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SO today I had the chance to be in the men’s washroom to take care of some business. This is a good thing, as I’m male and not permitted in the women’s bathroom…but that’s a different story not yet told. Anyways, as I was in there two other guys came in to do their business. One guy left rather quickly. The second however is a different story. He arrived shortly after the first guy and his BlackBerry was busy vibrating. Thank goodness he didn’t answer because whoever was on the other end would NOT have wanted to hear what happened after.

After a few minutes his phone rang again (yes, I was in there quite a while after those awesome Sweet Potato Fries from White Spot) but this time he answered it. I’m hoping it was his wife, but at the same time hoping it wasn’t. There was some low volume talking, but hey buddy…it echoes in a concrete room. So his quiet chat turned much louder. Followed up by “hello, hello, HELLO?!” A quick flush, rinse and out the door.

Now here’s my issue. There is very little signal in the washroom, I know ’cause I’ve looked on my phone. The scary part is that it’s better then in some parts of the building. The second though is that the bathroom, toilet, WC, lav or whatever you want to call it, is no place to attempt to have a private conversation. Seriously. It’s pretty crappy to think of what may have happened to his beloved BlackBerry. Or even the person on the other end of the phone. Thinking about it now I should’ve just let out a big groan and moan in pain while he was on…at least I would’ve had some enjoyment and be a part of his conversation he was having.

So honestly, my question to you is what do you perceive as proper toilet etiquette? Especially when it comes to phone calls. Do you answer them or not? Voicemail is there for a reason and coupled with caller ID is probably all you need. Just my 2¢ for the day.

Seriously, you’re in control! Well, sort of. I found myself downloading a tiny little, inexpensive app for my iPhone while vacationing in Maui. I saw my buddy playing it from across the room and thought it was a golf game so asked what it was. Well, as it turned out, it was a game called Flight Control available for just $0.99 (for a limited time of course).

The game itself is quite simple. You are in charge of ATC (air traffic control) for a rather tiny airport. Two runways and a helipad to be precise. So far, I’ve only seen four types of aircraft landing at it, but I’m wondering if there are in fact more. The play is even easier then the display. Drag your finger to plot the route for the aircraft to the appropriate landing location. Of course, the objective is to safely land as many aircraft as possible. A crash, and well it’s game over.

I’m quite happy that I waited until my last day to download it. I managed to kill my battery within the first couple of hours of the long flight back home. Though I did manage a high-score of 98. Just two more away from the century mark. There’s no doubt that the guys at Firemint are a company to watch. They’ve got some other great looking games coming out soon.

Today at the office we were trying to find out what station was what in Calgary. I knew a lot of them but not all of them so decided to hit our friend Google with a friendly search. And of course got a whole bunch of other things to search through and/or incomplete and/or outdated lists. So I decided to write one here that will hopefully evolve just as station call-signs come and go.

• 88.9 Shine FM [http://www.shinefm.com/]
• 90.3 Fuel [http://www.fuelcalgary.com/]
• 90.3 AMP Radio [http://www.ampradiocalgary.com/]
• 90.9 CJSW Radio [http://www.cjsw.com/]
• 92.1 CJAY92 [http://www.cjay92.com/]
• 92.9 X92 [http://www.x929.ca/]
• 93.7 CKUA Radio Network [http://www.ckua.org/]
• 95.9 Lite 96 [http://www.lite96.ca/]
• 96.9 Jack FM [http://www.jackfm.ca/]
• 97.7 Calgary FM [http://www.977calgaryfm.com/]
• 98.5 Vibe 98.5 [http://www.vibe985.com/]
• 98.5 Virgin Radio FM [http://calgary.virginradio.ca/]
• 99.1 CBC Radio FM [http://www.cbc.ca/eyeopener/]
• 100.9 The Eagle – Gold Rock [http://www.theeagle1009.com/]
• 101.5 Energy [http://www.energy1015.com/]
• Kool 101.5 [http://www.kool1015.ca/]
• 102.1 CBC Radio 2 [http://www.cbc.ca/calgary/]
• 103.1 XL103 [http://www.xl103calgary.com/]
• 105.1 Country 105 [http://www.country105.com/]
• 107.3 Q107 [http://www.q107fm.ca/]

I’m hopefully the above is a good representation of a complete, current list of Calgary radio stations. If I’ve missed any, please let me know.
Edit: June 20, 2009 – Fuel 90.3 has switched names & format.
Edit: July 9, 2010 – Vibe 98.5 has switched names with similar format.
Edit: August 17, 2010 – 101.5 Energy FM has switched names & format.

The drive home from Edmonton today wasn’t too long, but long enough. Especially doing it solo. I managed to plug in my second generation iPod Shuffle into the auxiliary input on the in-car stereo and let it play. Songs from the likes of Global DJ’s, Benny Benassi, Prodigy, Red Hot Chili Peppers and more pumped throughout the Honda CR-V. My list of course, is geared for a workout so was much more intense then it needed to be. On the drive up we (yes, I wasn’t solo on the way up) just streamed Capital 95.8 FM from London, UK via their iPhone Application.

It got me thinking about what other people have on their “Road Trip Playlist” – you know the stuff that will keep you awake but not make you speed too quickly.

I’m willing to bet most people have 1000’s of songs. So, what are the top 5 choices for your road trip playlist?

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything and this one will be quick, just like my run was. I’m back home at my parents place in Winnipeg for a visit and since I’m training for the Manitoba Marathon’s Half Marathon in June I figured that going for a run would be good. So I hit “the loop” again but extended it a little longer. 2.42 miles according to the Garmin and in under 24:00 minutes. Nothing too fast, but definitely a faster pace then at the higher altitude in Calgary. Further proof that the whole “train high, compete low” theory should prove in my favor. I first experienced it a few years ago doing a 5 km run in Amsterdam and only having run for maybe 10 minutes at the gym leading up to it. I was easily able to keep pace for the entire length.

Anyways, the post isn’t so much about that but more so about the houses I ran past in the neighborhood in which I grew up. I ran past the elementary school I attended for 7 years (K-6). Then there were house who belonged to Paul Carson, Tara Kelly, Chirag Hingwala, Jill Smith, Amber Bicherton, Lee Chu, Mike Anderson and Ronnie Neufeld…to name but a few. It really was interesting slapping my feet down on the same pavement I used to run the first time I trained for my first 2.6 mile Super Run back in 1987 (or maybe earlier). I was definitely long and lean back then and would’ve killed the pace at which I ran today.

Not that there’s a morral to the story, but there kind of is. Take time to watch things and reflect because before you know it, they’ll have passed by…just as I did to those houses.