arrived Boracay …

On December 6, 2011 By Rick McIn gymnastics, travel2 Comments

My week long Gymnastics Coaching course in Manila ended, I planned to bus to the rugged mountains of the northern Philippines for hiking.

… yet somehow I ended up here.

Boracay seems to be a Russian resort, judging by the most spoken language on the beach.

It’s a second rater:

… “Travelers’ Choice 2011” by TripAdvisor as the second best beach (out of 25) in the world. Boracay made a debut appearance on the Top 10 Islands list in the Travel + Leisure travel magazine World’s Best Awards 2011, ranking fourth. …

the Universe in perspective

On December 6, 2011December 5, 2011 By Rick McIn philosophyLeave a comment

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Rex Murphy Defending Canada’s Oil Sands

On December 5, 2011December 5, 2011 By Rick McIn climate change, economics, government, health & fitnessLeave a comment

Canada’s Oil Sands could be better regulated, certainly, but using them to symbolize evil is disingenuous at best.

I agree with the outspoken Rex.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

What percentage of delegates in Durban would I call hypocrites? … More than half, I reckon.

(via CBC)

charmed by Hanks & Roberts

On December 4, 2011December 3, 2011 By Rick McIn moviesLeave a comment

Julia Roberts is timeless. Ageless. I’m a fan.

But who could believe that Tom Hanks isn’t bloated and over the hill by now?

When I first saw the trailer my reaction was: “How sad.”

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

But I actually completely enjoyed this movie. A fun romp. Quite believable. Tom Hanks is a good actor.

Longs at Ankor Wat

On December 4, 2011December 4, 2011 By Rick McIn friends, photos, travelLeave a comment

The Long family in Cambodia.

details and more pics

They are already now in New Zealand, meeting up with old friends, the Clossons.

Expedition Idaho – the movie

On December 3, 2011 By Rick McIn cycling, kayakingLeave a comment

Expedition Idaho Trailer, just released.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Expedition Idaho 2011 was a 6 day, 500mi adventure race hosted by Dave Adlard.

Legendary Randy Ericksen will be releasing the full official video early in the new year.

ExpId winners Thule went on to win the World Championships in Tasmania.

Lesbians Raised A Baby And This Is What They Got

On December 3, 2011December 2, 2011 By Rick McIn ethics, governmentLeave a comment

Last February, a 19-year-old, self-described sixth-generation Iowan stood before an Iowa legislative panel to argue against a state constitutional amendment. The teenager, Zach Wahls, stood up at the podium and gave a three-minute speech about his life in a two-mothers home. …

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

After the video was posted to YouTube, Wahls became an Internet celebrity, praised for his eloquent and impassioned speech. …

… the Iowa senate was considering an amendment that would ban same-sex marriages in one of the six states in the United States that legally recognizes it. …

The publicity also helped kill the proposed amendment. …

Washington Post

Judge Kent J. Dawson is an idiot

On December 2, 2011 By Rick McIn internetLeave a comment

Kent J. Dawson … granted court orders for the seizure and transfer of hundreds of domain names belonging to websites alleged by luxury goods company Chanel to be selling counterfeit merchandise. He also required that “all social media websites” and “all Internet search engines” (specifically listing Google, Bing, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Yahoo) remove these domain names from any search results.