timothy cullen
compulsive list maker. political junkie. sharpie collector.
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- Jan 26, 12So some of you may have seen my Facebook/Twitter update the other day, but for those who hadn't I have now registered for my first Half-Marathon during Ottawa Race Weekend 2012! The Race Weekend may seem like a long way off (May 26-27), but the training starts now! Well... er... Sunday.Below, I've posted my 17 week training schedule (it really does start Sunday). I am sure that getting ready for this will not be easy, but I'm extremely excited about challenging myself to accomplish something physically demanding such as this. As a bonus, one of my co-workers from Senator Downe's office is also going to run the Half! While I don't expect we'll be doing much of our training together, it will be great to have a little rivalry and even better to have some encouragement to get out and run on those days that I don't really feel like it.I will do my best to update the blog on my progress (how my training is going, how I'm feeling, etc.). I welcome any tips or suggestions from people who have done this before. Send me an email via the link on my main page with diet suggestions, sneaker suggestions, superstitions, whatever!With that, I'm off to the races! (har har)
Half Marathon Training Schedule
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT WEEK 1 Long & slow run
7 kmOFF 4 km 3 km 3 km OFF 3 km WEEK 2 Long & slow run
7 kmOFF 4 km 3 km 4 km OFF 3 km WEEK 3 Long & slow run
7 kmOFF 3 km 4 km 3 km OFF 4 km WEEK 4 Long & slow run
9 kmOFF 4 km 4 km 3 km OFF 3 km WEEK 5 Long & slow run
9 kmOFF 5 km 3 km 4 km OFF 3 km WEEK 6 Long & slow run
10 kmOFF 4 km 3 hills +
3 km warm up +
3 km cool down5 km OFF 3 km WEEK 7 Long & slow run
10 kmOFF 4 km 4 hills +
3 km warm up +
3 km cool down5 km OFF 4 km WEEK 8 Long & slow run
12 kmOFF 4 km 5 hills +
3 km warm up +
3 km cool down6 km OFF 4 km WEEK 9 Long & slow run
14 kmOFF 4 km 6 hills +
3 km warm up +
3 km cool down6 km OFF 5 km WEEK 10 Long & slow run
16 kmOFF 5 km 7 hills +
3 km warm up +
3 km cool down7 km OFF 5 km WEEK 11 Long & slow run
16 kmOFF 5 km 8 hills +
3 km warm up +
3 km cool down7 km OFF 6 km WEEK 12 Long & slow run
12 kmOFF 5 km 9 hills +
3 km warm up +
3 km cool down8 km OFF 6 km WEEK 13 Long & slow run
18 kmOFF 6 km 6 km fartlek 8 km OFF 6 km WEEK 14 Long & slow run
18 kmOFF 6 km 4 km fartlek 8 km OFF 6 km WEEK 15 Long & slow run
20 kmOFF 6 km 4 km fartlek 8 km OFF 6 km WEEK 16 Long & slow run
6 kmOFF 10 km 6 km OFF OFF 3 km FINALE! 21 km
RACE DAY - Jan 15, 12Looks like toy wars in court! Who knew that Mega Blocks was a Canadian company? I had no idea. Still a Lego guy though, definitely my favourite toy as a kid.
- Jan 04, 12
Sad to be missing this. It sounds like it would be a fun exhibit to explore. Way to get creative Confed Centre! I hope this brings in a lot of new people to the gallery!
---------------------------------------------------------------A new exhibition at the Art Gallery at the Confederation Centre of the Arts, focusing on beer and hockey, will see the gallery converted into an actual sports bar.
Gallery curator Pan Wendt said the conversion of the traditional art space of the entrance gallery will coincide with Hockey Day in Canada on P.E.I.
"Very soon it will be bar stools and an actual bar," said Wendt.
"There will be big screens, flashy signs and all the things you would associate with a sports bar. Except that kind of mixed in among the usual stuff that would be in a bar there will be art works that relate to both hockey and beer."
During the first week of the exhibit, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., the exhibit will be a legitimate bar, with happy hour drinks served. The show will run from Feb. 4 to April 15.
- Jan 03, 12
So I'm glad to be home, but I'd much rather have walked to work in Charlottetown than Ottawa just now…
- Dec 24, 11
Christmas Eve dinner is an annual tradition started 6 or more years ago when our longtime neighbours moved across town. They come over for steak and caesar salad every Christmas Eve. One of our current neighbours and one of my Dad's sisters join us for a very lovely evening.
With the fire roaring, and snow blanketing the earth, I just want to wish anyone reading this blog a very Merry Christmas, and a safe and happy New Year! - Dec 23, 11
Looks like wishes do come true! It had better not warm up between now and the 25th!
- Dec 20, 11
And now that it is I am enjoying some rum and eggnog with friends. Ahh, the holidays :)
- Dec 17, 11
The Globe and Mail brings the hammer down on RIM.
- Dec 11, 11The condo is progressing! They started pouring the concrete floor this week, and building the base for the massive crane that will have to be erected over the coming weeks.I plan to get daytime pictures of this soon, but when I came home the other night, the workers had left one lamp on and the light made some interesting shadows on the construction site. I didn't want to miss the chance to capture it! I should note that this was particularly difficult without a tripod (hint hint Santa), but here are the best ones I was able to get. I used fencing around the site to steady the camera.
- Dec 08, 11
My view at the MacOdrum Library. The beautiful sky, with the reflection of the fluorescent lights in the window... sigh.
- Dec 06, 11
Somehow, this pad:
… has finally become this:
Only one paper and one exam left to go!
- Dec 05, 11
Funny guy that Mark Critch.
- Dec 05, 11Wow. I had no idea there was such a difference in sentencing for PEI's drunk drivers compared to the rest of Canada! As an Islander, I can attest to what the article says about the media covering every instance of drunk driving. We're a small place. When somebody gets caught, everyone knows about it, and there's likely to be a second story when the sentence is handed down that tells everyone what the driver's punishment was.I understand the argument that more jail time is not the most effective way to curb criminal behaviour. Although, we'd really have to know if most of our sentenced drivers are one-time or repeat offenders.Regardless, this story could be the start of a really interesting research study on sentencing disparity across the country. I'll be watching to see if this goes anywhere!
P.E.I judges craft their own standards for sentencing DUIs
Dec 5, 2011 – 6:00 AM ET | Last Updated: Dec 4, 2011 9:03 PM ETFotolia
In Prince Edward Island, 94% of those convicted of driving under the influence served jail time, compared to the national average of 9%.A year after Prince Edward Island’s three provincial criminal court judges decided in a meeting that they would crack down on impaired drivers, new statistics show virtually everyone found guilty of the offence has been sentenced to prison, spurring some to raise questions about the role of the judiciary in determining sentences.Nationwide, only 9% of impaired driving convictions led to jail time in 2009 and 2010, Statistics Canada found in its report on cases in adult court. On the tiny Maritime island, which has historically struggled with the issue of drunk people getting behind the wheel, 94% of those convicted were sent to jail.After seeing the problem flare up again in 2007, judges Jeff Lantz, Nancy Orr and John Douglas gathered for a meeting at the Charlottetown courthouse in December of that year with a special mandate in mind: Agree to toughen up sentences for those found guilty of drunk driving. They settled on a minimum three days in jail for first offenders and a minimum fine of $1,200, along with the standard license suspension.“They were rising in Judge Orr’s and my district,” Judge Lantz said in an interview. “We were both concerned and thought we should try to do something.”Judges have discretion under the criminal code to decide on an appropriate sentence, although not for convictions.The code also requires judges strive for consistency in sentencing — something greater communication amongst judges can help achieve.That said, it is relatively unheard of for a group to come together and strategize on a sentencing standard to be applied, said Troy Riddell, an associate professor in political science at the University of Guelph who specializes in judicial and constitutional politics.Richard Johnson / National Post
National statistics for prison time for impaired driving, by province.“You can understand some of the reasoning behind that in terms of seeking greater consistency, but then there’s the concerns about who should be setting a mandatory minimum and what role do Parliament and appellate courts have?” he asked.Parliament, of course, crafts the laws and appeals courts have the authority to decide what becomes consistent practice. For now, under federal law the minimum sentence for impaired driving is a $1,000 fine and a suspension under the Criminal Code of Canada.Prof. Riddell said the action taken by the judges reminds him of the debate over “starting points” that the Alberta Court of Appeal began a few years ago and revisited in a 2010 sexual assault case asking how big a role courts (particularly appellate courts) can play in creating more concrete guidelines for sentencing.There is far too much variation in sentencing, the court warned, and there’s a concern that Parliament will impose mandatory minimums if the issue is not addressed.Toronto lawyer Mitchell Worsoff, who specializes in drunk driving cases, says the P.E.I. judges’ move is worrisome because they are going above and beyond what the federal law requires for a minimum sentence.“What those judges are doing are working outside the purview of what the legislators had in mind and they are themselves, perhaps, taking the law into their own hands,” he said. “The legislators never said there’s going to be a minimum jail sentence for drinking and driving. If the judges had jumped to that step, they’re going outside the scope of what the legislators have envisioned.”That said, there is discretion in the law, allowing judges who feel there is a serious problem with a certain offence a little leash to try to deter offenders. That’s what now-retired Judge Ralph Thompson had in mind when he first applied a minimum day sentence for first-time offenders found guilty of driving drunk.The rate of impaired driving was incredibly high in the late 1980s and the tougher sentencing helped bring them down, he said.“A lot of the sentencing guidelines are established by the appeal court,” he said. “[But] in P.E.I. we just decided that the numbers were horrendous and something had to be done.”Save for a few years, judges have been applying this minimum sentence to first-time offenders ever since. To this day, P.E.I. is the only province to incarcerate people who drive drunk and do not cause bodily harm or death — most just apply a fine and a suspension.Drunk driving cases have been especially politicized on the island in recent years, said Peter McKenna, a political science professor and chair of the politics department at the University of Prince Edward Island. Newspapers report on many of the charges, often involving people in rural communities and repeat offenders even when they don’t involve injury or death, he said. And the premier’s office has been paying attention.“I know provincial govt has been looking at sentencing issues around drunk driving,” he said. “I think the message about cracking down on drunk driving has registered with the court system here too.”While flexible —the judges decide sentencing based on Breathalyzer readings and whether the person was kept at the police station overnight, among other factors — the minimum jail sentence of a day or two hasn’t seemed to work, Judge Lantz said.“To tell you the truth, I’m not sure it’s made any difference. It appears like they may be up again — that’s just anecdotally. But I’m noticing there appears to be more and more.”Prevailing research has suggested that harsher sentences are not likely to be effective in reducing impaired driving, Anthony Doob, a professor of criminology at the University of Toronto said in an email.“What you may have in P.E.I. is a common agreed-upon approach by the judges that reduces unwarranted disparity but does not accomplish what it is set out to do,” he said. “If the judges are looking for harsher (and cheaper and possibly more effective, or at least less counterproductive) sentences, they might want to think about more creative ways of punishing people,” such as giving them community service orders or steeper fines. - Dec 05, 11I was watching (500) Days of Summer over the weekend - one of my favourite "romantic" comedies. One of the things I like most about the movie is its great soundtrack! I hadn't seen the movie in 2 or 3 years, so I had forgotten about some of the songs, including the one I'm posting about today.The band's name is Mumm-Ra, the song is She's Got You High. But the whole album sounds pretty good *I've only heard snippets of it myself.So, to all my fellow students who are working so hard to get their end-of-semester work done, add this one to your playlist to help get you through the day!
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about timothy
- Born and raised in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, I now hang my hat in Ottawa, Ontario.Currently, I am completing a law degree at the University of Ottawa and a Masters of Arts in International Affairs at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University. I also work as a Special Assistant to the Honourable Senator Percy E. Downe in his Parliament Hill office.In my (not so) spare time, I am interested in photography, Canadian and American politics, curling, wine, law, technology, design, tennis, travelling, music, etc.
Please contact me by email or on twitter if you have any questions, comments, or just want to say hello!
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Tweets
- @doylem89 @katherinemckenn My God Mel! That's genius! I just might use that!
- @katherinemckenn Now I need to come up with a snappy title for my talk. Topic is a two state solution to the Israel/Palestine confl. Ideas?
- Just received my acceptance letter to present at CSDS's 2012 World Issues Conference in February! Excited! #fb
- @KeithSimonWhite true dat
- Now it's snowing in Ottawa? If the sun comes out later we will have had every type of weather possible today #fb
- My first Half-Marathon http://t.co/HrG7QdrG
- @lm_edwards Very studious! :P
- @lm_edwards Are you gonna tweet a pic?
- @vicjones we'll see. I figure I'm already taking a big risk just by agreeing to travel with you ;)
- So pumped after my run this morning that I finally went ahead and registered for Ottawa Race Weekend. First HALF-MARATHON here I come! #fb
- Holy Eff It's Cold In This Town! http://t.co/GbJvgMHD
- Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr! http://t.co/LVIqP4RC
- Lego Lawsuit http://t.co/puhHGfc6
- @jillstew :(
- @ottguy here's hoping!
- @denny_andrew bummer
- Vegas! “@vicjones: @timothycullen and I have made a pact to go to Vegas before we each get married. @KeithSimonWhite can come too I guess”
- Gonna be a good night. “@vicjones: Working out signals for tonight with @timothycullen”
- @MeaghanCoker seriously! Haha
- @DanMoulton works for me. Get at me tomorrow.
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TJ's PJs Christmas Bash Extravaganza 2011
