Newfoundland Lacrosse

A while ago, in one of my infrequent blog updates, I mentioned that myself and a few others were trying to get a little lacrosse league going. I believe when I first wrote, the league was just starting. I actually don't know if we had even played up to that point. Well, since then much has happened, so I figure I'll let you in on what's been going on:

First of all, we started off playing in the school gym of Larkhall Academy which was a little small, but perfect for the half dozen bodies we had come out. Then, we finally landed our first goalie, Darren. People seem a little more interested in playing when they're shooting at someone, not to mention the fact that Darren had quite a bit of lacrosse experience and was able to teach a lot. Eventually, more and more bodies started showing up and we moved to Brother O'Herir Arena, which was much better for playing with more people, other than the fact that many of us couldn't run the length of the rink. It was really turning out to be something else. James (the other person who was significantly involved with the league) and I were quite proud of what we had accomplished, but it wasn't done yet. A short time later, we got another goalie, some legititmate lacrosse nets and we started getting anywhere from 14 to 18 bodies out a night. Everyone was improving and it was a great time.

So, in my opinion, it would have been a success story if it stayed like that. But, it didn't. More people were interested, and though attendance didn't grow a whole lot with people moving in and out of the province, there was certainly a small buzz about the sport growing. We even had a girl join us for a while, which turned out even better after we found out she was always up for a few post-game beers like myself and a few of the other guys.

Guess what, the growth didn't stop there. Unfortunately for me, I've been out of the province, so I've missed most of it, though I've been keeping up to date. James has been in contact with the CLA (Canadian Lacrosse Association) and they've been great to us. They sent down a coach to teach us how to coach at absolutely no cost. So, now we've got over a dozen certified coaches in the province with plans on getting kids started with lacrosse. The CLA has also offered to ship us a few dozen sticks so we can have the equipment needed to introduce the sport.

And that's basically where we stand today... other than the former NLL player that decided he wouldn't mind coming out for a rec game once a week. Maybe when I get back, I'll get a shot at catching him running through the kill zone with his head down... or maybe it'll be the other way around. Either way, it's great fun!

So, stay tuned for some more updates (trust me, we've got some more tricks up our sleeves) or you can check out the new website at nllacrosse.com... it's still under construction, but if anything comes up, it'll be posted there!

Michael Crichton (1942 - 2008)

Michael Crichton died yesterday. He was my first favourite author (unless you count Dr. Seuss and R.L. Stine) and I think he'll continue to be so for a while since I've still got a handful more of his books to read. Everyone knows him for Jurassic Park and ER, however, most, if not all of his books, from Andromeda Strain to Next, are worth reading. Of course if you're not into sci-fi then you'd probably disagree. But for me, he always managed to get my brain juices flowing with the infamous, "what if?". His stories always seemed to have a feeling of realism to them as if they were actually possible. Even the most extraordinary events in his novels really made the reader ponder the likelihood of such a thing occurring.

Not only did he have the ability to make the impossible seem possible, a number of his books really changed my way of thinking. I've actually just finished reading one of his older books, Rising Sun. Very interesting read about the Japanese influence in American business, particularly the education and technology sectors. Now the technology is a little dated but it still really managed to change my perspective on how I viewed other cultures. It made me really notice how much people from the west expect other cultures to conform to western ideologies.

However, his book that really impacted me the most was State of Fear. If anyone has any opinion whatsoever on "global warming" this is a book to read. It is super controversial in that "environmentalists" believe Crichton was misinterpreting information and that the novel was hurting efforts to change government policy on carbon emissions. And, although that may be slightly true, I think the main purpose of the book is to simply force the reader to look at the other side of the argument. My opinion on global warming has significantly changed since I've read the novel (and I'll save my rant about that for another time), but more importantly, I've learned to look at both sides of any claim or argument. Just because you learn something from one source doesn't really make it true. There are always multiple sides to every story and until they are all considered, it is almost ignorant to form an opinion. Like I said, the novel is a great read, and will really cause you to look at things, particularly scientific claims, in a whole new light.

Random fact: Crichton was 6'9" tall. I didn't know that. And, I've also got to give thanks to a teacher at my high school, Mr. Grejtek, who introduced me to Crichton. I've been hooked ever since.

In other news, Obama is the new president. I was kind of hoping for McCain, but I guess the underdog wasn't able to pull through this time. Oh well, I guess we'll all find out what Obama is made of come January.

Mothballs and Moths' Balls

Last night, which happened to be the evening of my 23rd birthday, a group of us gathered around my parents' fire pit thing. The group consisted of family, friends, and neighbours. And, as it turns out, such a group tends to create fairly interesting and unique conversation, to say the least. Last night was no different, and as usual Melissa was in the middle of the entire thing.

You see, somehow, the conversation turned to mothballs. As you can imagine, once Melissa got going, no one was talking about mothballs in the traditional sense. Instead, it was the actual testicles of moths that was of interest. Anyway, to make a long story short, Melissa eventually started wondering if a moth does in fact have "balls". So, I figured I might as well look it up. If anyone knows, it would be Google. I typed in everything I could think of that had to do with a moth's reproductive system. Apparently, Google doesn't really know much about the topic either. Then I tried butterflies. There was a little more information on this subject, however, I never did get a definitive answer. A couple of the more useful sites were the MSN Encarta page on moths and butterflies and some site by a Butterfly Farmer. From what I understand, moths (assuming they're as similar to butterflies as they seem) have sperm producing organs and a penis. However, as to whether they actually have "balls" is still unknown to me.

Happy Birthday Mary-Beth

And I almost forgot to post that it's MB's birthday today! She's the big 2-1. I think she's planning a trip to Vegas. Or at least dreaming about Vegas.

She seems to be having a great day though! And that's what's most important! Happy Birthday MB!!

Southern Shore Cup

My first time on skates in about two months was this weekend. A buddy of mine, I used to play junior hockey with, asked me to play on his team for the Southern Shore Cup. Apparently it's a pretty big thing up that way, with community rivalries coming out in full force. I was playing for the Witless Bay Warriors, which was kind of nice since I have relatives from that part of the shore. Anyway, the team ended up going 3-0. We didn't lose one game... even though at times it seemed as though the odds were against us. We had a hard working bunch, who, for what they lacked in skill, made up for in grit and determination.

However, even with our perfect record, and competitive team, we didn't make the playoffs this afternoon. It turns out that everyone in our division went 3-0 as well. Just as everyone in the other division went 0-3. The tournament was laid out so that each team played every team in the other division. And, a tie in the standings was broken by the teams' plus-minus. So, even with a perfect record, we were last in our division and didn't make the playoffs, yet two teams in the other division who we beat, and were 0-3, did make it. Doesn't make sense to me. I think we could have actually won the whole thing, but that's how it goes and I guess next year will have to be the year the Warriors take it all.

Master of the MasterLock

Next on the list of things I've done over the past few weeks is crack a combination lock. For years I have had this MasterLock combination lock in my room. I can't remember what I used it for, but I didn't use it much, and eventually I forgot the combination all together. So, every once in a while, I'd pick it up and fiddle with it a bit, but to no avail. I even tried listening for the little clicks, but that didn't work either. Even the internet was no help since the only method I could find to open it was by using a shim. But, I didn't just want to open it... I wanted to know the combination so I could use it again. Of course, I could have mailed a photocopy of the back of the lock to the company and they would have sent the combination, but I didn't really care to put that much effort into it.

Anyway, I had totally forgotten about it until the other day when I picked it up again. I played around for a while, but I was still unable to crack it. So, I did another internet search and came across a YouTube video on how to crack a MasterLock... without a shim. I liked the sound of it, but I was still skeptical, so I checked it out. The method actually seemed legit, but there was a possibility I'd have to try 100 different combinations! I figured there is no way in hell I was trying that many combinations... even though in reality it would have only taken 10 minutes or so. It's also a hell of a lot more efficient than the 64,000 possible combinations it would have been. Anyway, to make a long story short, I picked out some numbers that looked familiar, and a few minutes later it popped. I had the combination! The ease with which I cracked it is actually pretty sketchy all the same. I don't know if I'd ever lock something valuable up behind a MasterLock again.

Anyway, if you've ever got the need to crack a MasterLock... here's the combo. It really does work too, but you've gotta be patient:

Mardi Gras on George Street

I've been waiting to write about this forever... well, for a week. But, I just couldn't do it without a picture. I really need my own camera so I can take my own pictures without having to rely on other people. Anyway, I finally came across a picture of what I looked like for George Street's celebration of Halloween. That's me, Mary-Beth (Ghostbuster) and MB's friend (little red riding hood). I'm supposed to be a Geico Caveman. I think it worked out alright. Apparently people recognized me, though I'm not so sure. I spent more time that night pretending I heard what people said instead of actually hearing it. I think I look more like an ugly dude who needs a shave and to cut his hair... and lay off the fake tanner. Not much different than a regular day in my life... minus the fake tanner. But if people figured out I was a caveman, I'm happy. Mardi Gras is definitely one of my favourite nights downtown. Can't beat thousands of drunk people dressed up in costumes.

As for my costume, lets just say it was an easy costume that was hard to make... and hard to get off. Most of my friends were cavemen too, and at first (when sober) we really wanted to make it look good and even had some fake skin to give us more of an authentic caveman look. Unfortunately the fake skin stuck more to my fingers than my face and we ended up scrapping that idea. Of course, the decision was made after I had my eyebrows covered in wax. I ended up having to cover them with make-up to offset the waxy, white colour. Everything else went pretty straight forward. Just a bit of brown make-up, a wig, and gluing a beard on my face. In hindsight, that turned out to be a terrible idea. Gluing a beard to my face! I already had a freakin' beard and I glued another one on top of it! Anyway, to make a long story short, I got home at some point in the night, loaded drunk, and had to shave off both my fake beard and my real beard. Pretty sure I destroyed a brand new blade in the process too. Though I did only nick myself once. Which I thought to be pretty impressive.

So, that's my Mardi Gras story. Oh, and in case you don't know who the Geico cavemen are, here's a little clip. I think we had a resemblance going: