Odd, Old and Oscars

I'm still on the fence about canceling my Vonage phone, but for now I'll keep it. Best times to call me are 11-1pm or 11pm-1am, EST... before or after my usual work times. All on that for now.


Feb 16 - Love those eyes...

Seems all that is on the news these days is doom and gloom about the economy. Yet it appears that some saw it coming... have a look at this video by a fellow named Peter Schiff. It dovetails nicely into some info I discovered about similarities between the current crisis and what happened in Japan in the late 90's... eerie similarities there, actually.

Having moved out to BC, then from Victoria to Langford in the West Communities, I've yet again struck a blow against expanding my social circles here. Not that I had a large one to begin with, after a year here, but being dependant on a vehicle or bus to 'ride into town' to socialize was not part of my original plan... but so be it. One never knows what the future will bring, even if you are Peter Schiff, yet we have to make plans and adjust as best we can. While I enjoyed riding my bike to work last year, this year since I'm not feeling so good, perhaps it's best to limit my rides to recreation for now. Of course, I could always sign up for one of these seminars...

Who knows? If I ever ran across someone with eyes like Tilda Swinton, who was the White Queen in The Chronicles of Narnia, I might just dive in and get lost. The future in an eyeblink...

Feb 17 - The End is in site...

A few years ago, I reprogrammed one of my routers to use OpenDNS, which is a simple way to surf the 'net faster - this bit explains it a little better than I could. I just reprogrammed one of my routers with OpenDNS this week, nothing like getting speedier 'net access... for free. Considering I've just upgraded to the fastest version of cable with Shaw.ca, things around here should be pretty speedy now.

Surprisingly, the economic slump has postponed the demise of dialup 'net access, whose budget price is very appealing when trying to figure out to save a buck.

This doesn't help those without internet access at work, like myself - the silicon highway doesn't exist for me, save for 'approved' sites such as 411.ca or other sites that make my job easier. Yet blocking sites like Facebook may not be such a good idea for businesses, overall, and while I admit that some people might abuse the privilege, not having 'net access at work these days is annoying to most.

Feb 18 - Growing up G33k...

Brian, this one is for you: Doctor Who... as an anime character. Animated, no less!

On the topic of Doctor Who, it brings back memories of the 70's, and all those TV shows that I grew up with. In addition to Doctor Who, there was The Incredible Hulk, Buck Rogers, Battlestar Galactica... and many more. There is an amazing picture here that one artist has created that immortalizes the best of these shows... I was impressed with the detail that was put into it!

Yet modern era technology has let us do things yet-unthought of back then.... take Google Earth, for example. Recently, they added seafloor data to the application... and one intrepid soul with FAR too much time on his hands was trawling through it when he made an amazing discovery. Is it true? We'll see.

Then again, we have some controversial ideas popping up regarding internet use, so who's to say things weren't better back when the quickest way to reach out and touch someone was a phone?

Feb 19 - Linkup at work?

Work is work, and of late is proving to be rather wearing. Tax season is ramping up, and being the only person at my branch means that my task-juggling skills are being stretched every day. While not physically taxing, the always-on all-day mental challenges have proven to be rather exhausting, though so far I've been up to the tasks at hand. I can say it's NOT boring, not that it ever was really...

Speaking of work, here's links to the sites for some of my friends, who put a LOT of hard work into 'em:

The Art of Brian Thomas Woods

Jinx The Black Cat - From Mike, plus Newt & John!

ImageryFusion.com - yay Pierre!

Also, thanks to Paulino for posting this link about credit balance scams... informative video, watch it and decide for yourself if you need it. Especially in this era of job insecurity.

Feb 20 - What are they thinking???

This week has been bacon-free, mainly because I blundered across this story... which while unrelated in terms of food still just plain old grossed me out. Though not as much as the receipies I found here, which should probably only be served around Halloween time. Except the brain food, of course!

Perhaps it falls under the category of Odd News, which I have always enjoyed, usually from the decades-old News of the Weird column that has appeared in many papers throughout the continent.

One little tidbit I picked up from a Mythbusters episode: just as helium can make your voice squeaky, other non-toxic gases can alter it the other way too. Neat!

Lastly, it seems I am not alone in changing my diet... Andy Walker recently had to remove coffee from his daily menu. Fortunately, I never took up the habit, along with drinking, smoking, or skydiving... so at least I can narrow down any health issues without those complicating factors.

Feb 21 - Waiting

I'm waiting for the Watchmen movie to come out March 6th, with bated breath. Until it does, I'll have to content myself with some amazing photo galleries, like this one. Plus, I just found out about this gem... the mini-comic from the Watchmen story, The Black Freighter, will be coming out as it's own DVD, voiced by Gerald Butler of 300 fame.

Having cable TV for the last few weeks has proved to be less of a temptation than I thought, overall. While I missed some shows like Mythbusters, or the Space Channel, in general I find myself flipping through the Shaw electronic Program Guide( love it, $2.99 a month! )for long minutes without finding anything I really want to give up my time in hour-long chunks for. I think what appeals to me about live TV is that I don't have to fiddle with loading a DVD... which says something about couch potato motivation. Still, watching Adam and Jamie test the ancient Chinese rocket-firing hwacha was amazing!

Feb 22 - Oscars

My first day off, and it's been most enjoyable though it's going far too fast. The sun came out for a few hours this afternoon, and that attracted a huge flock of robins to the front lawn in search of worms. Barely ten feet away through the windows of my living room, they were happily plucking wrigglers from the dirt before my eyes - I've never seen so many of them all at once. Tristan watched avidly too.

Watching the Oscars tonight as I wrote this blog, I was struck by how upbeat and non-ax-grinding they were compared to past years. With Hugh Jackman as an energetic host, plus various changes to the programs, the show tonight was a definite Feel Good Experience for the audience.


Well, another few hours whiled away whilst writing this web-blog... not too much happening this week, but I still hope you enjoyed it!

Moving, Movies and May St

Tuesdays... what happened to updating these things Sunday nights? Well, maybe next week... I have a few more things to add to the blog, which I will do tonight - I wanted to get it posted today, so here you are:

Jan 25 - Tensity

I've been trying something different at work, to see if I can change my daily stress levels around. I've made the effort to smile and make small talk with every customer who comes in, moreso than usual, to see if the level of Friendly can be raised - for the most part, it seems to be working. This is different from the false cheer that I can't stand when I deal with some in the customer service industry, that gets turned on and off like a spigot - I'm making the honest effort to be nice and jovial despite being tired, cranky and stressed for the last few weeks. So far, it seems to be working, as I've enjoyed my time at work a lot more than I thought, even though I work alone every day.

Not that there's a lot wrong with that, really. I suppose if I was a slob, I could leave the place a mess out of sight of the customers, or not wear deodorant, or do a ton of other things that would annoy co-workers, if I had any right now. Instead, I enjoy the freedom of keeping tabs only on myself, not having to put up with other's habits, and allowing the occasional gaseous expulsion to waft free. Which has been happening far more often of late, thanks to one of these before every meal. Digestively snap.

Jan 26 - Snopes, you say?

Bacon: now for dessert... on chocolate chip cookies! Why hasn't anyone thought of this before?

Speaking about fattening... well, not really, but I couldn't quickly think of a way to transition from bacon to internet scams; did I mention I am tired? Anyway, everyone receives emails, often daily, about things that sound too good to be true: scams, offers, spam, and urban legends all clog up email inboxes, not to mention those annoying chain letter emails... If you tire of these things, just go have a look at Snopes.com to see if what you suspect is true, that the sender( if a stranger )is trying to scam you or a friend( if they are known to you )is passing along something they really shouldn't. Every known spam or scam on the 'net is on Snopes, which makes it a GREAT resource to tell Aunt Bertha about next time she fowards you a 'warning' about gangs tossing shoes onto telephone lines in YOUR area... :-)

Jan 27 - Green

Green is the way to go these days in all things... which is great, as it also happens to be my favourite colour. Nowadays, David Suzuki is feeling like he's part of the mainstream, as the rest of the world is finally waking up to the message he's been preaching for the last few decades. Looking around the globe, there are some fine examples of green architecture out there, quite aside from the R2000 home program started in the 1980's and current market trends towards ultra-green residential housing. Though what a hand-crafted wooden iPod housing really has to do with green homes is anybody's guess.

It also occurred to me that there's an opportunity for a major spokesperson for environmental causes to step forth and take up the flag. One whose very appearance both speaks for the difficult task of protecting the planet, and the consequences of not doing so. I am speaking of a fictional character, one who has a long history in the comic industry, as well as other mediums:

The Hulk. He's literally green, and gets angry...with polluters. Perfect fit, no?

Jan 28 - Comics and Tigers

Calvin and Hobbes. Who among us DIDN'T read this fantastic comic strip in its heyday, and mourn it's sudden demise by Bill Watterson's decision to just stop? Well, for all of us out there who still wish for some Wit of Calvin's, I present to you: 25 Great Calvin and Hobbes Strips - not perhaps THE Greatest Strips, but certainly some of the very best. You decide.

Which leads me back to The Far Side... did the general public really understand that comic? It was so far out there in terms of funny for its time that it made Peanuts look like the scribblings of children... though considering it WAS a comic, maybe that's a compliment. I do know the Far Side Halloween TV Special was WAY out there, but it was great to see those out-there comic panels come to life... creepy, distorted, surrealistic-in-some-way life at that. Gary Larson, we miss you and Bill Waterson both.

Of Fumes and Final Thoughts: Unfortunately, I had to go back to the old apartment tonight to finish cleaning the oven, which was the only thing that had to be done again - I'm not one for using Easy Off due to the fumes, but in this case the landlord insisted. At least he sprayed it in the morning so it had all day to work, as well as for the fumes to( mostly )clear.

Jan 29 - More on Moving

The unpacking goes well, coming along apace. I do some in the mornings, then more as I find the energy after work. My mom, though she is limited in mobility and has other major health issues, has been great as she plugs away steadily at the work - most of the rest of the house is already put to rights.

I suppose I should talk a little about the place: it's on the shore of Langford Lake, about ten minutes north of Victoria. Langford itself is a bustling place, with a lot of new construction and a ton of things going for it, with all the amenities including a huge 'power center' for shopping in addition to a vibrant downtown.

The house itself is a large backsplit, nestled down away from the road tucked between neighbouring properties and so sheltered from noise and weather both. The lower level is given over to another apartment, whose occupants we've met - friendly, quiet and accommodating folks. The upper level is more than spacious, with a giant kitchen flanked by a living room and dining room. The front has a sunken living room for my use, that has to be seen to be believed - pictures coming soon. There are two bedrooms, plus a master bedroom, two bathrooms( one of which with a massive skylight )main floor laundry, double garage... and a hot tub on the rear deck that faces the lake - what a view! All of this means plenty of space for my stuff, as well as privacy.

Jan 30 - Boxes Are Evil

Now that most of the boxes are either emptied or relegated to the Toss In Storage Pile, the place is looking mostly livable... except for my den / living room. I just haven't had the energy to get all the books onto the shelves, or do more than hook up the TV and the 'net routers to the cable connection. Which is odd in itself - the cable, that is. When I first attached MY cable modem earlier in the week, the blasted thing didn't work and still doesn't - naturally it's the one I bought, whose 1-year warranty expired two weeks ago. The one from my parent's place works fine, thankfully... and it's the one they're still renting, 'natch. *sigh* I swear electronics come with Warranty Suicide Chips.

While I am not exactly in the business of Evil Lair Decorating, there is something to be said for Evil on a Budget... which also segues into setting up a great Evil Lair. Yet what use would be an Evil Lair without superheroes to defend it against? Here is a list of the most popular superpowers that wannabe-heroes of today are wishing for. Strangely, being bulletproof is not high on most people's lists...?

And if you want to see something truly evil, have a look at this - "Roxanne" by the Police as sung to the tune generated by Microsoft's Songsmith program. Ouch, my bleeding ears! The horror!

Jan 31 - End of the Old

The month wrapped up in a blur today, which was even busier than yesterday. Again, I find it odd that I can go an hour without any customers, then five show up all within five minutes. There is no common thread I can discern, as they don't do it at lunch hour, or all get off the same bus, or show up just after picking up the kids from school... damned odd, but it keeps me on my toes.

Do you ever get the feeling that things are being recycled in Hollywood? Or in the entertainment world in general, mining old hits for new viewer ratings? While I usually deride such mediocre efforts, sometimes a few of these reworkings work out, like BSG and (hopefully) the upcoming The Prisoner too.

There are a few movies I am looking forward to seeing in the next few months: Coraline, of course - it's Neil Gaiman, why would you NOT see it?? Also the Transformers sequel, plus one I'd not heard of before this week with a catchy title: Monsters Vs Aliens - no word on a cameo by a Predator though.

Feb 1 - A New Month, a New Place

Sunday found me crawling around the new place, puttering and poking into odd boxes to find things. While I kept a numbered list of box contents, there are still quite a few things stuffed into various odd boxes and other places to try and find. I found myself in dire need of relaxation today, as the week has been simply exhausting with the move and the very very busy month-end at work. Fourteen hour days are no fun for a week, especially when time not spent earning a wage is spent hefting boxes around and cleaning. When was this even fun, I wonder? I know I enjoyed moving to Port Dalhousie, but after that things just became a chore... good thing I was able to do a lot more under my own power back then.

I went to my delayed company Christmas party this year, which was a subdued affair - since we had our budget cut in half, only two stores( plus me )were able to get together, compared to last year, when everyone met for dinner... darn economic crunch. We all met at Nautical Nellies, which is a steak and seafood place downtown which bills itself as "the Best restaurant in Victoria BC." The food was very good in decent portions, if a big pricey - similar to the Keg, which sits on a corner as well just a block down the road. It was nice, in a way, to just sit at a large table and talk with people, as I don't see much of any of them while working on my ownsome. I left after only a few hours, heading home in the rain as I was rather tired.

For those who like moving reading, I suggest Ebon Musings, where the author digs deep into the Bible for his own amusement much akin to the spirit of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. If God is watching, I don't think He would be amused... but I know He WOULD want a word with His editor about doing a Revised Bible. Or maybe a Coles Notes version?


All for now - next update Sunday night, since I have Sundays off. For now.

Plasma, Plumbing and Physics

Much as I tried, I just couldn't finish off the blog until Monday afternoon... my eyes kept drifting shut last night and I had to postpone the final cut until well into the afternoon the next day. I do a fair bit of work to bring this to my faithful few readers each week, and I won't let the quality suffer. Much. :)


Dec 29 - Back to the (g)rind.

It seems that I can't keep from mentioning something new to do with All Things Bacon every so often. This week: Bacon In A Can from SupersizedMeals.com. At only $9.95 for a can that contains up to 50 slices of pre-cooked bacony goodness, it's quite the deal and is available by the case. Which won't go bad for a long time; the shelf life is tagged at ten years. A decade of bacon bliss in every can!

The power failed around 10pm PST, plunging most of Victoria into darkness for several hours, which was odd as the high winds of earlier in the day had died down many hours ago. Though not as bad as the massive outage that hit on Thanksgiving this past Oct. 13th, it was still a surprise. I was still able to shut down my various electronics thanks to the UPS systems I run, and enjoyed reading a book by light of two blindingly powerful LED flashlights. The gas fireplace was still blazing merrily to keep the room warm, and the carbon monoxide detector was ready in case the circulating fans were disabled from the outage. I am growing to appreciate my laptop in such situations as well, as its built-in battery means the power can be out for hours and I can still be entertained... though offline from the internet. *sigh*

With the power off, I was unable to play with my plasma globe... yes, that's right, one of those really cool things that you don't know what else to do with a few years down the road. Thankfully, when I had 'net access again, I came across a site that tells you all the cool things you didn't know you could do with a plasma globe. Where else, but on the internet? Now I can breathe new life into my glowing conversation piece, which is something I searched years for and finally found... and there are some enthusiasts out there who know more on the subject than any hundred other people - the details! One fact I found fascinating was that 99% of the visible universe is made up out of plasma... to be taken with a grain of salt, of course, as most of what we can see are sources of radiation, such as stars.

Segueing a bit, apparently there is a lot of research going in into cold plasmas, if you can get your mind around that. Normally, plasmas are hot - VERY hot, in most cases, and since they are their own state of matter, this can lead to some very interesting things. One such application may be the creation of shielding for spacecraft, similar in operation to the kind often pictured in sci-fi TV battles, though cold plasma would operate in a radically different manner than Trek-like shields. Something similar was recently discovered by accident at a 3M plant in the USA too. So that plasma flatscreen TV you have been eyeing at the local FutureShop may be the foreshadowing of things plasma has yet to show us... and the shows you watch on it may indeed foretell the future. Just watch out for burn-in!!!

Dec 30 - Mystery Illness

This is for those of you who are wondering if I am ill or not. Short answer: yes.

Long answer: Details are sketchy, but a plan of action is in place to see if things are correctable...

I'll spell things out as plainly as I can. I have not found any specific details as to what is going on, so I don't want to worry folks, which seems unlikely as only one person has actually asked me if I was sick to date. This tells me that either I haven't been clear enough in my blog or that nobody really noticed... edit: except Lucas, who raises some good questions in his comment at the end of this week's blog. While I am not dehydrated, the diet I have been on has not changed substantially in the last 4 years, nor does it include much, if any, junk food any longer. Turkey is my staple meat protein, and the herbal supplements / vitamins I've been on are the same again as they have been for many years. I will make a point of raising GI issues with my MD next appointment, thanks for the reminder.

See if you can fill in the blanks to form a known illness: symptoms include nausea an hour after meals, lack of appetite, irregular difficulty with waste expulsion, occasional dizziness and a general lack of energy. These began several months ago, and are possibly related to my problems earlier in the year which I believed were solved when I switched to a lactose-free diet. Guess it wasn't as simple as that. I do not have plumbing pains or related abdominal issues, nor am I suffering from gall bladder attacks of any degree. Though I am on a waiting list to have my gall bladder removed( up to 12 months away )I may be 'bumped' or sent to another area on the Island to get it done if my symptoms persist or worsen... assuming that it is the cause, in some manner. Unknown right now.

A visit to the doctor this morning was not incredibly informative, but a plan of action was hatched. In addition to the enzymes I am taking, I am going to switch to a new type of antacid, one which will hopefully correct the digestive issues and get me back on track. My new doctor wants to try this first, before suggesting other courses of action - I hope that the nausea goes away and that I get back my sense of hunger again. Feeling woozy and weak at day's end is no fun, especially when you stare at food of any description and feel not the slightest hunger twinge in your belly despite not having eaten all day... not being a light eater, I like solid meals on a regular basis, and this really unbalances me.

I hope that the new antacid brings things back INTO balance, but there's no guarantee, as there are too many possible illnesses that fit my symptoms. Thankfully, I am not showing signs of other more serious illnesses, so I am hoping that my new doctor's recommendations will prove effective. Fingers crossed.

Dec 31 - New Year's Eve

I spent a few hours visiting my parents for dinner, then back to my place for a quiet evening in front of the fireplace. Surprisingly, I was unable to find any 'event' taking place for New Year's Eve around here; lots of advertising for parties taking place in local bars and restaurants, but nothing like the Niagara Falls New Years Eve Party at all. There is a nice online listing of local events here though, which is great. So, I rang in the new year online, watching the ball drop live in Times Square at 9pm locally, then surfed a bit without finding any west coast feeds, like Seattle or Los Angeles... ah well. It's 2009.

The tradition of New Year's Eve got its start way back in 46 BC with the Romans, who as we all know really knew how to party. Which has lessons for us in the modern day, as we are easily distracted from major issues facing the world today by modern media - Hollywood and major league sports follow quite distinctly in the ancient Roman's footsteps by pulling our attention towards trivial entertainment, when we should instead doing our part to get the world on track, like some people have been for a while now.

As for me, I watched the fireplace flames flicker out as the year changed, and wondered what was in store for myself... and for us all. At least the LHC didn't suck us all into a black hole a few months ago!

Jan 1st 2009 - Where did 2008 go?

One thing I'd like to do this coming year is read more of the classics, and I've found a great site that lets me do that from home: ReadPrint.com. You can find thousands of books to read online, from dozens of different authors including Chaucer and Shakespeare.

Upcoming movies I'm wanting to see: The Watchmen, The Road, Terminator: Salvation, Land of the Lost( with Wil Ferrell ), Thundercats, and perhaps even Gatchaman - the last is a movie that some may remember as Battle of the Planets / G-Force from 80's cartoon TV. Go Firey Phoenix... or something.

In the blizzard of 'Top Whatzits' of 2008 lists, I pay more attention to the techie side of things, of course. Over at WorthPlaying.com they have been counting down the Top 10 Games of 2008, for consoles and PC. I find it grin-inducing that both Fallout3 and Left4Dead made it on that list, for as you all know I enjoy most things post-apocalyptic and apparently many gamers share the very same interests. Which bodes well in case the world DOES end; there will be a lot of unhappy zombies out there once the surviving gamers figure out where the local gun shop keys are. FPS training at work.. but I guess it helps to live in a country stuffed with firearms too.

Along the lines of stupidity from the above thought, we have: The Stupidest Products of 2008! While the majority of the list items seem mostly sex or scatologically inclined, there are some exceptions, such as the Fender Stratocaster coffee table and the fork chair. Who thinks of these things? Better yet, who in their right mind thinks they will sell, especially since oddball and boutique stores have been packing it in faster than adherents to the Atkinson Diet in the past 6 months.

I'm also still investigating the idiocy that is Imperial Majesty Cruise LINE - there are quite a few places online where people have voiced their concerns, but this one in particular had a gem about telemarketers and the Canadian National Do Not Call List, from the entry by 'Annoyed Canadian Girl' on Dec 11, 2008. I quote it here in its entirety, as it amply illustrates the frustration consumers feel when loopholes in our systems are exploited by ethically bankrupt companies:


As for those who are posting about Canada's National Do Not Call List —that list does not apply to this company. If you read the Term of the NDNC List, you will see that:

If it is a NON Canadian company working INSIDE Canada, and calling in Canada, they have to abide, if it’s a NON Canadian company working OUTSIDE of Canada and calling TO Canada, they DO NOT HAVE TO FOLLOW THE DNC LIST.

Although, I’m pretty sure that if you request to be placed on their DNC list, legally they HAVE to place you on that list.


This all reminds me of a quote from one of more favourite sci-fi animated series, Futurama, where the main character Fry( the lowly intergalactic delivery boy )discovers that ads are beamed directly into people's dreams in the future. He responds: "Not in our dreams! Only on TV and radio. And in magazines. And movies. And at ballgames. And on buses. And milk cartons. And t-shirts. And bananas. And written on the sky. But not in dreams! No sirree!" Seems he forgot about the internet, mailouts, pamphlets, billboards, newspapers, books, clothing, and of course telemarketers. Yeesh - too much!

Jan 2 - Two of 2009

Work is going well enough; I'm doing a lot more paperwork as a manager, with a ton of reading as well - not unexpected at all, and my smaller branch is the perfect place for me to do that on slower days.

I had my apartment shown not once, but twice, today. I've been leaving it in showroom condition every day that I am working, as my landlord seems to be getting quite a bit of interest in it, which is good. Though most everyone loves "such a cute little apartment" they inevitably comment that it's "small" ... well, yeah, it looks smaller with all these bookcases, the couches and a big coffee table. Ah well, not my prob. It does annoy me that I have to take down my window insulation sheet during the day, but since the days are all well above zero degrees now, sometimes with decent sunshine, it's not a major heating issue. The house I am moving to doesn't have central heating, which seems to be the norm here in BC and that still rings oddly to me. No furnaces? No insulation? No ducts? Single-pane windows? No central A/C? What gives? I'm sure home inspectors in this province make a killing, being so busy!

I was also pleased to see today that Wikipedia.org has reached their goal of raising $6 million to continue their fine work of bringing the sum total of human knowledge to everyone on earth. Though the modern internet has meant that the venerable encyclopedia salesman has been out of a job since the mid 90's, when the encyclopedia made the jump to CD-ROM and from there to its many current online formats.

I spent a portion of the evening playing Mass Effect on the Xbox360, which I mention only because I recently started playing the game again, as in this week, after a year-long hiatus. Why is that? Simple: I hadn't got used to the controls, and the story hadn't 'grabbed' me yet, so I shelved it soon after I bought it. Now that I have spent a little time with it, the depth that BioWare invests its games with is starting to come through; the game plays like a SciFi movie in many ways, which really pulls the player into the universe being presented. Making a difference on a galactic scale is fun!

Jan 3 - Green for RPG

Rain has come and washed away the snow; the grass is still green underneath out here, which still amazes me when I see it. Not that people are cutting their lawns much here in the winter, but not seeing huge swathes of dead brown lawns is an incredible pick-me-up during the winter. I commented last year about how flowers bloom here year-round; coming up in a month is the Victoria Flower Count, when people call in the number and locations of blooms they spot for a whole month. In my view, it is like giving the birdie to the rest of Canada during the height of the winter snows, saying "Hey, we live in a place where there are flowers blooming in February... so how's that snow accumulation, Toronto?" This is why I love Vancouver Island... one of many reasons that so many people love to live here.

I had an interesting game session online tonight, which surprised me as I haven't played all that much NWN in the last few months. I ended up having to make a few moral choices, as well as personal ones, for the character I've created - which though upsetting for the character, had me scratching my head at points to try to follow the logic of the person running the game session. I gave up near the end and simply retreated to my tavern's office, as I was too tired to make sense of the fractured plot any longer.

Though I do enjoy the way such roleplaying games let me stretch my characterization skills for my writing, they do tend to take up an inordinate amount of my time, as one has to wait for others to respond to one's typing... and since I type VERY quickly, this can lead to some toe-tapping waits. Given that the alternative is voice chat, I am not sure about that... as I shudder to imagine that every dwarf one runs across will have a terrible Scottish accent, and vampires will all sound Transylvanian - bleh!

Jan 4 - Weekend Warriors

Working the weekend... seems so long ago that I looked forward to weekends, in my high school days. Though I worked them then as well. Hmmm... I think the only time I ever had weekends free was back in grade school, when I was too young to have a job; I've been working since I started high school, and haven't stopped since. University was fun to juggle jobs, school and life in general, and I managed to fumble a few things before it all got sorted out in an educationally painful manner. Live and learn.

I finished re-reading another favourite series by David Weber and Steve White, set in the Starfire universe which was based on a tabletop strategy game of the same name. Similar to Starship Troopers, but far more logical in terms of technology and especially strategy( infantry rifles versus hordes of giant monsters? Puh-leaze! )as well as making sense of combat in three dimensions, albeit with a few sci-fi twists tossed in to spice things up. While some people deride the books for being 'simplistic' I enjoy them for what they are: fun space opera set in an uncertain universe, with man-eating bugs. Joy!

It reminded me of the first time I saw a space combat simulator, running on an ancient floppy-based PC with monochrome graphics. Called Starfleet Orion, it was the first game to try to bring to the computer the complexity of combat in space... and it succeeded, despite the incredibly basic graphics that the Commodore PET( ancestor of the Amiga! )was barely capable of. I never did manage to play it, but I watched over the shoulders of a few older kids playing it and was entranced, especially given that the Atari2600 had nothing like it. Nowadays we have lovely bits of game code like the freeware Space Combat Simulator, which looks to simulate actual combat with real-world physics. No warp drive here. A really mysterious site is SpaceshipSimulator.com, debuting in 2010... and that's it. Check back in a year!

Something that I wished had made it to actual hardware was an idea presented at the Baltimore WorldCon back in 1998. Similar in execution to Space Camp, the idea was to take two 'crews' of a dozen people and have them face off against each other in combat, commanding the 'bridge' and 'engine room' of their respective ships. They would spend a weekend 'sealed' in the simulator, with quarters, a mess and whatnot to simulate being aboard a starship. It seemed like a great idea, but sadly even the name has vanished into obscurity... and what with the popularity of MMORPG's nowadays, spending a weekend with your friends now means chatting with them via headset from your couch.


No Comments on last week's blog... have we seen the last of the Spider and his pals? TTFN.

Grease, Chumps and Cars

Here it is... not a lot of BC content this week, but considering the massive link-fest that last week's blog turned into, I thought some of you could use a break.

June 9th - The Week Begins

Mondays. Who likes them really? Everyone has had a Monday where they wake up and wish it was still the weekend - it's human nature. At least this site has some suggestions on how to beat the Monday Blahs. Or at least bruise them slightly.
On a happier, note, my entire closing shift today was overtime, thanks to the staff fluctuations we're having in the are. Too bad I can't get more than a few of these a month, as I'd sleep better. Speaking of which, my bedroom window faces east( same as before at The Prince )so as usual the sun and I fight to see who will give in first in the mornings. So far, I've been able to stay snoozed on a day off until 8am, which isn't bad considering my room at The Prince had the equivalent of WWII blackout-blinds from the Blitz in London. Here: not so lucky.

June 10th - Chumpdom Awaits!

Some happy news today: Brian sent out an email saying that 'Work is for Chumps' - he gave notice at his job and will be pursuing his own interests and his own business from now on. I am SO pleased to hear that it's working out for him, and hope that his dreams are closer than he thinks. Myself, I am looking at three fields of work right now: tech writing, general fiction and voice acting, including podcasts in any of those three fields. I figure I have a shot at all three, so if I can eke out the time every day to make good on the work apart from the day job, then perhaps.... Well, you get the picture, though some seem to think that it should begin early, like in college.

June 11th - The Plot Thickens. Like Soup.

Sometimes, you just want the day to end so you can get to the important things. Like this: a major plotline on the NWN server I game on was brought to a boil tonight - I was on for hours as an epic quest through dark and dangerous places played out, with myself and a few stalwart comrades at the center of the maelstrom. For those who enjoy video games, I equate my time at Lands of Nordock as similar to the experience one got from playing Baldur's Gate, or Planescape - it's that good. For a free server, they have a dedicated community of DM's, developers and players. Or, in the words of JMS: Dreamers, Shapers, Singers and Makers. As I have said before, I feel privileged to continue to be a part of a world where I feel my contribution matters, and where I can both relax after a long day AND explore a rich world that is continually being shaped by truly creative, passionate people. And have fun, of course.

June 12th - It's HOW green?

For anyone who wants to get a good mental image of how GREEN BC is, compared to Niagara, I have come up with the following. On Geneva Street in St. Catharines, south of the QEW, huge trees line both sides of the roadway, casting lovely shade over everything beneath. As well, on Shoreline Drive, the trees planted decades ago when the community was first built have grown such that they touch in many places over the middle of the road, creating a green corridor that is eerily lovely when lit at night by the streetlamps.

Now, imagine those huge trees, only twice as large. Greener. With every street in every neighbourhood packed with them. The gardens below practically bursting from their planting beds, every house a gardener's dream of flowers and bushes growing at incredible rates, all of it spilling over and barely kept in check by legions of gardeners armed with trimmers. How's that?

June 13th - Paraskevidekatriaphobia

For an unlucky day, today was remarkably uneventful for being Friday the 13th. I didn't see a single black cat, nor have to avoid any ladders or any other ill omen. The origin of Friday the 13th is an interesting read, especially in today's modern society of skeptics.

Speaking of bad luck.... as some of you may know, the cars in my life and I have always had a.. Special relationship. When I was living in Fonthill, way back in the 90's, I would often have to find ways to kill hours whilst my steel chariot was in the shop. One cheap one that I found was to walk the short distance down to the newly-opened McDonald's and have their Double Quarter-Pounder With Cheese special. This massive meal came to a mere $5.00 + tax at the time, which was great for students like me on a tight budget.

Why am I mentioning all this? Well, it's not about the car( I don't have one )or Fonthill( I won't be back there again )or even my mechanic Jamie( whom I DO miss! ). No, I mention it all to bring the Golden Arches into it. I haven't eaten at McDonald's now for almost a decade, though Wendy's and a few other fast food chains have seen some of my patronage. Why not Mick-D's though? Simple: grease. Even back in the 90's, I noticed that about an hour after a meal at Ronald's place, my face would start to sweat grease. It was the damnedest thing, like my pores were trying to sweat out the toxins. When I think about it now, it still gives me the willies that I didn't really pay attention to the effect and kept on eating the stuff... because it was cheap and easily available. I am not for or against the stuff, as everyone should be free to make their own choice. Though these folks here seem to really have it in for Ron and his pals...

June 14th - Super Sunny Work Weekend

I have been giving serious consideration to canceling my cable TV service, as I find of late I am watching one or two shows a week, aside from BSG - which had its season finale his week. Looking up at the shelves around the TV, I find I have a vast assortment of shows and movies that are as yet still unwatched. Those show know me know that I am not one to be wasteful, and in this case I have TWO things going to waste with a common thread: time. On the one hand, I am wasting money on TV that I do not watch, and the other is wasted shelf space on shows and movies I have not seen. Heck, my Unwatched Movie List recently topped 500, with the addition of such films as Iron Man and the new Indiana Jones . We'll see, especially if things go as I hope and I find myself wishing for MORE time to pursue my other career interests.

June 15th - Severed Dreams

Before work today I loaded up the third season episode of B5 entitled 'Severed Dreams'. In a nutshell, this is the breakaway episode, where the series turns a corner and doesn't look back. The buildup of the first two seasons comes to a head here, bursting into action based on moral choices and some very real pathos. The CGI is still mind-blowing, even by today's higher standards( BSG )with more FX shots in this ep than had ever been done on TV before, in any show. B5 won the 1997 Hugo( among many other awards )for Best Dramatic Presentation for "Severed Dreams" - what else can I say? Watch it( but only in Turkish, sorry ).

Comments as always are welcome... but if you're going to rate the blog, have the decency to do it under a name, as some of you have kindly done. Who cares what some spotlight-shy Anonymous slob thinks, anyway? *grins*