MEC TRANS CANADA TRAIL RACE 2017

Today MEC held their “MEC LOWER MAINLAND ROAD RACE FIVE: TRANS CANADA TRAIL 5K / 10K / 21.1K / 42.2K” and I was one of the 5k runners.

MEC has changed the race naming a little this year. Instead of each individual race ostensibly being held by one of the three Metro Vancouver area stores — “MEC Langley,” “MEC Vancouver,” or “MEC North Vancouver” — they are now all being held by a combined entity dubbed “MEC Lower Mainland.” There are a combined total of 17 races this year, and they are broken down into a “road race series” and a “trail races series.” Today’s race was the 5th race of the road race series.

The Trans Canada Trail race is held in Fort Langley, and it’s a great venue. The 5k, in particular, is a nice little scenic run along the Fraser River. The race continues to gain in popularity, with yet more participants this year than ever.

Fort Langley race participants

Year	5k	10k	half marathon	full marathon
2015	30	83	59	18
2016	101	205	139	39
2017	155	223	130	43

We got very lucky with the weather. Vancouver has been experiencing record amounts of rain lately, but a few hours before the first races the rains stopped. The rain held off all day, actually, and it was a perfect day for a race, with the race participants being treated to moderate temperatures, light cloud, and some sunshine.

Setting up at the start/finish line in Fort Langley near the Fort Pub & Grill

My time this year for the 5k was 25:15. I was pretty happy with that time until I checked last year’s time and saw that I did a 22:52. That means I was 2:23 slower this year. Ouch! I was in better form last year, though, and that was one of my best times ever. I’m actually quite happy with my 25:15. I pushed hard the whole way and ran a great race. I knew going in that my conditioning wasn’t as good as it was last year. I just haven’t been pushing myself as hard during my training runs. My weight also played a part, no doubt. At 193-ish for today’s race, I’m up 3-4 pounds over last year, which is worth about 20-25 seconds.

All in all, I’m happy with how my first race of the year went. It was a lot of fun. A big thank you to MEC for putting on another great event. I can’t wait for the next one in a month or two, depending on which race I choose to do next.

The Sherri Papini Kidnapping

(Note: for those unfamiliar with this case, this ABC News special would be a good place to start. Unfortunately, parts 2 and 3 are not currently available, though.)

So… I’ve been following the mysterious kidnapping case involving California ‘supermom’ Sherri Papini. To say that I’ve been ‘following’ this case is putting it mildly, actually. This case has been an obsession of mine since pretty much the day Sherri went missing, November 2, 2016. I have spent an inordinate amount of time uncovering every possible detail and trying to decide what I think happened.

I have to say, I have spent the majority of that time trying to figure out how this is NOT a hoax. If Sherri is truly a victim, then I want to believe her and offer support.

Unfortunately, I am forced to conclude that this is most likely a hoax.

The key, for me, is a 2003 blog entry posted on a skinhead website, that claims to have been written by Sherri. There are simply too many common elements between that blog post and the current kidnapping story for this to be a coincidence. There has to be some connection.

According to Sherri’s ex-husband, she denies writing the blog post with her name on it and claims that it was a prank. There is some evidence to support this claim. The writing style of the blog entry in question is similar to other blog entries on the website that were supposedly written by other people. Also, the writing style is different from Sherri’s wedding blog, so it does appear she did not write the post in question. But why is her name on it and why does it claim to tell her story, then?

I think the most reasonable explanation is that Sherri fell for some skinhead guy back in 2003. She was never really into the whole skinhead thing, but played along for the sake of the relationship. She told him some stories, those stories made it to whoever ran the skinhead website, and he wrote it up. Or possibly Sherri did write it, but it was then edited by whoever ran the website. Either way, I do believe that Sherri was the source of the stories in the skinhead article. The claim that this was a prank is simply not credible.

So if we assume there is a connection between the blog post and the current situation, what would that connection be? I see only two possibilities. Either:

A. The past stories and the current story are both the product of the same imagination.

or

B. Sherri does stuff to really piss off Latinos.

Option (A), of course, supports the idea that this is a hoax. I won’t go into it, but there is plenty of other circumstantial evidence pointing toward a hoax as well.

The thing is, if this was a hoax, how could she possibly have pulled it off? The biggest sticking point for me was where she was found. How did she get there, 140 miles away from where she was abducted? And how did she manage to appear out of nowhere at 4:30 in the morning?

THE DROP-OFF SITE PROVES SOMEONE ELSE WAS INVOLVED

In my opinion, the drop-off site proves that someone else was involved. Either an accomplice, or possibly actual abductors. It’s possible Sherri could have appeared there by herself, but not likely.

She could have worn a disguise and traveled by bus, arrived in Yolo in the evening, when she wouldn’t attract much attention, and then hid away for the big reveal. The problem, though, is where would she hide? There just aren’t any great hiding places near where she was found. Yes, there are possibilities, but they would involve a high level of risk. If this is what happened, she would have chosen some other place, somewhere with a nice forest to hide in. There are no forested areas anywhere near where Sherri was found.

I am forced to conclude that there had to be another person involved. Somebody to drive the drop-off vehicle. If this is a hoax, who might Sherri possibly know that would be involved in such a ridiculous conspiracy? I can only think of one possibility: an acquaintance from her skinhead days. Possibly her old boyfriend. I can easily believe that a skinhead might have motives of their own for being involved in such a hoax. It’s the perfect fit.

So that’s my theory. It’s a hoax, she had an accomplice, and the accomplice was likely someone she knew back in 2003.

THREE WEEKS PROVES THIS WAS NOT A HATE CRIME

While I was trying to come up with theories where this is real, one of the things that really bothered me about this case is that she was held for three weeks. That’s a long time to hold someone if this is some kind of revenge or hate crime. It’s simply not believable. On the other hand, if it’s a hoax, three weeks makes perfect sense. She would have spent the first two weeks having a nice vacation, and then the final week getting ready to be ‘found.’

BUT WAIT, WASN’T SHE HEAVILY BATTERED?

When Sherri was found, the first officer on the scene described Sherri as ‘heavily battered.’ Keith, her husband, issued a statement that included the following:

The officers warned me to brace myself. My first sight was my wife in a hospital bed, her face covered in bruises ranging from yellow to black because of repeated beatings, the bridge of her nose broken.

Her now emaciated body of 87 pounds was covered in multicolored bruises, severe burns, red rashes and chain markings. Her signature long blond hair had been chopped off. She has been branded, and I could feel the rise of her scabs under my fingers. She was thrown from a vehicle with a chain around her waist, attached to her wrists and a bag over her head. The same bag she used to flag someone down once she was able to free one of her hands. Sherri was taken from us for 22 days and suffered incredibly through both intense physical agony and severe mental torture. […] My Sherri suffered tremendously, and all the visions swirling in your heads of her appearance, I assure you, are not as graphic and gruesome as the reality.

(source: abcnews)

There’s just no way around this: I think we have to accept that she was heavily battered. There has been some speculation that she could have used make-up. One of the pins on Sherri’s pinterest account showed how to fake a broken nose for Halloween. There’s just no way she would have gotten away with that, though. We have to accept that the injuries are real.

So how is that possible? I have to admit, the extent of Sherri’s injuries gives me a lot of doubt about the hoax theory. However, it must be noted that people perpetrating hoaxes have, in the past, resorted to extreme measures. There are known hoax cases where people have even shot themselves.

The severity of Sherri’s injuries does cause me to question the hoax theory, but it doesn’t rule it out.

THE OTHER AMAZING COINCIDENCE

A girl that Sherri attended high school with went missing 18 years ago and there were similarities to Sherri’s case, leading some to believe they were connected. I believe she was even a friend of Sherri’s.

article: Sherri Papini Case Eerily Similar to Cold Case from 18 Years Ago

Since Sherri was found, the similarities have kind of fallen apart. However, if this is a hoax, it seems highly likely to me that the years-ago case served as partial inspiration. A person who was an attention seeker would no doubt have noted the massive amount of attention this missing person case garnered.

THE INNOCENT PARTIES

I believe that Keith Papini is completely innocent in all of this. There is absolutely nothing he has said or done that suggests complicity. Many people have cited his lack of eye contact during his interview with 20/20 as a sign that he was being less than truthful. However, for some people, this is perfectly normal. Just like some people are left handed, some people are uncomfortable with eye contact. It should be noted that his level of eye contact is consistent throughout the interview, including, for example, when he tells the story of how he kept Sherri’s letters from high school. Is the entire interview a lie? Of course not. He passed two lie detector tests and law enforcement has cleared him. Matt Gutman, who conducted the 20/20 interview, said he found Keith to be “entirely credible.”

Another party receiving a great deal of suspicion in this case is Cameron Gamble, the self-described “hostage negotiator.” In my view the only thing he is guilty of is exaggeration. He apparently overstated his credentials and experience. I see absolutely nothing that implicates him in an actual kidnapping. People seem to see him as part of some giant conspiracy. It is simply not a credible theory, frankly.

MY CONCLUSION

It should be noted that I am not claiming to know what happened. I have simply come up with a theory that, in my view, best fits the facts of this case. I don’t know Sherri, and my conclusions are based on the facts as currently available on the web, and nothing else.

It’s just a theory, subject to change as new facts become available.

MEC Langley Race Five: Williams Park 5k/10k 2016

MEC Langley held their fifth and final race of 2016 today, the Williams Park 5k/10k. The course was a 5k loop beginning and ending in Williams Park, a nice little nature park in urban Langley. The course was mainly on paved country roads, with about 1/2 km on trails in the park. Those running the 10k did two loops of the 5k course.

The weather looked bleak, with dark skies and occasional short showers, but it didn’t end up being too bad. There were a few minutes during the run where I got rained on, but I didn’t get very wet. I barely noticed it. I find it amazing that out of the 20 or so runs I’ve done so far, I’ve never experienced a full wet race.

There were 97 runners there to run the 10k, and 88 for the 5k.

I ran the 5k and my time was 25:19, which for me is quite terrible. Two weeks ago I was in the middle of a bad cold and ran a 24:15, which isn’t that great either. This week I’m 90% better and over a minute slower. It’s baffling. I knew 20 seconds into the race that I was struggling. I just felt like I had no energy. I pushed hard through the whole race, though, and when they called my time, as I finished, I thought initially that they may have made a mistake. I doubled back to check the clock and no, 25:19 was indeed my correct time. How is that possible?

There were some pretty big hills on the course, but I don’t see those as being a big deal. Slower up the hill means faster down the hill. The only thing that did cost me some time was where the trail through the park was very slippery due to recent rains. I did have to slow down in sections, especially down a steep hill that was covered in leaves. I doubt it cost me more than a few seconds, though.

I only got about 5 hours sleep the night before. Perhaps that was a factor.

I’ve noticed during my training runs that there appears to be no rhyme or reason to my run times. Some days I’ll do my practice run in 26:00, and others it might be as much as 27:30. Other than weight, I haven’t been able to isolate any factors that make a difference. All I can do is keep running, and take the good with the bad, I suppose.

I’m fairly committed to running again next year. Not just 5k and 10k runs, but the BC Masters Championships again as well. It will depend a lot on what else I’m up to next year.

Wow. I just checked when the first MEC race of 2017 might be and it looks like they’re doing something different next year with the race packages. Instead of giving all the MEC Langley races as a package, they are combining with MEC Vancouver and MEC North Vancouver, and offering various mixed race packs. They’re still working out the details, but it looks like a big no, for me. Too much travel is involved. I’ll just buy the 4 races they have scheduled for Langley individually, I guess.  Looks like my first race will be March 5. Lots of time to lose weight!

Running weight for this race was about 195 pounds. I consider 190 to be my max weight, but my body disagrees. Keeping my weight down has been a real struggle. But that’s an issue for another blog post.

Another great race by MEC Langley. I did quite enjoy it. One thing I like about this course is that it’s practically impossible to get lost. It looks like they’re dropping this race for next year, though.

MEC Langley Race Four: Campbell Valley Speedway Half/10k/5k 2016

MEC Langley held their fourth race of 2016 today, at Campbell Valley Speedway. There were 3 distances to choose from: half marathon, 10k, or 5k.

The Campbell Valley Speedway was a pretty cool venue. We got to park on half the speedway, and the race began and ended with a half lap run around the other half of the speedway. After leaving the speedway, however, we ran for about a kilometer on a narrow, somewhat muddy trail that was less than ideal for running a race on. I enjoyed it, though, and it wasn’t too bad. There was a bit of gravel trail but the rest of the course was mainly paved road.

I ran the 5k in a time of 24:15. That’s a little slower than usual, but, for the second race in a row, I was running with a bad cold. Yes, I’m a little bitter about this. About one week after recovering from my last cold, that I had during my race three weeks ago, I got a new cold, perfectly timed to mess up my latest race. In fact, about 1 hour before the race, I had the most severe coughing fit of my cold so far, and was seriously worried about being able to race. My throat settled down, though, and my cold didn’t seem to slow me down that much. I felt pretty good during the race, actually. However, my time was 37 seconds slower than for my last 5k race, and that is probably mainly due to the fact that I had a cold.

There were some way faster runners there for this race. Two of the guys ran 18s. That’s fast! I was 6th out of the 21 men who ran the 5k. About two thirds of the way through the race I was passed by a girl who looked to be about 11 years old, and she finished way ahead of me. That was certainly humbling.

I was standing around shortly after the race when a worker asked me where I had been wearing my timing chip. My answer was on the outside of my right shoe. That’s where it is supposed to be. I’m gathering that my chip didn’t register at the finish. That’s why we wear numbered bibs, however. He took my bib and walked off with it for a while. I hope they got my time correct in the end. Unfortunately, I did not look at the clock as I finished the race, so I would have no idea if they got my time wrong or not.

While I was standing around after the race the generator that the race organizers had powering all their equipment stalled. After a few minutes I went over to see if I could help out, since I do have a fair bit of experience with jobsite generators. I was able to get it going again by partially applying the choke. With too much choke it flooded and wouldn’t start, and it wouldn’t run with no choke either. I found that by applying just a little choke that it ran smoothly. They probably need to clean out the carburetor.

There’s another race in two weeks and I’ll be there unless something comes up. Hopefully I’ll be over my cold by then and can finish the year with a stellar time.

BMO Okanagan Marathon 2016 10k run

I ran a 10k run yesterday, as part of this year’s BMO Okanagan Marathon 2016 events in Kelowna. This was my 4th year for the 10k run.

 

My bib for the 2016 Okanagan Marathon 10k

 

The weather this year was cloudy and 8 C (46 F). It was a bit chilly, but not too bad.

I was quite worried beforehand about what my time might be. I’m currently a few pounds heavier than last year, so that was going to add some time. Plus, I was suffering from a fairly bad cold. I was hoping to do the run in under 55:00, but was worried that pretty much anything could happen.

I ran a great race, with good pacing and pushing hard the entire way. I finished in 53:50, which is just 1:12 worse than last year. It’s a bit disappointing not setting a personal best, but, all things considered, I’m fairly happy with that time.

Date	Race	Time	Rank	Category	Cat. Rank
2016-10-09	10 km	00:53:50	145 /826	M50-59	16/53
2015-10-11	10 km	00:52:38	101 /706	M50-59	11 /44
2013-10-13	10 km	00:56:02	214 /850	M40-49	36 /76
2012-10-07	10 km	01:01:40	324 /621	M40-49	39 /52

It’s a bit frustrating that I wasn’t able to keep my weight more in check over the summer. I was hoping to be lighter this year, not heavier. Oh, well, I need to redouble my efforts for next year and make it happen. I’m pretty sure my experience this year will help provide some extra motivation. Weight was around 196 pounds.

Here’s the finisher’s medal.

 

Finisher’s medal for the BMO Okanagan Marathon 10k.

 

AGE CATEGORY AWARDS

I noticed, when looking over the rules and regulations prior to the race, that they are now offering age category medals to the first 3 finishers in each 10 year age category. That’s new and a very cool development. I stuck around after the race to watch the awards for the 10k. I’d say about a quarter of the winners weren’t there, so they obviously didn’t know about the awards. I’m not sure what their policy was, but normally for the bigger races, like this one, if you’re not at the award ceremony you don’t get your medal.

I found myself wondering, of course, if there was any chance whatsoever that I could win one of these medals. Here are times for the top 3 men, age 50-59 for each of the last 2 years:

2016: 38:35, 46:29, 46:46
2015: 43:35, 45:33, 47:19

Based on those times I would say my chances of winning a medal are pretty close to zero. Never say never, though. If I could get my weight down to 180, which has been a goal of mine for quite some time now, and if I had a super-great race, you just never know.

I had a lot of fun running this year’s BMO Okanagan Marathon 10k and will probably run it again next year.

‘Gravity’ Movie Review: Painfully Predictable

I watched the movie Gravity last night, or at least tried to. The movie was just so painfully predictable that I couldn’t go on. I gave up about half way through.

(note: this review contains spoilers.)

In retrospect, I should have known, since I did read a little about it beforehand. From the Warner Brother’s promotional material:

Bullock plays a brilliant medical engineer on her first shuttle mission, with Clooney as a veteran astronaut in command of his last flight before retiring. But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes.

Every stereotype set up by that premise dutifully comes to pass in the movie. Bullock is on her first shuttle mission, so of course she’s the bumbling stooge. Clooney is a veteran on his last flight before retiring, so of course he’s calm, cool, and collected. Of course, Clooney, the capable male, has to repeatedly save Bullock, the ever-incompetent female. Of course.

The beginning of the end, for me, was when Bullock first said she was low on oxygen. At that moment I instantly knew I was going to have to sit through a long, drawn-out drama as Bullock had just barely enough oxygen to make it back to the shuttle alive. My favorite line of the movie came near the end of this sequence, when Bullock complained that she was out of oxygen. Clooney replied with, “There’s oxygen in your suit. Breathe that.” Are you kidding me? I mean, what? It never occurred to her to breathe the oxygen in her suit? Thank goodness macho-man Clooney was there to hand this hapless female a clue.

What can I say? I absolutely despise ridiculous stereotypes and false drama created by a false resource shortage.

Then, before the oxygen thing is even over, Clooney starts to run out of fuel on his jet pack. Oh no! Not only might Bullock run out of oxygen, but they might not make it to their destination before running out of fuel! How exciting!

Except, of course, you know Bullock is not going to run out of oxygen, and you know Clooney is not going to run out of fuel, because then the movie would have to end. So you sit there and keep watching, bored out of your skull. Eventually you become so disgusted with the terrible movie that you turn it off. Finito.

It’s a shame I didn’t get to see the reentry part of the movie, since that was my main reason for watching it in the first place. I bet the visuals are amazing.

Hmmm. The reentry scene is currently available on youtube. Okay, watched it. Yeah, there’s a few seconds of cool visuals. Unfortunately, the 4-minute clip mainly features the continuing bumbling incompetence of Bullock. “eenie, meenie… okay, that doesn’t sound good… miney… mo,” she says, as she selects buttons on the control panel. One thing I hated earlier on in the movie was Bullock’s ongoing grunting and groaning. It’s featured prominently in this clip as well. “Ah! Ah! Ah!”

Sorry, but I absolutely hated it. The visuals might be good, but they do nothing to save this nails-on-a-blackboard of a movie.

 

Gwen Stefani Vancouver concert review

Gwen Stefani’s This is What the Truth Feels Like tour stopped in at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena this evening, and I was there. As expected, it was awesome. Of course it was!

First off, let me just say that I love Gwen Stefani. I’ve been a huge fan of hers since she was in the band No Doubt, starting back in the 90s. Her solo career since then has produced some solid hits, and her recently released new album, “This is What the Truth Feels Like,” is surprisingly good, with quite a few solid songs.

When I saw the set list for Gwen’s latest tour I knew I had to go. Not only did I really like most of the songs, but there were 4 huge hits from No Doubt. The setlist, which is the same at every show, is as follows:

Act 1
-. Red Flag Intro
1. Red Flag
2. Wind It Up
3. Baby Don’t Lie (single released 2014)
4. Obsessed
5. Where Would I Be?
6. Cool
7. Make Me Like You
8. Danger Zone

Act 2
-. Misery Interlude
9. Misery
10. Luxurious
11. Harajuku Girls
12. Let Me Blow Ya Mind
13. Rich Girl
14. Hella Good (No Doubt song)
15. Rare

Act 3
-. What You Waiting For? Interlude
16. What You Waiting For?
17. It’s My Life (No Doubt song)
18. Asking 4 It
19. Don’t Speak (No Doubt song)
20. Naughty
21. Used to Love You
22. Hollaback Girl

Encore:
23. Truth
24. Just a Girl (No Doubt song)
25. The Sweet Escape

BEFORE THE SHOW

The ticket said that the show started at 7:00 PM, and I arrived an hour early. Sometimes there are line ups to get in, and I didn’t want to miss the start of the show. When I got there, though, at 6:00 PM, there was almost nobody there. I spent the majority of the next hour talking to Ashley, a friendly ticket checker working for Rogers Arena. Since there was almost nobody there, she didn’t have much to do. She had some interesting “inside” information… for example, at the previous night’s concert, which was Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas, there were so many empty seats that they had invited everybody from the top sections to come down to the lower bowl. I’m sure the upper bowl people appreciated the gesture, but wouldn’t the people who paid extra to sit closer feel a little peeved? (Apparently Gwen has been known to do the same thing, if there are lots of empty seats. Such was not the case in Vancouver, however, as the show was well attended.)

Gwen Stefani concert layout at Rogers Arena, Vancouver

Around 6:50 I decided to head toward “the pit,” the general admission area in front of the stage where I would be viewing the concert. Since there were still very few people there, I decided to rest for a bit by sitting in the front row of the seated floor area. I wanted to see what the view as like. When buying my ticket I had heavily debated whether I wanted a pit pass, which would mean standing for the entire show, or a floor seat so I could sit down. I decided on the pit pass, assuming that the floor seat people would probably end up standing anyway. Later on, I did have a look back during the show and I was right: the entire floor area was standing. Clearly, the pit area was the better option, since you got to stand much closer, and the tickets were the same price.

The view from row 1 floor seating at the Gwen Stefani concert, in Roger’s Arena, Vancouver

At 7:00 I moved into the pit area. There was almost nobody there. With the show about to start, where the heck was everybody? Weren’t they worried they were going to miss Gwen’s first song? Well, I already knew the answer to that, thanks to Ashley, who had informed me that Eve would be doing an opening act. I really wish I would have researched this a little. I did find it odd that the billing was “Gwen Stefani with Eve,” when Eve only sang on two of Gwen’s songs. I should have realized Eve would do a warm up act. It would have meant I didn’t have to show up an hour early.

EVE’S OPENING ACT

At 7:15 a DJ came out and played parts of popular songs for a few minutes, and then Eve came out and started performing. The bass was brutally loud, so I went up into the stands and sat down. One good thing about the pit pass was that it gives you access to the entire lower bowl.

View of pit and floor seating, just after Eve’s set.

Eve finished her set at 8:00 PM, and I moved back to the pit. It took about 20 minutes to remove Eve’s gear from the stage, and then we just waited.

GWEN STEFANI

Finally, at around 8:45, the show started. The illustrious Gwen Stefani was now before us, performing Red Flag.

Gwen in her outfit for the first set. She did a costume change between each of the 3 sets, and again before the encore.

The crowd responded enthusiastically, of course, but the first song that really got the crowd going was the seventh song, Make me Like You. I was happy to see that one of Gwen’s new songs, which is a favorite of mine, was also a crowd favorite. I never realized before just how danceable this song is, but it really got the crowd moving on their feet. I think maybe they did a more dance-oriented version. Definitely a winner.

Gwen in her second set outfit.

After that the crowd was fairly enthusiastic for every song, but it definitely went up a notch again for Rich Girl. Not only is this song one of Gwen’s bigger hits, but it is one of the two songs that Eve sings on, and having the two of them up there together definitely added something extra.

Gwen Stefani in her third set outfit, singing Rare.

During Rare a girl approached the tall, burley guy next to me and asked him to carry her on his shoulders. I have to say, she was not a small girl, and I was sure glad that she asked him instead of me, because I’m not sure I could have handled it. Anyway, he hoisted her onto his shoulders just on time for Gwen to point directly at her as she sang the words, “You’re rare.” Shortly thereafter the woman climbed down again, thanked the guy with a hug and a kiss, and went on her way. Interesting. I’m not sure if she knew him or not.

Gwen Stefani singing Used to Love You.

It was at this point that a pair of women very firmly pushed me out of the way as they moved in front of me. Wow. What made it even worse was that one of the women could only be described as “the incredible leaning woman,” because she was learning back at an incredible angle. She had a glass of beer in her hand, and at first I thought she must be massively drunk and was going to fall over at any second. I mean, it was bizarre. Instead of standing upright, like everyone else, she had her knees bent and was leaning way back, with her long hair hanging well off her back.

I have to say, by this point, I was a little unhappy with the amount of pushing that was going on. When I first got there, at 8:00 PM, I was standing comfortably with 6 rows of people in front of me. It was a great spot, just 10 feet or so from the stage. By the time the show started, at around 8:45, there were 9 rows of people in front of me. I hadn’t moved, though, the crowd had just become more and more packed. People kept getting closer and closer together, and with the incredible leaning woman’s hair brushing all over me around half way through the show, I finally started to back up a little to give myself some space. Eventually, toward the end of the concert, I’d had enough of the close quarters and moved to the back of the crowd. I don’t really blame people for pushing in front of me, though; in the mostly female crowd I was one of the tallest people there. From the back of the crowd, the view was actually better, in a way, since I was able to have some space in front of me, which provided me with a clearer view of the whole stage.

If crowd participation is a measure of affinity, the crowd’s clear favorite for the evening was definitely Hollaback Girl. Gwen obviously  loved it as the crowd loudly sang the song along with her. If Gwen Stefani has an anthem, I’m guessing this would be it. During the song, each time it was time for the second refrain of “I ain’t no hollaback girl,” Gwen would point her mike at the audience and we were just as loud as she was.

Gwen is off the stage and standing on the crowd barrier, about to do a little crowd surfing.

During Asking 4 It, Gwen did a little crowd surfing, right in front of me. It was completely unexpected and I was absolutely amazed, to tell the truth. Crazy! It did seem as if Gwen was “Asking 4 It.” Nothing untoward happened, fortunately, and after a few seconds Gwen managed to get back to the stage. She was singing the whole time, too.

Yes, Gwen actually did a little crowd surfing. Two brief moments on top of the crowd.

At some point during the show, around 2/3 of the way through, Gwen stopped the show and did some audience interaction. She talked to the crowd for a bit, mentioning that back in her early days as a performer she had played at the Town Pump, a well-known Vancouver area club. She acknowledged some signs people held up. Holding up signs was not allowed during the show, but at this point people were allowed to hold up signs that they had brought with them for Gwen to read. After reading a few signs, she randomly selected three people from the audience, one at a time, to come up on stage and get “selfies” with her, with the audience in the background. The first was a guy who had traveled from Mexico to see the show, the second was a girl who looked to be about 7 years old, and the third was a young woman. I was impressed with how deftly Gwen handled the fan’s phones. Open the camera app, click, click, click, click, and in a matter of seconds she was done. Since the phones were facing the audience as she took the pictures, I could clearly see the photos being taken.

Gwen in her outfit for the encore set.

It was a great concert. Gwen Stefani has amassed a great collection of original songs over the years, and she is a special performer. My only minor complaint is that she didn’t do my favorite Gwen Stefani song, which is 4 in the Morning. Maybe next time.

2008 Ford Escape Instrument Cluster Remove and Repair

I recently repaired the instrument cluster on my wife’s 2008 Ford Escape and figured I might as well do a write-up. These instructions apply to Ford Escape model years 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012.

DISCLAIMER: Needless to say, follow these instructions at your own risk. This is not an official manual by any means. In fact, to fix a problem with your instrument cluster, any Ford dealer out there would simply replace the cluster. Unfortunately, that comes with a fairly hefty price tag. The current list price on the cluster itself is US$379 to US$509, depending on what features it has, and a new cluster will require programming, which only a dealer can do, for a sizeable fee, of course. Fixing the old cluster can prevent having to pay a hefty repair bill.

The problem I was experiencing was that the SETUP, INFO, and RESET buttons to the left of the steering column were not working. This meant I couldn’t access the various features of the information center. In particular, I could not reset the oil change reminder, and that was driving my wife crazy. I determined that the switches themselves were working fine, and, examining a wiring diagram, noted that the switches connected to the instrument cluster. I found that if I pushed on the wire connector at the top of the instrument cluster, the buttons would work while I was pushing. This was almost certainly a solder joint failure on the instrument cluster connector, a common cause of instrument cluster problems. Unfortunately, in order to resolder the connector, the instrument cluster itself must be removed and disassembled. This requires some care and some know how, which you’ll find in the following instructions.

INSTRUMENT CLUSTER REMOVAL

Removal of the instrument cluster from the vehicle is straightforward and relatively easy.

1. Remove the 3 x 5.5 mm (7/32″) screws from underneath the lower steering column cover. Pry off the top, two-part steering column cover and remove. The lower cover can be left in place, but should be shifted downward a little, so it is out of the way of the instrument cluster finish panel.
2. Grab the top of the instrument cluster finish panel and give it a firm tug forward to release the snaps holding it in place. Gently pull the bottom portions of the panel forward, releasing the snaps holding them in place. The whole panel is held on with clips only, there are no screws. Depending on how the vehicle is equipped, various connectors may have to be removed from the bottom of the panel before it can be removed.
   

   The cluster finish panel is held on with clips only.

3. Remove the black 7 mm screws from the four corners of the instrument cluster.
   

   Remove 7mm screws as indicated.

4. Pull the cluster forward and remove the wiring harness connector from the top of the instrument cluster, as shown below. Note: many sources recommend disconnecting the battery first. I didn’t bother.
   

   To remove the instrument cluster connector, push down on the tab as shown, and then move the grey lever to the left

5.  Remove the instrument cluster.

Installation is the reverse of removal.

INSTRUMENT CLUSTER DISASSEMBLY

Disassembly of the instrument cluster is where things get a little more challenging.

1. Remove the 2 silver screws securing the lens to the cluster.
2. Remove the lens by prying back each of the 10 clips holding it on. This can be quite difficult to achieve. Just be patient and keep at it.
3. Remove the indicator needles. See the section below for complete instructions on removing the needles.
4. Remove the plastic insulating sheet from the back of the instrument cluster. There is one, small silver screw that needs to be removed, and then carefully pry up around each of the hold downs.
5. Very carefully, starting at the top, release the circuit board from the snaps holding it in, tilting it slightly forward from the top as you go along. The four bottom snaps cannot be released. After removing the board from all the other snaps, it can be tilted to remove it from the bottom snaps.

REMOVAL AND INSTALLATION OF THE INDICATOR NEEDLES

This is the really tricky bit, and the reason I’m writing this guide. Please be sure to read and understand this entire section before proceeding.

There are 4 indicator needles on the Ford Escape instrument cluster, one each for the gas gauge, water temperature gauge, speedometer, and tachometer. All 4 needles are removed and installed the same way. Two key points regarding the needles:

1. They are pressed on.
2. However, it is very difficult to just force them on or off. One must twist them on the shaft as they are pulled off or pushed on, in order to break the friction. This means turning the needle until the shaft hit its stop, and then turning further, so that the needle is turning while the shaft is stationary.

To remove the needles:

1. Very gently rotate each needle counterclockwise until it hits its internal stop. Using a piece of tape and a marker as shown in the photo below, mark precisely where each needle is pointing when it is at its stop. Make sure the tape is attached securely enough that it will stay in place while further work is performed on the cluster. Take note of the height of the needle hubs off the backplate. The gap is about 1.5mm, or a small 1/16″, off the backplate.
   

   Gently rotate counterclockwise against the internal stops, and mark the positions on tape.

2. Note: when handling the needles a person might want to wear latex or nitrile gloves to prevent fingerprints from getting onto the needle hub.
3. Gently grab the center hub for each indicator needle, and twist it counterclockwise while pulling straight upward. Care must be taken to not exert any sideways pressure while pulling, or the post that the needle is mounted on could become bent. Continue pulling firmly upward and turning counterclockwise (past the stop) until the indicator needle is removed from the post.
   

   To remove the needle, grab the black center hub and turn counterclockwise to force the needle past the stop as indicated, while pulling upward.

To reinstall each needle:

1. Hold the needle above the gauge, about a quarter of a turn clockwise from the stop. On the speedometer, for example, hold the needle above the gauge so that it is pointing somewhere around 60-80 kph. Push the needle down onto the post, turning counterclockwise while doing so. Concentrate on the height of the needle hub from the backplate, and don’t worry about where it’s pointing, for now. Keep turning and pushing until the gap between the needle hub and the backplate is about 1.5mm, or a small 1/16″, as noted in step 1 of the removal process. The gap distance isn’t too critical, which is why I felt it was good enough to just eyeball it. I tried using a spacer, but it proved to be more trouble than it was worth. The needle hub should be close to the backplate, but not too close or it will bind.
2. After the height is set, if the needle is short of its mark, simply rotate the needle counterclockwise until it points at the mark on the tape. If the needle goes past the mark on the tape, it can be moved the other way by rotating almost a full turn clockwise until it hits the stop, and then rotating clockwise a little further. Then turn it counterclockwise again until it hits the stop and see what further adjustment is necessary. You can continue going back and forth as many times as it takes to get the needle pointing precisely at the mark on the tape.

FIXING FAILED SOLDER JOINTS FOR THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER CONNECTOR

A close look at the solder joints for the instrument cluster connector showed several suspicious solder joints. There was no point in trying to figure out which ones were actually bad, though. I just re-soldered them all.

To resolder the connector, a decent soldering iron and thin, flux core solder for electronics are required. Just add plenty of solder to each connection while being careful not to overheat things or create any bridges.

After resoldering the connector, and reinstalling everything, my problem with the SETUP, INFO, and RESET buttons was fixed. The whole process, including time spent taking pictures and whatnot, took less than 3 hours. The job could easily be done in 2 hours, or even 1, once a person is familiar with all the steps.

 

bruised ribs and other injuries

Two weeks ago I managed to hurt my ribs on both sides when I ran into an almost invisible gate in the dark. At first, it didn’t seem like that big of a deal, but in the morning wow was I ever sore. I looked it up online, and apparently they call this condition “bruised ribs,” even though it’s not really your ribs that are bruised. It’s the muscles and ligaments that cause the pain, and boy did they ever. I could barely move.

According to various sources on the web, bruised ribs take 3 to 6 weeks to heal. That was not what I wanted to learn. To make matters worse, over the first 5 days I found that the pain actually got gradually worse. Extra strength Tylenol was fairly effective at dulling the pain, luckily, and I took it 3 times a day for the worst few days. Finally, around day 10, things started to get a tiny bit better. It’s day 14 now, and there is a definite improvement. Initially, there was absolutely no way I could go running, it was far too painful. As of today, I can run again, albeit with a moderate amount of pain. I’m hoping that in another week or so I can comfortably go running again. I’m dying to go for a run!

It’s just lucky that the next MEC race I’m signed up for isn’t until mid-October. I’m sure my bruised ribs will be a distant memory by then.

I’m starting to feel injury prone, though.  Two months ago I got three of my fingers caught in the garage door. I stuck them between two panels, intending to move the door just a little, and next thing I knew the door was rolling down with my fingers crushed in between the panels, and I do mean crushed. All three fingernails became separated from their beds and bled from underneath, and eventually two of them fell off. They’re not even halfway grown back yet and I do this rib thing.

 

WARNING! Do not do this. Painful injury may result.

 

And then there’s my toenail that I ripped off last October when I stubbed my right, big toe. I just checked and as of today I would call it 100% grown back, actually. So it took 10 months to grow back the nail on my big toe. At least that’s over with.

Hopefully, I can avoid any further injuries before my ribs heal and my fingernails grow back. It would be really nice to be whole again.

MH370 Which Pilot Mystery Solved

There has never been much doubt in my mind regarding what happened to flight MH370. The only scenario that perfectly fit the available facts was one of pilot suicide. The big question, though, was which one of the two pilots was the culprit?

An official with the Joint Agency Coordination Center (JACC), the agency created by the Australian Government to keep the public informed about the progress of the investigation into flight MH370, has now confirmed that “the MH370 captain’s flight simulator showed someone had plotted a course to the southern Indian Ocean.” This seems to corroborate a report from last week in New York magazine:

Exclusive: MH370 Pilot Flew a Suicide Route on His Home Simulator Closely Matching Final Flight

Here’s the map from that article:

 

MH370’s presumed flight path is in yellow.  Zaharie’s simulated flight path in red. (source: New York Magazine)

 

As far as I’m concerned, this latest information puts to bed any question as to who perpetrated this crime and what their motives were. It was Captain Zaharie. Those flight paths are far too similar for this to be a mere coincidence.

At this point I have to wonder why they keep looking for the plane. There doesn’t seem to be much point. I suppose they really want those black boxes and, hopefully, definitive proof.