Shannon Larratt is Zentastic

Wow, go away for a day and all sorts of drama breaks out… One small-dicked guy even took it upon himself to start attacking Rachel when he didn't get a rise out of me (seriously, what kind of loser attacks a guy's wife when his main target proves unreachable?). I've said it a zillion times, but this is a free world — if you don't like the way things are set up here, move on. No one is stopping you… Consuming yourself in anger will simply make you and the people around you unhappy. Why make that a life quest?

Anyway, I'll quickly recap my yesterday in Toronto. I started out by going to my bank to deal with some things related to my move, only to find out that my “personal account manager” who I have never talked to in ten years of banking was moved to some branch out in the middle of nowhere and that I'd have to go there in person to make changes. Forget that.

So then I headed off to visit my automotive sponsors for the Gumball 3000 to see exactly what my options were. So much to choose from. Some of the options for what Team BME will be driving include the cars below:

This 450 HP Porsche 996 AWD was what I'd originally considered. Very fast, and a car I'm very familiar driving at high speed.	Or maybe go with a modern classic, a Viper? Nah, that's probably considered in bad taste. It's like showing up at a porn shoot with a 24″ weiner. Too silly.	How about a classic AC Cobra? Many would argue this is the greatest car America ever produced. Others would argue it's a British car.	I have to admit being a little partial to the new SL500 but to be honest, it's a really small car. Probably too small for all our gear.	Maybe a Ferrari 360? Or would that just be trying too hard?	Now this looks promising — loads of power, and an overkill on luxury.

Let's take a closer look at that big AMG Mercedes — an almost identical car to the one that Kimble won the 2001 race in. So yes, it's a little dated, but still a very sweet car, and once you imagine it loaded with wireless internet tech, laser/radar jammers, and piles of communications and media gear, it gets a whole lot more interesting. Plus the seats massage you, definitely a plus on a 3000 mile rally.

After that I met up with Saira and Michael and headed down to Badur's martini party at the the Labyrinth. That was nice; got to see people I hadn't seen in some time, and I scored an awesome VX-1000 video camera for probably half to a third its street value.

Oh, and on the way back I read an awesome book by a bishop (John Shelby Spong) on the Jewish tradition of midrash (basically a way of integrating myth as a storytelling element into the events of the time) and its relevance on the Bible and the life of Jesus, and specifically his resurrection (or lack of physical resurrection). Amazing…

On the way to Toronto I read a book called I think The Victorian Internet, a book about the history and culture surrounding the telegraph… Also fascinating in its similarity to modern times. There were even chat rooms via telegraph. Anyway, it was very nice to be able to have a few hours just to sit and read, given that most of my time is normally spent working.