Busy. Busy busy busyyyyyy
Thursday November 28, 2024
It seems like the only time I have available to sit down and blog is when I’m at the airport. I’m on my way to the US to visit some old friends from Psypoke days for US Thanksgiving. FuzzyBot has declared a studio holiday for today and tomorrow so I took advantage of it and booked flights to Wisconsin when they dropped to $360. This might also be one of the last times I’ll be in the US for the next four years.
It’s been crazy busy for the past few months. We released our game into early access on Steam and have been met with very positive reviews so far, but a few issues around stability and performance. But we’re all incredibly proud of what we’ve made, and I’ve never had such encouraging feedback from my friends who have actually downloaded the game to play. We have a lot to do before world wide launch next year, but things are looking good for Lynked: Banner of the Spark!
Summer was busy too. There was Pride and Canada Day. I got Fourth of July off as well, so I did a day trip to Hamilton to see the waterfalls, as well as a Costco run where I didn’t think I would buy much, but I ended up spending $96 on cereal, dried fruits and a beautiful hydrangea plant that later died. There were food festivals, barbeques, lots of cat friends, a trip to a free zoo in Peterborough, ice cream, and many lobster dinners. I went to the CNE and got some soft shelled crab and saw a kapa haka performance from a troop from Canterbury. We went up to North Bay for Labour Weekend and Algonquin for Thanksgiving to see the fall colours. There were some stunning auroral lights that we caught by Brampton - twice this year! - a great sign of the solar maximum. There was the salmon run at Port Hope and Etienne Brulé Park. There was Mooncake festival and the Final Fantasy VII REBIRTH concert with Arnie Roth conducting the Toronto Symphony Orchestra once more. I got introduced to Activate, I went to Nuit Blanche, I went comet hunting, I did a day trip to Niagara on the Lake, I met my fellow Torontonian workmates for dinner, I made dumplings and I wandered around the Christmas market at the Distillery District (but it was on a Tuesday so it was free). Things have really been so much nicer with someone to join me on all these things to do around the city and the province.
I’ll be heading back to New Zealand for Christmas this year. Looking forward to all that summer sunshine again, as well as family and friends that I haven’t seen since…well, technically last year, I guess. I’m lucky to have a job that lets me work remotely and will try to use this benefit as much as I can.
Posted by Jeremy at 3:40pm on Thursday November 28, 2024 :: 0 comments :: 
Return to Newfoundland
Wednesday July 31, 2024
Last year in August, we spent a week in Newfoundland, travelling all around the island and sampling the best of what it had to offer. What we discovered was a magnificent island with untouched beauty and so much fewer people than tourist hotspots like Banff. We vowed to come back, and this year, here we are again, only visiting the west side but getting the opportunity to revisit a bunch of places and cover some more of the remote areas. A week ago, we flew into Deer Lake, picked up our rental vehicles, did some grocery shopping, and settled into our Airbnb. Wifi was spotty and I could hear literally everything happening in the kitchen, but it was comfortable at least.
Thanks to my recent Canadian citizenship, I was able to get free entry for the whole car to Gros Morne National Park. We started off with the Green Gardens hike, a trail which leads to some rugged shoreline and some lush landscapes. In the afternoon, we hiked to Baker Brooks Falls. Both were a warmup for the next day’s hike to the top of the Tablelands.
Said to be a part of the exposed mantle, the landscape of the Tablelands is mostly barren and almost like an alien world, littered with interesting rocks and minerals. On the drive over, I spotted a female moose on the side of the road, which I found incredibly exciting and felt like my Canadianess had increased as a result. The start of the hike began on a boardwalk, and we continued past the end by following the main stream and began the ascent to the plateau. I find this kind of terrain interesting for hiking, and my long legs help me climb rocks with ease. At the plateau, we waited for the rest of the group to catch up and then crossed to the other side of the gorge to begin the descent. This terrain was unpleasant to walk on, and this was worsened by several black flies that perpetually buzzed around our heads. After an hour or so, we began the descent by following another stream back to the boardwalk. All in all, the hike took around six hours to complete. This was far less enjoyable than Gros Morne, but still an achievement to be proud of. We relocated to Rocky Harbour for our accommodation, where the Wifi was strong but I was on the sofa bed and had no privacy and no curtains to block the 5am sun.
With the major hikes out of the way, we did the Western Brook Pond boat tour, a cruise around a glacial carved valley with some fantastic cliffs and waterfalls adorning them. We were lucky that the morning rain had stopped in time for us to enjoy the time on the boat, and the clouds began to part slightly at the end of the cruise as well. We ended the day with a short hike around Berry Hill, and a sunset viewing at Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse.
On Tuesday, we started the long drive to the northern tip of the island. We stopped by Arches Provincial Park for a breather and continued to Port au Choix, where we saw several caribou (also known as reindeer!). Our Airbnb was in St Lunaire Griquet, and though I had a room to myself, the heating was dependent on the controls in the other room, and worse, the water smelt extremely metallic and unpleasant.
Originally we had planned to cover the historical Viking site L’Anse aux Meadows on Thursday, but since the forecast was looking wet, we brought it forward to Wednesday. We had also abandoned plans to visit Labrador due to complications with the ferry. It was fascinating to learn about the Viking settlement. Since migrating in different directions from Africa thousands of years ago, the arrival of these Norsemen marked the reunion of the Western European world with the Eastern travellers that colonised Russia and North America. We spent some time at Burnt Cape Ecological Reserve before returning to L’Anse aux Meadows for dinner at the Norseman Restaurant.
The clouds and cold rolled in on Thursday. We spent some time in St Anthony, admiring the view from Fishing Point. We spotted two icebergs floating in the sea, and drove to St Anthony’s Bight to take a closer look at one of them. We tried to follow the road along the coast to find the other, but that area was so devoid of accessible roads that we couldn’t really find a good viewing point, so we just went home and rested. Dinner was at a restaurant just five minutes away, and by that time, the rain was really bucketing down.
Our drive back to Deer Lake was long and boring, but we finished off our time in Newfoundland was a visit to the Insectarium. This was surprisingly interesting, and well worth the $15 and one hour we spent there. The butterfly garden lets you get up close with several colourful species of butterfly, and on the main exhibit floor, the staff were happy to take many of the live insects out for you to hold, including stick insects, millipedes and cockroaches! It’s been a wonderful week but I’m looking forward to being back in comfort in my own bed and apartment. Next week is a short week for work with both Canada Day and Independence Day being holidays for us.
Summer has been busy so far. I visited Little Canada, did Doors Open, saw Hadestown, and went to African Lion Safari. Matt visited from Cleveland and we went to the Illuminarium at the Distillery District, the cat cafe in Scarborough, and the fireworks for Victoria Day at Woodbine Beach. I had a very boujie dinner at Louis Louix thanks to FuzzyBot, and Korean barbeque lunch to farewell John, Tina and May. I finally finished the main story of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, but still have a bunch of side quests to complete. In the meantime, I’m determined to make the most of the magnificent weather while I can, and it feels like I’ve accomplished so much already.
Posted by Jeremy at 2:11pm on Wednesday July 31, 2024 :: 0 comments ::
Texas
Friday April 12, 2024
It did feel like I was completely crazy for doing this so soon after returning to Canada, but less than a week after landing, I was back in the skies, on my way to Houston TX to chase the last total solar eclipse North America would get for 20 years. The trip started badly. I was supposed to catch the Dufferin night bus at 3.15am, which is when it was scheduled, but instead it drove past the bus stop at 3.07am, right in front of me, as I was running like a madman down Dupont Street. I ended up having to take a taxi to Yorkdale Mall to meet Carmen who would take me the rest of the way to Pearson.
The weather was beautiful as we landed in Houston. It was gloriously hot and sunny, and all the greenery of the oak trees was already in full force. We met up with Nancy after getting the rental car and then went for a walk around a local park. Then we got a late lunch, with massive Texan style portions, and then walked around Houston downtown. It felt really abandoned and almost unsafe as there were a lot of homeless people walking around and hardly any residents or office workers. We left soon after to have some classic Texan barbeque with Nancy’s son and daughter-in-law.
On our next day, we were up early to go to Chinatown and Little Saigon. Houston has a huge Vietnamese population, and it was surprising to me that it was an option for languages when trying to pay for parking. We stocked up on lunches for the next couple of days and then headed off to The Blind Goat.
It’s no surprise that I’m an avid watcher of MasterChef and one of my favourite seasons is the third season, aired in 2012. This season told the story of how Christine Ha, a Vietnamese woman from Houston, overcame the odds to win the competition even though she was blind. And finally, I had an excuse to come to Houston and try the food at her restaurant, The Blind Goat. As we entered, I noticed Chef Christine at the bar doing some work, and when I inquired with the waitress, she very kindly offered to bring her to meet us. We exchanged some pleasantries and she asked where we were from and why we were in town, and then Nancy blurted out something incredibly rude which I won’t repeat here, which really pissed me off, and soured the entire meeting. Despite all this, Chef Christine smiled and left us to enjoy our food, which I’ll write a blog piece about soon. We spent the rest of the day at Memorial Park, and then went for AYCE at a Hibachi grill.
We left for Austin early the next day, cautiously checking all weather forecasts and predictions for Monday. We arrived at McKinney State Park and spent a few hours walking around there before heading to the Capitol building where I met up with Ashley and Brian while the rest of the group split to do their own thing. I got her to sign The Poster, and then we went for ramen and bingsu.
On Monday morning, we were up at 7am to get breakfast in the hotel lobby. The forecast was looking dire for Austin but there was some hope to the north, closer to Dallas. I made the call to drive 2.5 hours north in the hopes we’d find some gaps in the clouds, and we ended up in Waxahachie. After walking for an hour and then having lunch, we decided to stay put. There were plenty of other eclipse watchers in the park by the creek, and the clouds were patchy enough that we would be able to get glimpses of the eclipse during the whole event.
What eventuated exceeded my expectations. The partial eclipse was as exciting as it’s ever been, with the moon becoming visible around 12.22pm. The dark portion grew in size over the next hour or so, and finally at 1.39pm, the last sliver of sunlight disappeared behind the moon and the area plunged into darkness as if it was night. The horizon had eerie red and yellow hues like dusk, the streetlights had switched on and more remarkably, the sun’s corona was in full view to the naked eye. Venus was visible too. This is a sight I’ll never forget. I can’t imagine how terrifying it must have been for early civilisations who had no idea what was happening. It looked like a dark hole had opened up in the sky, with a brilliant outer glow that screamed into the darkness. Baily’s Beads were visible too. It was incredibly emotional for me, months of planning and stressing over the weather had culminated in a huge success for today. I honestly could not believe that this had paid off. People were cheering and clapping at this phenomenal sight. Totality lasted for just over four minutes, and as the “diamond ring” flashed by, the area returned to normal as if nothing had ever happened, the shadows on the ground reappearing in full strength.
We began the drive back to Houston, stopping for ice cream along the way. We hit a thunderstorm briefly and by the time we got back, it was time for dinner. We got some seafood before retiring for the night. The bad weather continued onto Tuesday, but we spent most of it at Houston Space Center anyway. It was pretty amazing to see the Saturn V rockets up close, and really appreciate their size and detail. I impulse bought a miniblock model of the solar system as my souvenir for this trip.
All in all, this trip has been a huge success. All three things I had set out to do had been accomplished, despite all odds and logistical hurdles along the way. I’m exhausted. It’s time to properly have a break from travelling. I’ve been very lucky to catch two magnificent astronomical events in the last two weeks, and now, I’ve got a couple of years before the next total solar eclipse - in Spain!
Posted by Jeremy at 10:22pm on Friday April 12, 2024 :: 0 comments ::
Reykjavik 2
Tuesday April 9, 2024
My second day trip was up to the Langjokull Glacier. A few hours north of Reyjavik, Langjokull is Iceland's second largest; the largest being Vatnajokull in the east. We stopped by Deildartunguhver, natural hot springs along the way, before continuing to Hraunfossar and Barnafoss Waterfalls, dramatic rapids and water flows caused by lava caverns. The water was exceptionally blue, and at this time of year, there was a little bit of ice on the paths around the area.
To ascend the glacier, we sat in a large converted missile carrier. These were decommissioned and exported to Iceland on the condition that they never leave the island and never used for war (that one's easy, said the tour guide, since they don't have an army). The pneumatic pipe system allows the driver to inflate and deflate the tyres depending on the type of snow on the road, and this is a uniquely Icelandic invention that is being used for research vehicles in Antarctica. The ascent took around an hour, and at the top, we shuffled into a metallic tube resembling a sewer.
The Langjokull ice cave is a man-made cavern drilled out eight years ago for tourism purposes. Due to the glacier movement, the tunnels are expected to disappear in five years' time, as crevasses and open and close as well. Various lights have been drilled into the ice to illuminate and highlight the blue colour of the glacier, as well as draw attention to the characteristic banding caused by the successive layering and compression of snow each year. The layer of ash caused by the Eyjafjallajokull eruption in 2010 was also clearly visible, and I thought that was pretty amazing.
We went out the way we came and descended in the converted missile carriers. The trip back to Reykjavik took around two hours, and since I had an early start the next day, I opted not to go on an aurora hunt that night. Instead, after grabbing some food for dinner, I walked around the park near the Perlan museum and spotted a few black and grey bunnies feeding in the fields!
My third and final day trip was to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. This would take us almost 11 hours, but we had so many stops along the way. After leaving Reykjavik around 9am, we drove for around 90 minutes to reach Gerðuberg Cliffs, large hexagonal columns in a row that reminded me very much of Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland. From there, we continued west to Ytri Tunga, famous for its seal colony and whale backbone sitting on the beach, then to Búðakirkja, the black church, and then to Arnarstapi. We did a short hike along the coast to see hundreds of seagulls nesting in the cliffs, as well as some dramatic rock formations like a stone bridge, very similar to what I saw in Newfoundland, and a couple of holes in rocks.
Continuing west, we saw Lóndrangar, a rock formation that looked like a viking ship. The locals called it an elf cathedral and an elf library. Our next stop was Djúpalónssandur, the black pebble beach, where they had four strength stones that they used to use to determine suitability to become fishermen - the first stone weighed 23kg, the second 54kg, the third 100kg and the fourth 154kg. The lore goes that the stone you could lift to your chest would determine how much you would be paid - the heavier the stone, the greater the pay. Hafþór Björnsson, famous for being "The Mountain" on Game of Thrones, often comes here to do exhibitions; for me, I was pleased enough to lift the 54kg stone, given I'm not really in the business of lifting more than my own weight. We stopped by the red church quickly, Ingjaldshólskirkja, before heading to our final destination for the day, Kirkjufellsfossar Waterfall and Kirkjufell Mountain.
Along the way, we had a quick toilet break, but some idiots on the tour decided it would be a good opportunity to order food from the cafe. We ended up waiting half an hour for them to get their food, instead of stopping for only ten minutes. Sometimes I really can't understand how inconsiderate people can be, with no sense of how the rest of the group is affected by these selfish actions.
The view of Kirkjufell Mountain towering over the waterfall is so iconic that they use it for every promotional image for the peninsula. It’s not a surprise though, it really is a beautiful sight. When we were there, it was covered in white snow. In summer, it’s green. If you come at the right time of day, the sun will create a rainbow in the spray of the waterfall. We drove back to Reykjavik, a two hour drive, and I tried to grab some food from two restaurants but they were both too busy, so I ended up at a seafood grill on the outskirts of town. I had to rush for my final aurora tour of the week! This one started out quite mellow but soon that brilliant glow intensified. It was bitterly cold and very windy but we stuck it out for as long as we could. We had both green and purple that night, and again, a surprising show given the Kp index was only 3.00.
On my last day in Reykjavik, I wandered around the park where the Perlan building is and then popped into town. I ended up at the Phallological Museum again to use their wifi and their toilet, and then went for lunch at one of the places I had missed out on the previous night. It was an uneventful bus ride to Keflavik airport and a five hour flight back to Toronto.
The last three months have had decent highs but huge lows. It’s taken a toll on me emotionally. I felt I did the best I could with the logistical changes, and then I was lucky to have the support of my family while I was laid off. The drama with Prytania continues - maybe I’ll write about this separately - and litigation is also in the works. I’m looking forward to a week off to recover, and then I’m in the skies again to chase the Great American Solar Eclipse of April 2024.
Posted by Jeremy at 11:47am on Tuesday April 9, 2024 :: 0 comments ::
Reykjavik 1
Saturday March 30, 2024
The flight from Akureyri was straightforward, and I managed to get a taxi from Reykjavik domestic airport to my new hostel. A drive of 10 mins (which could have been walked in 30 mins) cost me $30CAD. I spent the afternoon doing laundry and wandering around the downtown area, admiring all the cats of Reykjavik as well as the big church on the hill, Hallgrimskirkja, with its distinctive silhouette. I had some very average fish and chips before heading to the bus terminal for an aurora hunt. Though the weather was perfect, the northern lights evaded us that night, so we got to rebook the following night for free.
My first day tour covered the Golden Circle - a loop of south Iceland's most famous attractions. The first stop was Thingvellir National Park, where we had actually been the night before for the aurora tour. This beautiful area has the fissure where the European and the North American tectonic plates meet, evident in the large valley forming between two rock formations. There were a lot of people around, but I opted to walk off the main path where I could get a nice view of the area. We then stopped by Efstidalur, a dairy farm selling ice cream, where I got a scoop of blueberry skyr and a scoop of orange ice cream. There was an area where you could watch the calves feeding, which was super cute.
From there, we continued to Strokkur, a geyser reaching 20 metres tall that erupts every 10 or so minutes. It's so bizzare to see this giant bulge of water forming, then suddenly shooting an incredible jet into the sky. It's not like the small ones that we see in Rotorua, but the sulfurous smell was definitely evident in the area. The furthest landmark on our tour was Gullfoss Waterfall, fed by the waters from Langjokull Glacier, Iceland's second largest and home of the man-made ice cave that I would be visiting the next day. This was my favourite, though definitely not the most beautiful waterfall I've ever seen. The cascading, multi-level falls coupled with the rich blue colour of the water made for incredibly picturesque photographs, though the wind made it difficult to stay outside for too long.
On our way home, we dropped by Friðheimar, a tomato farm that uses greenhouses to grow all its produce. The greenhouses in Iceland are powered by both geothermal energy for heat and electricity for full-spectrum light, and they grow a variety of vegetables and fruits, such as tomatoes, potatoes, salad greens, cucumbers and mushrooms. This particular greenhouse also kept its own bees to pollinate the tomatoes and flowers inside. The smell of pomodoro sauce filled the interior of the greenhouse, which housed a restaurant and bar as well, and despite the huge variety of strange tomato products - tomato beer, tomato cocktails, soups, breads, tomato espresso tonic - I only got to try their tomato ice cream, which tasted very fruity, almost like passionfruit. Our final stop was the Kerid volcanic crater, formed over 6000 years ago. The crater lake at the bottom had frozen over, giving an interesting aesthetic to the rocky, iceless basin.
Our aurora tour that night was much more successful. Even before the bus had arrived in the designated viewing area, the glowing white band of "cloud" was visible. Though it was cold, it wasn't windy so the conditions were perfect for view. There were two distinct bands of light stretching across the sky that shimmered and rolled to the awe of the hundreds of people that had gathered to watch. It was so bright and clear, and I got some amazing pictures of my phone, though I think I left the exposure on for too long. It was certainly a night to remember. The thing that surprised me the most was that the Kp index was at 1.00 that night, which really goes to show how unpredictable the aurora are.
Posted by Jeremy at 3:20pm on Saturday March 30, 2024 :: 0 comments ::