Coffee|Code : Dan Scott, Caffeinated Librarian Geek

Amber watched her first film in a real theatre(1) this morning. She had slept straight through You, Me, and Dupree two weeks ago, but insisted on paying attention to today's showing of Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby. Maybe it was the NASCAR action, maybe it was the redneck hollering; maybe it was the unrelenting onslaught of product placements, or maybe it was simply Wil Ferrell's kind, gentle, and let's not kid ourselves, downright handsome face blown up to twenty-foot dimensions, but she was riveted to that screen.

I'm glad we're taking the time to expose her to these cultural influences early; so many people waste their children's crucial first formative months with mindless noise like Beethoven. When my darling baby girl grows up, she's going to be able to say with pride "My daddy done taken me to that there picture show when I was nothing but a squirt in a diaper -- soooo-EEEEE!".

1. A local cinema offers a bi-weekly screening of a popular film in a baby-friendly environment. They turn down the volume, leave the lights on dim, provide changing tables and diapers, and nobody minds if the babies cry or if moms are breastfeeding during the flick. It's pretty cool. If the gods are kind, maybe Beerfest will be up for viewing in a month or two...

Although my fingers are pretty sore after writing this entry.

Over the weekend, our household participated in the Orillia Triathlon, Duathlon and Try-a-Tri. A couple of weeks ago, Lynn decided that she was ready to jump back into the triathlon waters with a Try-a-Tri (350m swim, 10k bike, 2.5k run). The Orillia event also happened to be the provincial athletic championships where triathlon clubs could compete for an infusion of cash based on their participation rate, and given that this was the Nickel City Triathlon Team's first year of existence Lynn wanted to support our team and ensure that Sudbury would be known for more than mining. Aside: our team actually came in third for participation points at the event, so we won $300 for the club -- yay team!

Lost in the wake of her enthusiasm, I decided a few days before the event to join her: partially because I wanted to support the team in more than just a "I paid my membership fee and got a Web site going" way; partially because I wanted to cheer Lynn on; and partially because I totally screwed up the date that our friends were hosting a going-away barbecue and I suddenly found myself with a free day. So, because someone was going to have to look after Amber during Lynn's race, I was going to have to choose either the sprint triathlon or duathlon for my own event. Not having put much time into swimming practice over the summer (and by "not much time" I meant three swims of over 250m), and knowing that I would have to breast stroke the swim portion and face the ridicule of my fellow athletes, I opted for the duathlon instead.