Author: Rick Mc

Career gymnastics coach who loves the outdoors, and the internet.

Love the Mediterranean Climate

On By Rick McIn cycling, hiking, travelLeave a comment

December in Southern California is perfect weather for me.

Sunny and dry. Not too hot. No humidity.

La Quinta Cove, California

Here’s where a Canadian snowbird wants to spend part of the winter.

Mediterranean climates typically offer 250 to over 320 sunny days per year.

Shorts and t-shirt every day. ☀️

The main cause of Mediterranean, or dry summer, climate is the subtropical ridge, which extends towards the pole of the hemisphere in question during the summer and migrates towards the equator during the winter. …

Areas with this climate are also where the so-called “Mediterranean trinity” of major agricultural crops have traditionally been successfully grown (wheat, grapes and olives). As a result, these regions are notable for their high-quality wines, grapeseed/olive oils, and bread products.

… Because most regions with a Mediterranean climate are near large bodies of water, temperatures are generally moderate, with a comparatively small range of temperatures between the winter low and summer high.

Southern California is a great place to visit …

Alberni Bam Bam: A Bikepacking Route on Vancouver Island

On By Rick McIn cycling, travelLeave a comment

It finally dawned on me that I can no longer easily hike and cycle on Vancouver Island. We’ve sold my parents former home on Vancouver Island.

In the past, I’ve cycled large sections of this challenging route. Looks ideal for an experienced bikepacker who wants to find out what coastal rainforest wilderness is like.

Unpaved about 70% of a 450-kilometer loop. It starts and ends in Nanaimo, British Columbia, for those coming from the mainland. You don’t need a motor vehicle.

It links gravel roads, rough doubletrack, and a four-hour boat ride up the Alberni Inlet, featuring numerous swim spots, old-growth forests, quirky communities, and so much more.

ALBERNI BAM BAM

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Pluribus – season 1

On By Rick McIn TVLeave a comment

Have you watched this weird, original, unpredictable TV show?

Pluribus is a post-apocalyptic science fiction series that follows Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn), an author who finds herself angry and isolated after an alien virus transforms the rest of humanity into a peaceful and content hive mind. …

The hive mind happily accommodates the wishes of those who remain unaffected, but admits that it will ultimately seek to assimilate them when it figures out how to do so. Carol is adamantly against their efforts as she searches for a way to reverse the Joining. …

It wraps up Dec. 23rd on Apple TV.

Personally, I would probably have gone all Samba Schutte as Koumba Diabaté. He definitely understood the assignment. 😀

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

F1 (film) 2025

On By Rick McIn moviesLeave a comment

I hate motor racing — but can highly recommend F1 on Apple TV.

It’s a feel good holiday treat.

… starring Brad Pitt as Formula One (F1) racing driver Sonny Hayes, who returns after a 30-year absence to save his former teammate’s underdog team, APXGP, from collapse. …

Racing sequences were adapted from the real-life races, with F1 teams and drivers appearing throughout, including Lewis Hamilton, who was also a producer. …

Pitt was paid $30 million for his performance in this very profitable film. But it’s not about the money … 😀

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry

On By Rick McIn books, ethics, human rightsLeave a comment

Author Amy Quan Barry played on the Danvers High School field hockey team in the late 1980s.

Many of the events around the infamous Salem Witchcraft trials actually took place in Danvers, Massachusetts, which at the time was known as Salem Village.

Barry’s writing touches on a variety of genres, including magical realism and speculative fiction.

We Ride Upon Sticks (2020) is the fictional story of the 1989 Danvers Falcons Field Hockey team.

This team is not very good.

BUT near the end of summer training camp, they call on witchcraft invoking new powers both on and off the field.

If you were alive in the 1980s, the highlight of this book are the many, MANY pop culture references.

It’s often laugh-out-loud funny.

A whimsical read.

If ReTrumplican politicians are looking for yet another book to ban in schools — this would fit the bill.

It’s all about personal identity in terms of the race, gender, and sexuality of 17-year-old High School senior girls. And one boy on the team.

REVIEW – BookReporter

Life on Svalbard by Cecilia Blomdahl

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

I’ve subscribed to Cecilia’s YouTube channel for a few years.

She makes videos about her daily life in the Northernmost town in the world.

Cecilia’s a Swede, who lives live in an arctic cabin outside of Longyearbyen with her boyfriend Christoffer and their Finnish lapphund Grim.

Svalbard is the place where ANYONE from ANYWHERE in the world can live legally, so long as they have a job and housing.

Her short 2024 book is called Life on Svalbard: Finding Home on a Remote Island Near the North Pole.

She’s lived there since 2015, enjoying life, taking photos, and sharing the unique experience with others.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Artificial Intelligence VIDEO editing

On By Rick McIn photos, videoLeave a comment

Easy to use image generation and editing artificial intelligence software is here. Almost anyone — even Ron 😀 — can get amazing PHOTO results very quickly, just using their phone.

Me? I’m still waiting for FAST, EASY VIDEO editing A.I. software.

December 2025 here are 3 clips created in about 2 minutes each using Envato Image Gen (Google’s Veo series (specifically Veo 3.1), MiniMax Hailuo 02, ByteDance Seedance 1.0, and Kling AI.)

I first gave the software 2 still beach photos.

It created these 3 video clips from simple prompts.

Click PLAY or watch the A.I. edits on YouTube.

Not bad. But still too slow. And I don’t have enough control of the result.

The Good Cop by Brad Parks

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

Brad Parks is an award winning author I’d never read.

The Good Cop, deals with the subject of illegal gun smuggling and starts with the suicide of a Newark, New Jersey police officer.

A serious topic. But an entertaining, lighthearted read.

His novels are known for mixing humor with the gritty realism of their urban setting. Library Journal has called him “a gifted storyteller (with shades of Mark Twain or maybe Dave Barry).”[1]

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

Some consider this book one of the greatest murder mysteries of all time.

The Woman in White is Wilkie Collins‘s 5th published novel, written in 1860 and set from 1849 to 1850. 

He considered it his best book.

The story can be seen as an early example of detective fiction with many of the sleuthing techniques of protagonist Walter Hartright being employed by later private detectives. 

Problem is … the audio book is 28 hours long!

I only got through about 25% of that. Excellent and entertaining writing. I’m shocked it was so well done in 1860.