Speaking of travel, I just got back from a trip to Toronto. Three scheduled days became three nights when the flight got cancelled and replacement flights were not obtainable. The airline was nice enough to provide a hotel. Luckily I was with two co-workers, so it was not a totally lonely experience. There happened to be a Nickelback concert in town, which meant a lot of rowdy Nickelback fans. I'm not really a follower of them or their fans, but it was an interesting mix of people. We saw a really incredible moustache on a Gene Simmons look-alike and some generally rowdy and inappropriate behavior. Good times all around. The hotel was part of the Fairmount chain and there were a lot of pictures of the Fairmount hotels in Banff, Jasper and Lake Louise. While M and I are not going to those specific hotels, it was nice to get a little preview of things to come. While I was trying to leave, I dropped my phone underneath the bed and it managed to slide far enough that I had to get on my stomach to reach to get it. Let's just say that hotel beds, even in nice hotels, should never be looked under, much less examined for lost items. I found a peanut and a dozen prehistoric Cheerio-type objects under there. I guess a snack mix party had taken place some time ago.
With that little food segue over, I wanted to share some more tales of train commuting. I spend a lot of time staring out the window, inventing stories for what I pass by every day. One of the things I pass are other, non-commuter train railroad cars. Most of them are standard boxcars, which are probably pretty mundane. Then there are the tanker cars that for some reason are required to say what they contain. Why is this interesting? Because there is some bizarre studff in these cars. Corn Syrup is a popular one. I didn't realize corn syrup was transported in such large quantities, but considering how much of it is consumed, I suppose it's fitting that it gets shipped in 30,000 gallon gulps. Refrigerated carbon dioxide liquid is another boring one. Beef Tallow always piques my curiosity. Why would anyone need so much beef tallow? Where does it come from? I know it comes from cows/processing plants but where? Probably Kansas or some other flyover state. The one that blew my mind was a car that was labeled 'Non-edible meat products'. Say what? What are non-edible meat products? I've never seen a car labeled 'edible meat products'. I guess I assumed that unrefrigerated meat was generally accepted as being non-edible after a point. What does one do with non-edible meat products? Cosmetics? Dog food? What's even stranger is that I don't believe there are any cosmetics or dog food factories nearby. There is a giant Cumberland Farms warehouse/plant just off the rail line, but I can't imagine they use a lot on non-edible meat products. Why are these products in a tanker car? Are they liquified?
You may have noticed the Masters, or as I call it, the toonament (say it with a slow southern accent, it's fantastic) has started. This is my traditional start to the golf season. I've been to the range a couple of times and even played 9 last weekend. The incessant rain has limited the number of courses that are actually open. I think the golf crowd is starting to get cabin fever a little bit. I don't really have an opinion on Eldrick Woods, other than he's a giant asshat. I'll enjoy watching some of the final round as the Jim Nance narrates the action as only he can.
I recently read 'The Book of Basketball' by Bill Simmons. M and I joined the local library and I had a hard time finding something I was interested in reading. Not because I don't find books interesting, but because there were too many of them. I listen to the author's podcast and read his ESPN articles. In general I think he's a funny guy with some tendencies toward dated references and an inexplicable love for bad reality TV. He's also a basketball fanatic, which I am not and I secretly wanted to hate his book. Unfortunately, his book writing is much better than his podcasting and article writing, making The Book of Basketball immensely enjoyable.
