total, all scored by the visitors.  Oh well – Calgary drops another game, they have lost, I believe, 6 of their last 8.  They’ve also slipped out of 1st place in their division.  Perhaps playing in the Saddledome, they have taken after the Flames?  Not sure.

Anyway, it was a good evening even if it was one heck of a boring hockey game.  We walked down 17 Avenue from the Dome as opposed to taking the train.  It was a bit cold but not too bad.  I guess I really am getting used to these Alberta winters.  I am sure Spring is right around the corner, well, if the corner is 3 months away.

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