Friends, Fools and Floppies

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March 30 - MoN-DaY Off

My good friend Mike has created a link to The Jinx Project which he will be covering during its creation in a Production Journal, to culminate in a finished animated short by Christmas 2009. I am thrilled to see Mike finally being able to pursue this project that he has talked about for some time, and will wait with bated breath to see the final glorious production. Check out his website too, at MikeHogue.com... tons of great stuff there!

In case some of you don't already know, Brian has also posted a site containing some of his amazing artistic work - check it out at BrianThomasWoods.com!

Unfortunately, not much went on today as I spent most of my day off installing a railing, several door bolts and some replacement cabinet lights. The lights took up the most time, as the display cabinet I now have used the stupidest style of halogen lights - little bulbs with two fragile metal socket pins that are impossible to get into place without bending or eventually snapping. So I snapped too, went down to Home Depot and came back with a set of replacement under-counter light pucks that went in after I removed the useless old ones. Not perfect, but now at least I can replace the bulbs more easily AND the cabinet is brighter, to better show off my selection of collectibles in a dust-free environment. Argh...

On the bright side, I got a last-minute call from one of my former neighbours: it was her boyfriend's birthday and they would love to have me down at May St. to celebrate. So I headed out into a dark, rainy night to drive the 20 minutes to Victoria, and was rewarded with a light, happy few hours basking in the company of good people. I even managed to work in some speedy YouTube video searches at the end, though my performance could not match my last evening spent at Pierre & Faith's place before I left Niagara in late 2007. A good night - with mini apple pies made from local-grown apples right here on Vancouver Island.

March 31 - Beating Family Cancer

One of my cousins has been battling breast cancer for the last few months, since it was diagnosed by a routine exam. I have been amazed at her strength and positive attitude, for she has gone through a lot in an incredibly short period of time. We are all happy here that she is pulling through, and that the internet has allowed the family to remain constantly updated as to her status, moreso than any phone calls might have done. Kudos to the doctors and their treatments... which in Canada won't put you in debt for the rest of your now-spared life.

My money tree seems to be doing well, even though the light here is not the same intensity as it was getting in the window at May St. The official name is Pachira Aquatica, an asian swamp plant which can apparently grow up to nearly 60ft tall in the wild and has been a popular ornamental plant only since 1986. Who knew I was being trendy? I wonder if anyone grows kite-eating trees...

April 1st - Foolish

April Fool's Day... and I had nobody to enjoy a little joke with at work. Last year, I sent around a tiny hoax about a group of scammers dressed as clowns trying to pass bad cheques. This year? Nada.

I always like to check up on how the world is doing by logging into NewsOfTheWeird.com, where you can get your fill of seeing how people manage to mess up reality, large or small.

Another site for odd happenings is at Canoe.ca here you can satisfy your cravings for odd news from around the world. My favourite one to date is

This idea started out as an April Fool's joke, but apparently there was an overwhelming response of people wanting to buy. Just goes to show that sometimes the joke is on the joker.

April 2 - And you thought I'd forgotten!

No joke here: what would the blog be without bacon? In this case, we're talking Squeez Bacon, an invention from( of all places )Sweden... not somewhere I would have picked for bacon know-how.

Thoughts...

Nope. Not this week. Too tired from work, really. Lots going on and frankly, I spend about 11 hours most days away from home, so just BEING at home is enough to make me want to nap on the nearest couch. Not feeling well most days doesn't help, but I DID get some good news today: my gall bladder operation is a go. I go under the knife( scalpel? )May 29th, and so will finally be able to remove THAT little medical issue from my checklist.

I hope it will take the nausea with it when it goes. I really, really do.

If not, then it's back to trial, error and elimination - in more ways than one.

April 3 - Positive Day

I headed into Victoria early this morning, so I could have breakfast at the Shine Cafe on Fort St( their website appears to be down ). I dug into a half-stack of apple cinnamon pancakes, which were delicious and in such quantity that I couldn't finish them in the time I had before needing to be at work. I ate there today because this will be my second-last day at the branch; I am being moved to the Millstream location, which is going to be interesting as it is a glassless location. Makes my fingers twitch just thinking about it as I type.

However, today turned out to be a really good day at work, for many reasons. It was bright & sunny out, so I think that helped a lot. Also, most of the people who came in were regulars, whom I have been telling about my branch transfer as I see them - the nice ones, anyway, and there's a surprisingly large number of those who said they would miss me or even come out to see me when they were in the Millstream area. It was great day, despite the long hours I have spent this week catching things up to hand over the branch to its new manager this weekend. Tired but happy.

Our head office here also received a spectacularly positive customer comment about me today too... it practically glowed when I read it( more than a few times! )with the phrase "If he were my employee, I have no doubt my business would flourish," standing out. The comment was picked up on by the head honcho for all the BC stores and sent out across Canada, with the notation that "This is the kind of positive feedback we want people to give when they come into MMart as customers." Tickled, I was, really... as it's so rare for such comments to be made; a hundred people will take the time to complain than just one to send in a positive note.

Which are you?

April 4 - Floppy what?

Sometimes I feel a little nostalgic about tech, like when I look at my old PC and see there's still a floppy disk drive in it - newer computers are almost all diskless, with even DVD's eventually going to vanish when some new and better flash medium comes along. Still, some tech ideas refuse to die... and my old favourite is on that list - see if you can figure out which of the 25 it is.

Saturdays... y'know, I cannot recall the last time I had a Saturday off without consulting my work calendar. I just don't seem to do things anymore on Saturdays... not that I did much this last year on Saturdays, but thinking about it now, I am going to browse through my blog and see what stands out.

I know I didn't watch a lot of cartoons, that's for sure.

April 5 - 16 hours of Relaxation!

I started the day out right today: Josh called, and before we knew it 45 mins had ticked by while we caught up on things.

Part of my day was spent outside, sitting on the deck and just enjoying the weather - turned out to be 16 degrees C out there mid-afternoon, plus warmth from lovely sunny skies. I even had my cat wandering around the deck, enjoying the weather in perfect safety with no gaps in the railings for him to try wot wriggle through. A few hummingbirds also stopped by, sounding like giant-size wasps as they buzzed in for a drink from the sugar-water feeders.

Other parts of my day were used up working on this new NWN project with a few people... made possible by today's advances in communication. While one of my friends was remotely accessing my old PC to get things installed, I was conferencing with a few others over MSN about various details. Turns out one of those folk has spent 3 years in university taking Game Design, and I cannot believe our luck that he's willing to spend so much of his time helping to shape the initial Design Document to spell out how this new world will be built. It's just lovely to work on this with such talented, energetic people... I only wish we could all pay ourselves for our time, but I guess that's why it's called a labour of love.

I finished off the day by alternatively working on my blog and finally watching The Dark Knight, where I have to say I was impressed with Heath Ledger's final performance. It was a well-deserved Oscar win, and I am sad that it had to be posthumous.

Ta for now!

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.