Who, What, When?

By the time you read this, the blog should have passed 1000 hits - remarkable, really, as that's about 2.1 hits a day for the last 18 months. Which incidentally, is how long I have now been in B.C. ... 'nuff said, the blog below awaits! And it is not bacon-free.

April 6 - Web Newz Iz Bttr?

A few times a week I pop in and check on io9.com, where I find news tidbits faster than say, watching SpaceNews on cable. Other places I like to stop in from time to time are AintItCool.com, ToplessRobot.com, BoingBoing.net as well as looking at what's new at WorthPlaying.com and GameSpot for my video game habits... which of late have been rather minimal. No time spent, really - my thumbs thank me. However, this image makes my stomach NOT thank me... and no, it's not gory or disgusting in any way, having come from BoingBoing.net.

And apparently this Sc-Fi news is NOT an April Fool's joke from last week. Good, or bad?

April 7 - Time travel Clockz

Time travel: everyone wants to do it, yet it still remains out of reach... for now. Unless you are Doctor Who, it just isn't possible to go back and fix that bad day you've just suffered through. Though according to current physics, you CAN visit the future if you go fast and far enough... and have a really, really good navigator. If you DO manage to find yourself travelling the timestream, make sure you have a Time Machine Cheat Sheet handy - you never know when you will need it. And if all that makes your head spin, you can just sit down and build this really cool-looking LED clock. Snazzy!

Clocks, well then...this is an old favourite clock site of mine. Another fave topic: Alarm clocks are a necessary evil, but they don't have to be. These clocks are very different, but they all contain an element of fun. And maybe a few radioactive elements too.

April 8 - Tech Progrezz

I have always kept an eye out for new ways to use personal computers, be they 3d headsets or programs for improving your desktop workspace, like Project Looking Glass. While most just pretty up a Windows desktop or extend it( like 360Desktop ), there is a new app out there called BumpTop that aims to do more. Since almost every new(-er )computer has powerful 3d video capabilities, it makes sense to take that confined 2d desktop and open it up with the new generation of hardware into a three-dimensional experience. I've been using it for a few weeks now and while not perfect, it is a fun and liberating experience - makes the 'old desktop' seem clunky by compare, though this idea for a 2d desktop app tickles my fancy somewhat.

On another tech note, the new router seems to be working beyond my initial expectations - in addition to great speed and configurability, I can get a full-strength signal on the back deck, which was something the other router couldn't manage - read my scathing review of that junkbox here. As well, the new router has a USB port on the back with SharePort technology, which means I can plug in my plethora of exteral USB drives and share their data wirelessly - recorded TV on the laptop, at last!

April 9 - Love Smellz Like...?

Today the Toronto Star ran an article that confirms what I have long suspected: when love is involved, the brain turns off - have a read through, then see this older related article here.

Not to be confused with Love Stinks, one of my more favourite songs... or the smelly mess that seems to be Victoria's( dirty little )Secret. Honestly, I had NO idea when I moved out to Vancouver Island that some basic things were so lacking... but at least I haven't notice any smells, yet.

Speaking of smells: who wouldn't want to wake up to the smell of fresh sizzling bacon?

Well, now you can, thanks to this!

And if that wasn't enough, CrazyAboutGadgets.com has a ton of things that you only used to see in such quality stores as Radio Shack, The Sharper Image or The Den For Men. Now, it's all online... which means you can't play with it in the store before buying, to see how flimsy the plastic really is on most things.

April 10 - The New Store

Just a shorter shift today, since the Millstream branch was only 11-7 for the Good Friday holiday. I just love the fact that it is less than a five minute drive from my home here in Langford - I can wake up late and STILL get to work on time! The good weather is almost here, so I will be checking out how long it will take by bike, once I feel up to it after May 29th as well.

The new branch is quite a change for me, in many ways. While I cannot go into specific details, I can talk about a few things: that there is no glass between the customers and I. This makes for a far friendlier atmosphere, though I do miss the sneeze guard / smell shield, which worked both ways. That there is no cash in the store that isn't stored in a large computer-controlled box that, creepily, reminds me of something from 2001. Put a glowing red eye on it and you'd have... well, you know.

I also had a customer tell me today that things for them weren't going so well, as they'd just... moved back in with the parents. Now, it was a young woman, a few years younger than me, and I thought "Wow, I wonder how society views that." Women at home? No issues. Men at home? Issues. Double standards, y'all.

April 11 - Sunshiny Saturday!

The clouds held off for today, shockingly - the sun sprang out and did its best to warm things up and for the most part succeeded.

I took a walk a little after noon, down to the massive CanWest shopping area here in Langford which is only 15 minutes by sneaker. While not the Pen Centre in size, the mall area still has a good selection of stores, in addition to being surrounded by big-box stores like Canadian Tire, Rona and yes, even a WalMart. I zeroed in on the A&W for lunch, as I can still enjoy their chicken grill which I have not had in several years. What I didn't enjoy: the price of nearly $10.00 for the combo... yikes! While inflation is something we all have to live with, it really comes to the fore when you haven't had a product or service for some time, and the price is a LOT more than you remember.

Back from the walk, it was still gorgeous out, so I did a little yardwork. Three hours of it... amazing what needs doing when you look a little more closely. I transplanted whole bunches of tulips from a dilapidated planter in the middle of the upper driveway to the front garden. I cleaned up the driveway itself, which was littered with dozens and dozens of pine cones, giving it a diseased look - ick. I also tided up the front and rear yards, getting rid of fallen branches, leaf piles and other debris. It was great to just get out and get my hands dirty.

Finally, here are some pictures of the place, since the weather cooperated today. The last one has our cat Tristan enjoying the deck too, as there are no gaps he can wriggle through:





April 12 - No Bunnies on Easter

For some odd reason, Sunday mornings are better for cartoons than Saturdays - can it be that the old tradition of the Saturday Morning Cartoon is shifting demographics? Hmmm... not likely, it's probably just me. In any case, I enjoyed my morning relax immensely, the more so because of the rain that was drifting down outside - I say drifting, as it made no noise I could hear on the roof. Quite different from rain back in Ontario, which scrabbles noisily at shingles and windows with hard pattering fingers.

Happily, the indoor time paid off, as I managed to get my NWN server to become visible to the world... something it was apparently loathe to do for the last few weeks. Some creative use of static IP's plus a whole lot of trial and error, but it works now, so the project can move forward.

My parents and I shared our Easter dinner in the early evening with our downstairs neighbour, who was quite impressed with the spread. We again went with the stuffed turkey roll, for ease of preparation and lack of too-many leftovers - it is the Just Right size for four people to feel comfortably full. While the religious overtones of the holiday were wasted on me, I still felt that it was important to take the time to appreciate my family - none of us are getting any younger, and as we all age more and more health problems crop up. Par for the course... but still something you don't think about much in your twenties.

After dinner, we watched Ratatouille - a strange experience, as my parents apparently remember seeing a different version sometime in the last 2 years since its release in theatres back in the summer of 2007. It is a lovely film, which looked great and sounded even better in my Man Cave... despite my unfortunate aftereffects from such a rich meal. Ah well... May is coming soon enough.

Toodles - I need sleep.

Moving Day - Nov. 1st 2007

Well, here it is, the day I leave Niagara. Who knew it would arrive so quickly?


November 1st, 2007

Up early( of course )to go get the rental car and finish running around on various errands.

We had packed up our cat Tristan in his carrier and had him in the car with me, which turned out not to be a good idea. The vet had recommended that we use a herbal mixture to keep him calm instead of a sedative, so we'd been dosing him for about a week now in small amounts. Today was the larger dose, given him early so that he'd doze through the trip to B.C.

No such luck though. Somehow, he knew something was up, and started to really panic - so much so that he lost control of his bodily functions... in the carrier, which was in the rental car. Messy. At least we had fasted him the last 12 hours, so it was mostly solids... *sigh*

So, at 11:30am, we had to go BACK to the condo and clean Tristan up, as well as the carrier and the rental car. Thankfully, all three responded well to the cleaning supplies we had left for the new occupants of the place, and my parents were fairly efficient at this sort of thing from years of experience with both pets and small children years ago.

Once Tristan was tidy, we put him on a leash and sat him in my mother's arms so he could look out the window( and remain calmer )while we rushed to the vets: time for a sedative, with no choice in the matter. Once that was done, Tristan calmed down immediately with no harmful effects; he dozed in the carrier placidly for the rest of the trip, eliciting many a comment from people about that 'adorable cat' sleeping in the carrier.

We hit the road running at 12pm, taking the Q.E.W. straight to the Hamilton office of Enterprise Rental cars and transferring our luggage to a local taxi-van called for when we arrived. By renting the car just to take to Hamilton, and taking a taxi from there to the Hamilton International Airport, we saved almost $200.00 as compared to the other alternative, an 'exclusive' limo ride from Niagara Airbus; apparently they don't offer shuttle service to H.I., just Toronto or Buffalo. Jerks... but I still managed to save a TON of money despite them. Which is good, considering that for what this move cost, I could have bought a good used car twice over...

With check-in at H.I. done, we had a little time to relax, so we had lunch in the form of sandwiches from the newly-opened Tim Horton's in the main lobby / waiting area. Tristan was still dozing contentedly in his carrier; we kept checking him the whole trip to ensure he was okay. Oh, and it was also nice to find out that our massively-packed bags were under-weight, so no extra fees for additional pounds of passenger allowance for the flight - a nice bonus.

We boarded the flight on time, in blustery conditions that we were glad to leave behind. Taking off a little after 4pm EST, we soared above the cloud ceiling, revealing a majestic vista I still recall: a vast rolling plateau of white clouds, stretching from horizon to horizon, looking for all the world as though we were flying above a gigantic glacier of white ice. It was stunning, with the bright sun striking shadows among the clefts of the clouds; not a break to see anywhere in the expanse.

We all watched the new movie 'Ratatouille' and enjoyed it immensely, as it was far less sappy-feel-good than I had expected. The animation was excellent, as was the comic timing.

Coming in to land at the Calgary Airport, the view was again incredible. The vast sprawl of the city suburbs were dotted with thousands of tiny dark pine trees, giving the whole vista an odd look resembling someone who hadn't shaved in a few days, all stubbly in the evening light. But the real winner was the view of the mountains to the west: they floated in the distance, a line of ethereal monsters in the twilight, their feet in shadow and their tops lit like white ghosts by the setting sun behind them. Truly amazing, and impossible to get a picture of from an airplane.

After a brief layover in Calgary, barely enough time to grab a Subway 6" sub, we were off again. Fortunately, this was only a little over an hour's flight time, which was good... as we were blessed with a screaming child three rows up, the whole way. Did I mention he kept repeating the same phrase, in another language, over and over? Lovely... an hour's worth of that, and still the tyke didn't manage to tire himself out. At least this wasn't an international haul...

Did I mention that our pilot's name was Walker? MadMax3 fans, you'll get the reference... :)

Landing in Victoria was a relief, to get away from that noise. Too bad the view from the windows was simply of lights in the darkness; I would have liked to see my new home from the air, but perhaps another time I will get the chance. We picked up the rental car and were off from the airport in a flash, though some interesting signage caused us to loop back once before we got the hang of directions.

We traveled south along the main route, the PatBay Highway, which is a lovely 4-lane divided highway that heads straight into Victoria itself. It dips and curves through the landscape, which from what I could see in the dark was still quite rocky and heavily forested. There was not a lot of heavy development, just the usual highway offshoots, though again one difference was that the highway had quite a few stoplights on it, with warning flashers about 100 meters ahead to warn traffic to slow down. The speed limit was 90kph, posted, and surprisingly most traffic kept to that, or under - shocking to my Ontario driving senses. Well-behaved drivers on highways would be something the rest of the country could learn to imitate, in my opinion.

We arrived here just after 7pm PDT. The building was easy to find, though the entrance to the parking garage was a little cramped, as was the parking space( such are the way of things ). It is located near Beacon Hill Park, quite a sizable place in the heart of downtown Victoria. Getting into the condo itself was easy, as it is on the next floor up and there is an elevator too. Looking at the place, it will be nice enough to stay in for the next few months: it has a large kitchen, laundry, two bathrooms( both with shower tubs )and two large bedrooms.

Of course, we had to unpack after such an exhausting trip... family tradition. We all went to bed well after midnight, including Tristan, who lounged out of his carrier and settled in without a fuss in the new place, which we were glad to see. The less fuss, the better; he was still drowsy but was quite happy, as he kept asking for attention as we unpacked, again a good sign of no-stress.

I was very tired, but happy to have finally arrived. Hopefully the rest of our gear would be here within a week, so we could gather some of the essentials from it and begin our search for separate accommodations in Victoria; both my parents and I would each need a 2-bedroom place with laundry, hopefully within walking / fast bus-ride distance of the downtown area.

Now, to sleep in my new hometown, and to dream of the future.