Luminara, Luna and Learning

In less than a week, I'll be in Niagara - booyah!

July 20 - Bees and RPG's

Bees - they're in trouble, and the whole world's been a-buzz about what may be causing the massive decline in bee populations, termed 'Colony Collapse Disorder'. Much like my mention last week about the world's coral reefs dying off, the loss of bees would mean the collapse of most plant life on earth. Today news arrived that the culprit is not widespread cell phone use, as many had surmised... but instead is the spread of a tiny parasite called Nosema ceranae. Now that the cause has been identified, steps can bee taken to bee proactive to prevent further losses and eventually protect against the little monsters. Good news for honey lovers everywhere! Update: According to Lucas, who has the ear of a local beekeeper, larger hives have often been placed too close together in an area, resulting in too little work for too many bees. How about that, eh?

Speaking of people with bees in their bonnets: Kingdom of Loathing is a bare-bones, dead-simple online RPG that's free and ludicrously funny - how can you go wrong with stick figures holding swords, where you can choose a class such as Accordion Thief? You owe it to yourself to check it out... but don't loathe me for it. In a related vein, UrbanDead is an online survival horror game, where you.... well, try to survive. It's a little like being inside a slow-motion version of Land of the Dead, but unique in that you can play a zombie - how's that for fun? Brains... need brains. Yum!

And what would today be without mention of the Lunar Landing Anniversary, 40 years ago today, 4 years before I was even born? I remember as a child looking up at the full moon of nights, thinking "Wow, we've actually been there, all that distance away... we can do anything." Then I'd go back inside and watch some more TV - what does that say about the modern yearning for exploration? Couch surfing, that's what it says - bring it to you with a remote control, instead of going out and putting boots on the mountaintop.

July 21 - Test Screening

I went into Victoria for a late doctor's appointment today, to see if any cause for my lingering nausea could be found. Alas, the specialist was unable to make a firm diagnosis, putting me on some 'test' antacid pills for a few months and booking me a 'scope appointment... in a year's time. Yeah... I hope to have that moved up somewhat, as I really want to ferret out whatever lingering cause I have for the unpredictable nausea. Ah well... at least it's on the books.

On the way home, I purchased a few lengths of 2" wide cedar from Home Depot, which I cut down with a handsaw once I was home. They are for my screen door project - I've never built something like that before, but I've thought it through and it seems really simple. The wood I cut today will make the frame, with two smaller pieces for corner supports... and a bit left over for mistakes. No time today to do the rest though... I had to look into some nice news that the PC Gaming Industry is not dead, as everyone keeps saying year after year for the last decade or so. Though the guys at EP Weekly have said repeatedly that the "best gaming value for your dollar" is to run things on a Macbook Pro laptop - who knew? Check out some compelling facts on the topic here - you may be surprised!

I also checked out RoboGames.net, which is the home of robot combat - for real. Much like Robot Wars of years ago on TV, the RoboGames have robot combat, as well as other pursuits like robo-soccer and other similar events. Yet the crowd favourite by far is when one metal machine is bashing the heck out of another - some of the designs show incredible talent and skill, not to mention the tactics used in the combat itself.

July 22 - Whadda mean, receipts?

Joy of joys. Almost 2 years since I moved, yet just now I get a letter from the CRA asking me to prove my moving expenses from back then..? Good thing I keep all my receipts, so it looks like I'll be spending a day or two gathering things together to send out as proof. Just when you think you are ahead, something else tosses itself in your path like a garden rake wanting to meet with your nose when you're smelling the roses... I wonder how many IRS agents are gardeners, in the US?

On that note, a good site to visit for tons of good free Canadian financial advice is CanadianBusiness.com, home of several magazies including a fave of mine, MoneySense.ca - pick up a copy at your local store if you get a chance, it's well worth the investment. You should also ensure you are VERY aware of the many ways that you can be a victim of identity theft these days - just recently, a local man close by to where I live was arrested and found to have been a major ID theft criminal; read about the story here. Criminals are becoming more and more sophisticated, getting organized to the point where their activities resemble that of large corporations, as this article talks about - scary stuff. Learn how to protect yourself( plus educate your friends & family )against this sublte but life-changing crime here.

Of course, you could always wait and try to win the lottery. But in this guy's case, it meant he was immediately sent to jail..!

This evening was slightly annoying, as I kept getting calls from our HelpDesk - as a store manager, I'm responsible for my store, and right now we're having... issues... with our internet provider. At least, we think it's the provider. As I'm not able to go into detail, I'll leave it at that I received a total of 6 calls tonight, on my day off... none of which I could ignore, and none of which ended with me able to actually fix the problem - that's somewhere up the pipe. Frustrating, but eventually we'll get it sorted.

July 23 - Happy Halo Daze

Happy Birthday to Simon, who is graciously hosting me while I stay in Niagara this coming week. I have quite a few fond memories of gaming days at his place, gathering with the guys for some pen-n-paper RPG adventure, or the louder & more frenetic Halo Days. A dozen guys packed into the place, beer & chips scattered amongst cables and humming Xbox consoles, eyes glued to glowing screens and faces lit by flashes of pixelated destruction - great fun! Did I mention the insults? "Pete, get your stick on the ice!" was my favourite - thanks, Dave. Too bad there's no 'duck & cover' button for any of the Halo games...

After work, I made an unscheduled stop for dinner with my parents at the Smokin' Bones Cookshack, which has been on my list of Places to Eat for some time. Located in central Langford, it's not much to look at from outside: just a place at one end of a plaza, without even a patio. We arrived at the perfect time: a little after 5pm, just before the dinner rush which meant we managed to score one of the 'spare' tables near the entrance - the rest of the 40 or so tables had already been reserved far in advance! The menu was simple, with decent prices - I chose the 1/2 smoked chicken with gluten-free BBQ sauce and garlic potatoes. It was fantastic! The meat was perfect: moist but not greasy, firm but not underdone... it peeled away from the bone with a slight tearing sound I have never heard from any roasted chicken before. The skin was a perfect blend of smokey BBQ and tasty texture, combining with the potatoes for a sumptuous taste feast, made all the better by the fact that the restaurant only uses local food sources, supporting the local farmers 100%. I had to take some home, as there was simply too much to take in all in one sitting.

Fueled by the fine meal, I completed the screen door project in a little over an hour, screwing the frame together using a milk crate as a set square. The screen went on with the help of my dad and a newly-purchased staple gun from the nearby Home Depot( conveniently located next to where I work )with nearly straight lines holding down the screen. Total cost of the project, including wood, screen, stapler, staples and screws? $42.00 with taxes... read into that what you will. All in all, I am very pleased with the results, especially as it is going to get very warm here in the coming few weeks - projected around 33 degrees with humidity, on average. Catching the cool breezes in the morning and evening from the lake, while closing up the house during the day, should keep temperatures well below the sweltering 30+ degrees we suffered through in early June this year.

July 24 - I tune, You Tune..

Work today was hectic, but several problems I had been dreading the appearance of never surfaced or solved themselves, so by the evening I had breathed a large mental sigh of relief. In case you missed it last week, you can relax of an evening watching episodes of Family Guy for free at FamilyGuyDirect.com - again I have to say, it's VERY rare to find such a site outside the USA, where media contents rights usually mean such sites are only available within that country's borders. Boo!

After much annoyance, I finally managed to get an iTunes account working with my credit card( seems many people are having problems with iTunes and their cards )so I can now use it with my new iPod Shuffle( won it @ work free a few weeks ago! ). I also snagged a year-long pass to Stoked from iTunes, not wanting to wait for it to pass me by on Teletoon at odd times of day - I am three hours behind here in BC, y'know. Sweet! Definitely be sure you check out some of the episodes on Teletoon.com if you haven't already; the animation is stellar( hi Mike! )and the show is just plain fun to watch.

Ever since Dr. No, people have wanted to hug a nuke. Now, you can. Sweet! And here I thought post-apocalyptic themes were all doom & gloom...

July 25 - Luminara Windows

Do you hate Windows Vista, or even just dislike it more than the next person? There's a good article at TechRepublic that covers 10 Reasons Why Vista Haters will Love Windows7... which I have preordered, so we'll see how the final version turns out - it was recently announced that it's on track for an October 2009 release. C|net also has a nice video that talks about how nice Win7 is... but then we heard that about Vista previous to it's release too, didn't we?

For the Mac users among you: here's a YouTube video demo of someone running the Windows7 beta on a Macbook Pro - very cool!

Sooo... if you're brave enough to upgrade, you should know by now what you should do: Back Up Your Data. I have four external hard drives here, plus a few others kicking around, and I still find myself looking for a bit more room some days( though recent advances in 1TB drives means things are a LOT faster under the hood ). Yet eventually every hard drive will die on you - if you're lucky, it will only be corrupted yet still spin up when powered. In which case, it would be damn handy to have a USB stick with a few data recovery programs on hand to rescue those pictures of your kid's first steps, that recent birthday party, or what-have-you. Because it will happen to you - losing data is an experience you only ever do once, because once it's all gone you never, ever want that sort of thing to happen again.

Until the next time you put off that regular, boring monthly backup... especially if your area is experiencing extreme rainfall, causing flooding - like the last 3 days in Southern Ontario / Niagara! It rained here tonight, which was a welcome respite from a month-long dry spell - forest fires are a very real danger here in the summer, with tons of dry fuel just waiting for a spark. I actually heard some rolls of thunder last night too, for a few minutes - very unusual here,

Tonight was also the annual Luminara Festival in Victoria, which quite literally was a washout thanks to the rain as mentioned above. Which is too bad, really - it's quite a nice night event, but I didn't attend this year as I don't really have anyone to go with. Last year, all I did was wander around with a camera trying to capture the lovely images with a device that wasn't really suited to the low-light conditions.

July 26 - Hot COD4 and Civ!

Hoboy, it's hot out today - highs reached 30 degrees, plus humidity thanks to the rain yesterday, lots of moisture out there to bake out of the ground and plants. My screen door's proving useful, though again only in the morning and evenings as it's too hot to let the wind blow through the place - it'd just add to the heat, so we try to limit the hot airflow during the 10am-4pm period. S'working well so far...

The heat hasn't stopped the crowds from gathering in the park next door though - once again the dock is packed with people baking themselves silly in the sun, where the smarter few of the bunch soaking in the cooler lake waters. A few of them will likely get sunburned... and perhaps develop some skin problems because of it. Which, being in Canada, means that our health system will foot most of the bill - unlike in the USA, where 46 million people don't have any form of health insurance. That's a scary thing folks; even scarier is that within 50 years, projections show that the majority of the United State's GDP will be going towards supporting pensioners and the failing health care system, easily outstripping defence spending. What kind of a country that will create is beyond my imagining right now.

I want, SO want, one of THESE for my next birthday. The big questions: where to park it, and when to use it? In the meantime, I still want one of these too.

Typical plan for my Sundays off is... Morning: do stuff around the house, play a bit of COD4. Noon: sit out on the deck, read a bit until the Noise Next Door gets too distracting, then inside again. Afternoon: work on the blog, watch some shows like DottoTech TV, which is a great ongoing show whose genial host Dotto goes over useful new tech for the g33k in all of us, and best of all: it's a 100% Canadian show.

In the late afternoon, I played a game of Civ:Rev with Lucas & Nigel... at least, we tried to. The 4th game lasted the longest, though Lucas was eliminated early on - payback for the Spanish Debacle! Connection problems caused the last game to tank though, so we gave up for the night on that - disappointing. Bill, Matt & a pal of his and I turned to COD4 again for a few hours and though we didn't do so well, Matt showed me a few things about different game matches I didn't know, plus some tips on using some familiar weapons in different situations - very helpful, thanks! For those interested: the M16A4 has a 3-round burst, very useful when paired with a red-dot sight on most medium to long-range boards. Quick and accurate, it really helped me balance my score in several matches, though I still have to work on my close-in game. Matt also suggested a UAV Jammer paired with a silencer, again a winning combo for the Lone Wolf Assassin. A few more minutes downloading some things from XboxLive, and then I turned in for the night.

Next time I update the blog, it will be from Niagara! Yee-hah!

Birthdays, Butchart and Buckaroo

11 days to go until I am Niagara-bound! Whooo-hoooo!!

July 13th - What do you mean, she's not there???

Today was my day off... or so I thought. After a meeting this morning with a few folks, I received a call on my work phone that my staffer had not shown up to work on time. After some frantic phone calls per procedure, she was located... at home, having forgotten she was working and was in no shape to do so today. Which meant that as of 12pm, I was at work and getting the store open. On my day off. Needless to say, I was NOT impressed. Not in the least.

To change the topic: are you a transumer? I'd not heard of it until today, but I can relate to some things in the article... renting, really. Having moved literally a ton of stuff across the country a few years ago, I can see the benefits of just renting what you need, when you need it. Much like Brewster's Millions, where Richard Pryor had to get rid of thirty million dollars in thirty days, You can read more about the trend here... just rent the time and read. I also suggest reading The Cheapskate Guide's 50 Tips for Frugal Living, which is a great way to examine if you are being too materialistic in your life. In particular, I like the article that goes in-depth comparing the merits of Renting Vs. Owning your home - something I have always said needs to be examined for each person, and that I personally feel leans more towards renting than owning, given the experiences I have had myself in that department.

Speaking of the Eighties, loyal readers may recall I am a fan of most things Ghostbuster, so when I came across this short interview with Harold Ramis where he talks on That Topic, I was thrilled. Especially as I have yet to pick up the recent game release - so many things to play, so little budget / time. Maybe when I retire... in the meantime, I'll be re-watching my copy of Buckaroo Banzai, one of those films that you won't admit you own but can't stop watching - cult status, really. Rewind...

Oh, and a month ago: it was the World Naked Bike Ride in Victoria, which I commented on last year. Missed it again this year...

July 14th - Fallout

Today I worked again, instead of taking the day off to compensate for yesterday - I can't leave my trainee off for an extra day, as it will throw off her training schedule and we have to get her ready ASAP. The more trained staff we have, the better it will be in the next few months. Did I mention I wasn't impressed with what happened yesterday? I'm less so today.

As yet I have not picked up a copy of Fallout3, which I may hold off on until later in the year; even the used copies are more than $60.00 for the Xbox360. I may grab the PC version if it drops further in price, though I am tempted to get a copy of Fallout2 from GoG.com for $10.00 - how can you beat that? In the meantime, some Russian Fallout fans put together an incredible photo collage that seems to be lifted straight from in-game scenes - but in real life. Check it out!

So does that make me sound cheap? Well... I DO like things for free. Or close to it. So when I found ALL 7 seasons of Family Guy available to watch online for free, I bookmarked the site so fast I sprained my fingers. See for yourself here - I still can't believe it.

Inflation is one of those things that confuses people almost as much as programming their VCR's used to, before we all got PVR's that did most everything for us. Unfortunately, inflation will be with us for far longer and still be as difficult to get your head around. I did come across this excellent article that explains the basics, and why in some countries they've printed billion-dollar bills, just like in The Simpsons. Can you imagine that in loose change? Yikes!

July 15th - Moving Friends

What the heck? After dancing a jig a few months ago upon hearing that Futurama is being brought back to life, this bit of awful news surfaced - what the heck is Fox thinking? I mean, really... if you have a Good Thing Going, don't MESS with it. Now I'm going to stew for a bit and hope it works out properly while searching for an online petition to sign...

On a happier note, I received an email when I finally got home( late )from 2 of my former neighbours over on May St. in Victoria. It seems they recently decided to jump on the condo bandwagon and purchase one right here in Langford! So now I have 2 people I actually know here in town, which is great - while I'm great company, it gets a little wearing being with myself all the time. Gah... next I'll be comparing myself to some form of social butterflies!

Things are pretty stressful here right now, and have been for a while. I have to say I am really looking forward to my trip to Niagara at the end of the month, to symbolically get away from it all, though as we all know your problems usually don't diminish with just a simple thing like distance. However, going to a familiar setting, being among friends and not having to work... I hope all that adds up to loosen some of these knots in my shoulders, not to mention the mental ones.

But when things get too stressful, just... have some bacon ice cream. Mmmm.

July 16th - Happy B-day To Moi

Up early-ish today for a doctor's appointment in Victoria, which went very well: he said I was looking healthy & fit, which was gratifying. Looks like it's just a good diet & exercise for me, now that the faulty gall bladder's gone for good. Though I'm still getting nausea, it's only after some meals so I'm working to track down a food-related source for that. After that, it was a pause for a few minutes at Clover Point, to take in the magnificent view of the Olympic Mountains to the south from the parkway along Dallas Road - I also found a really interesting rock that resembles a flattened moon( yes, it's odd... but that's what I like! ).

Work was great; along with a few birthday wishes, I was given CAKE! Not just ANY cake, but some confectionery ambrosia that combined ice cream, coffee cake, caramel and a hard chocolate shell into something that was stunningly tasty down to the last tiny morsel. Thanks for that!

Back at home, I settled back and typed quite a few thank-you's to everyone for the many birthday wishes; it means a lot to me being way out here that people are still thinking about me. Thanks, everyone. I finished off the evening with a solitary( and long-saved )Guinness while watching Two Week's Notice, which stars two of my more favourite actresses: Sandra Bullock and Alicia Witt. Hugh Grant was in there too, doing his usual bumbling-but-charming British Fine Fellow act - he had some great lines, surprisingly.

And I went to bed dreaming of one of these - only available at the San Diego Comic Con, darn it! The Top 10 Most Anticipated Movies showing at the Con is listed here courtesy of Spike.com - Megan Fox is in there, Transformers fans... a neat tie-in to the above dream-toy. Mmm-hmmm.

July 17th - SciFi Supreme

When writing, there are a myriad of things to consider, not the least of which is the audience. This is even more critical in TV-land, where audiences can be fickle and finicky beasts. Some of the best writers out there have figured out how to write AS the audience, at least when it's necessary if the story has more holes than the US Military Budget. So, io9.com has put together a list of favourite characters who speak what the audience is thinking, which is really worth a look - many of my favourite shows are mentioned.

Though it may not matter - io9.com also posted this article, about a 15-mile-long biological ooze just spotted drifting south from Alaska. It's The Blob - run!

Which brings me neatly back to this: some really, really cool concept art for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, one of my all-time favourite stories. Superb artwork, along the lines of Steampunk but with an edge I've not seen anywhere else before... I hope, I hope, that any reboot of 20K Under gets this artist on board!

I really hope that someone remembers that R.A. Salvatore is a writer also brimming with talent untapped for other media( though Stephen King seems to be getting The Dark Tower up and running in movieland ). I just finished reading Salvatore's book The Highwayman, which was written around a rather original idea for the protagonist hero. Given that originality is something sorely lacking, according to people in the book business, I've always enjoyed following amazing authors like Salvatore or Ed Greenwood. Nothing like having high standards to live up to!

July 18th - Signs of Life

For the more artistically inclined amongst you, I present: the Wacom Guitar. That's right, a USB-enabled guitar mated with a genuine Wacom touch tablet. Will music ever be the same again? Watch the video on the page and judge for yourself. What's next? A hydrogen-powered bass guitar? Hopefully something better than this glow-cube Gmail notifier - something almost totally useless but hideously complicated to construct. Why, I ask? Why?

Work was somewhat wearing today: a busy Friday with a trainee is no time to be trying to solve problems that crop up continuously all day long. All part of the job, but for the next few months it's going to be very, very busy for me - more responsibility for the same pay, really. But I'd rather that than otherwise, I think, despite the grey hairs I can feel curling their way finally into my rakish mop.

Though I wouldn't want to be the person held responsible for solving this one - despite it being pretty funny. Vandals: 1 - City: 0. Rematch? Maybe someone should submit the picture to FunnySigns.com for posterity's sake...

After a final, long day at work, I cycled home... then caught a ride into Victoria to visit with some of my friends there, who had sent me a last-minute invite to a backyard BBQ. I arrived too late for anything more than a Mike's Hard Lime, but we did spend a few fun hours traipsing about the neighbourhood discoursing on various topics, winding up back at their house to discuss other things while a few folk showed off their musical guitar talents. Also brought up for some reason: Flappers. Don't ask.

July 19th - Flower Power

After adjusting my room to include some solid blackout blinds, I've been sleeping better this last week. So much so that I managed to wake myself today, instead of jumping up to the blare of the clock radio. I was awake enough to put in a few solid hours of COD4 with my friends, which I had a decent run with before having to head out for the day - after one helluva nice turkey dinner which was held over from my birthday a few days past.

Where did I go? Off to Butchart Gardens, to try and relax for the day to forget about my worries. It was the perfect day for it: sunny blue skies without a single cloud, hot but not uncomfortably so. Which meant that the place was crowded nut not unbearably so - everyone who was there had made the trip to enjoy the natural beauty, so apart from the occasional small child it was quite a pleasant crowd moving along the paths. I took some great pictures, though most of them were simply closeups of blooms whose colours looked almost surreal in the perfect sunshine. Too bad the ice cream prices were surreal as well: $6.50 for a double-scoop? C'mon... that's closing in on Canada's Wonderland prices, where two pizzas can set you back over $50.00 - and we're not talking party trays from Domino's here, either. I came back by way of UVic, where I finally managed to see firsthand some of the many feral rabbits that blanket the campus, which is huge - it makes BrockU look like someone's backyard patio in comparison. However cute the rabbits may be, they have become quite a problem because... well, they breed like rabbits.

In the evening, I played another hour of single-player COD4 just to get in some practice so I wouldn't stink so badly next time around. Then, work on my blog for an hour or two, while listening to songs via the Musiic player I recently installed - another Freebie. Nothing like using YouTube to stream music legally through the 'net - another gain for Tech, another loss for the media barons.

No closing comments... just Save and Quit early on the blog for a change; going to bed to ease my aching head.

Rings, Retro and Recovery

Just a few weeks to go!

July 5th - Travel

As above: in less than a month as of today, I will be in Niagara - I board my flight early the morning of July 31st from BC, and stay until the afternoon of August 8th; over a week! Thanks again to Martin's massive generosity, I shall be able to visit the place of my birth once again, see many of my friends and do Lots Of Relaxing. I'll be bringing my laptop of course, as I also hope to get some writing done whilst said Relaxing is in progress. There's a few spots I recall as being most excellently suited to such activities, with the minor addition of some ice cream and / or soft music, both of which are readily( and cheaply )available thereabouts. *grin*

For those of you with more means or wider-ranging travel dreams than I, may I humbly suggest bookmarking LonelyPlanet.com. The site is packed with travel tips and information, as well as inspiring ideas of places to travel to on this huge spinning blue marble we all share. Heck, they even have a section where you can debate( or discover? )what the Best Beer in the World is! I do also miss my 1,000 Places to See Before You Die calendar from last year, which is why I was pleased to see this recent article from Yahoo Travel on the same topic - now all I need is to figure what one of the many How To Get Rich Quick ideas to use.

Nah. I'll just take the financial advice in this article instead - much great chance of success, though over a longer period of time.

July 6th - Old Made New Again

You knew I was going to mention it: United Breaks Guitars. Watching that hit counter grow every day from thousands, to hundreds of thousands, to millions - wow. That's viral marketing at work, folks - the power behind such shows as Britain's Got Talent and all those. Media magnification© at it's finest!

Video games have always been near and dear to my heart, though I am the first to admit I enjoy the actual playing of them more than finishing them; more of a 'journey rather than the destination matters' thing, I suppose. I have a LOT of games on the shelves, more than I realized... far more than I ever collected compared to the few numbers of CD's, so I guess that's where my money went in those days, rather than into the vast music collections some of you hopefully still retain. As I look over my collection, there are quite a few gems there... so I was pleased as anything to discover that quite a few of those great games have been updated and collected for sale at GoG.com.

Good Old Games, as they call themselves, has updated dozens of older PC game titles for download and use on Windows XP and Vista( even 64-bit like mine! )at incredibly low prices - most of the games are $10.00 or less, with titles like MDK2, Descent( which made me ill the 1st time I played! )and the original Fallout. It made me smile to see so many, and I think I will have to get a few of my favourites to play again on my new laptop, along with a few I missed the first time around. Outdated as most of them are, the gameplay is where they shine, not the graphics which have marched solidly onwards over the years.

Yet there is a lot to be said for new technology... when it can bring you images like these. That's right, robot fans - Mechwarrior is back after being on hiatus since 2002. Bring on the battle tech! Best of all: MechWarrior 4 is going to be released for download soon, free!

July 7th - Coral and Contests

Scary news today: what with the current global economic crisis, Korean tensions, H1N1 and the loss of Michael Jackson, do we need more bad news? Sorry but yes... it's a big one. Despite warnings about Global Warming and the ozone layer, most people are not too worried about the environment crashing, thinking that films like The Day After Tomorrow are overdoing things in the usual Hollywood style.

But what it the world ended with a whimper, not a bang? That's just what scientists studying the world's coral reefs told reporters today, warning that this critical food-chain link is in jeopardy and may die out completely within the century. Think about it: dead oceans... dead planet. I'm scared all over again, now.

For those of you who enjoy entering contests, but are wisely wary of scam-sites that will sell your contact info to phone marketers like the scum at Imperial Majesty Cruise Lines, who pestered me some months back until I simply told them I was not planning to take any vacations in the next decade due to a total lack of money as a perpetual student in school. They stopped calling, amazingly. After much searching, I located LookContests.com, which is a wonderful free site that compiles ONLY legitimate contests from companies such as those from Ford, Skittles, etc - no chance of fraudsters taking your info here. A neat feature of the site is that it sorts the contests into categories such as daily, weekly or unlimited entries and lets you keep track of the ones you have already entered - great for those contests that will disqualify anyone attempting more than one entry in a certain time period. So far, I've not won anything... but as the saying goes: nothing ventured nothing gained. Better yet: no noticeable increase in my junk mail, even after a few months.

July 8th - Pedal Power

Today was a hot day, which means power use was up as people ran their A/C more to keep cool. In the future, as we all know, demand for electricity is going to outstrip supply, which is why it is important we develop things like the Smart Grid all the sooner. C|Net has an excellent article on the topic, which reveals many exciting possibilities, one of which I touched on previously concerning electric cars that may be used in their millions to assist the Grid at peak demand times. A sure sign that this is going to be the wave of the future are the various power-generation kits now available at places like Canadian Tire, hopefully just the start of simpler ways for people to reduce their demand for electricity. I know that such a unit here would easily generate energy most evenings, when the wind is high from the north over the lake; setting up a battery system to store that free juice would take a little doing, but it excites me that such things are now a semi-realistic option without huge expense or training involved. Even Vancouver is getting on board, with news that they are going to require all new development to accommodate electric cars, with plugs installed for charging. Progress!

Though it was rather sweaty today on the road, I'm back to riding my bike to work most days. At less than 2km( with a large cardio-improving hill smack in the middle )the ride there and back is a good workout but not such a drain that I arrive winded, or can't do it after a long, wearing day... I am glad to say that I am feeling very much recovered from my surgery, though I am going easy on the exercise - slow and steady are the increases, says the doctor. The same with my diet; I have had few nausea attacks since the operation, which I accredit to my system getting rid of the last of the poisons my malfunctioning gall bladder had splashed around during its overextended stay. I hope by the end of the summer to be back on track to proper health, while avoiding any temptation to fall into bad food habits - McDonald's has not seen me for the last ten years of my life, nor shall they ever again. Bleh!

July 9th - And I thought they smelled bad...

Some amusing news: if you want to travel into the future, apparently all it takes is to move to northern B.C. where the clocks are running fast... for over 65,000 people, that is.

A bit of a letdown today, regarding one of my more-liked shows on HGTV. It seems that Restaurant Makeover is not as highly thought of as I had surmised, though I admit it is somewhat formulaic and contrived at times. Still, I like seeing places go from blah to rah! so to speak, and it's an entertaining hour of non-violent TV which is fairly rare these days. Everyone needs a break from explosions, people screaming at each other and stress, wouldn't you agree?

Thus, the question runs to purchasing one of these - word is that they'll be available soon, though not in what sizes. Oh, the uncertainty - just like surviving a night outside on the ice planet Hoth!

And for those who may have thought I've left bacon out of this week's blog - think again.

July 10th - Debating About Working

Today was a Development Day at work, where another manager and I were walked though the Golden Path of Enlightenment, as envisaged by MMart. I was surprised by the depth of some of the material, and pleased that though it was challenging, I could see myself getting my head around it - albeit with the requisite hard work. It looks like my time at work for the next while is going to be even busier, what with managing the store, training a new hire and getting myself on track with new expectations and responsibilities. While I fully realize that I am not making as much as some managers in other businesses, I do not think I would have received even half the wide-ranging training I have been getting now at this company. What annoys the $%#@! out of me though, is all those earlier wasted years at CCCorp in ON, where I steered myself out of management for several good reasons, not the least among them their haphazard, half-assed promotion and training practices.

One of the topics covered was assisting employees in reaching their goals, be it at work or at home, including helping them save for things like vacations without breaking the bank. A possibility for them would be to work from home, for a few months to help supplement their income, without necessitating them taking a second job and so making their primary job( ie. MMart )suffer from the overload. A good site to help in finding reputable home employment is Monster.Ca, which has some tips on the topic, as well as WhyDoWork.com - I love the name!

Darn it, why can't we all just toss off the shackles of capitalism, to embrace something better? I recommend that you sidle on over to CreatedDebate.com to see what thousands of people have said about the mishaps and merits of the capitalist system designed to make the rich richer, and the poor, um... unemployed. Having seen myself some of the consequences of failing social systems firsthand in Mexico, I have to say that many of the socialist aspects of Canada are heartily endorsed by yours truly. Though I also feel that indeed, the rich get richer while the middle class goes in circles, and the poor get turned into mailboxes.

July 11th - Sad in Sunshine

I was definitely glad to be off today, as I was feeling rather sad... odd, given the sunny weather; not sure why, maybe events are catching up to me - hard to say. I think my annoyance of the afternoon gave way to melancholy, as I tried yet again to enjoy the deck out the back but was defeated by the idiots at the park next door. John Q. Public, take note: if you are in a huge park for the day, where the houses are mere specks in the distance, enjoy yourself and let your kids romp.

However, if the park is a tiny postage stamp nestled into a neighbourhood where the homes are RIGHT NEXT TO THE PARK, don't let your pack of little monsters scream their fool heads off ALL DAY LONG while pushing each other off the dock on the nice, QUIET lake. People like myself may come out onto their decks, some fifty feet away or so, and stare at you with their arms crossed, perhaps becoming angered to the point of calling the police to have a chat with you. And that's what the nice, calm neighbours might do, at the very least. Be warned.

In any case, I settled inside for most of the day, where closed windows and earplugs abated the noise and consoled myself with words. I read a good deal of a book I've not looked at in over a decade: The Ring, by Daniel Keys Moran and was loosely based on Wagner's tale Der Ring des Nibelungen. Moran also wrote Emerald Eyes, another novel concerning telepaths. I wonder what he might have been like if tapped to write a few episodes of Babylon 5, where telepaths figured prominently in the major plotlines. Interesting thought, and amusing along the same lines as this never-published article about how he came to write The Ring... which is a warning to authors everywhere.

In case you haven't checked out his site recently, Neil Gaiman's been quite busy in his usual excellent way. Being one of my favourite authors, I find his semi-regular journal a great read, as it shows his writing style at his informal best without adding in the( many )extra passes that editors and himself make on his words. Stellar.

July 12th - Duty Calls Again!

Popping onto xBoxLive! today, I ran across the guys playing COD4 online, just like last summer - so much for COD5, yay! I happily spent a good part of the day gaming with them, enjoying the banter and the basic pleasure of blasting the crap out of the enemy; very cathartic. Damn, I know I've said it before, but it is just awesome to be able to game with some of my good friends from thousands of miles away - great to 'see' you, guys.

The evening saw me working on my NWN project, talking with several of my project comrades and plugging away at my current slice of the pie. I am writing up small 1 or 2 sentence random item descriptions, to be integrated into our own unique item generation code. Simply put, it will randomly generate 'treasure' items based on a number of factors in the game, allowing a vast range of uniquely tradable( and thus valuable )items to be made without needing to hand-create thousands of them one by one. In essence, we will allow players the thrilling possibility of getting some Really Cool Stuff when they adventure, with a little hard work on our part beforehand translating into a fantastic in-game experience. I'm really gobsmacked that I've managed to assemble such a talented and dedicated crew to do all this, so doing my share is as vitally important to me as keeping the whole thing on track.

So, it's back to work... I've items to imagine!

Bots, Biscuits and Bozos

Did anyone find a few packs of Smarties out there with the blue ones inside? They're vanishing fast...!

June 29th - Simpson Games

As I mentioned already a few weeks ago, I'll be returning to Niagara on July 31st for Nigel & Shawna's wedding, plus a week of relaxation and visitation. I was thrilled today to discover that the GO train travels directly from Pearson Airport to St. Catharines - for a trivial $14.05 fee, I can skip weekend traffic and the cost of a rental car! Yay! I'm still not sure if I will rent a car for the week while I am there, or just use the bus and rent a car when needed on a day-to-day basis. I'm quite used to walking or cylcling around town here in B.C. so depending on a car for transport seems rather odd to me now. Which is odd too.

Those of you who like The Simpsons are probably familiar with fan-art drawings of them, like this one from DeviantArt.com where the characters are drawn in a unique anime style - the artist has since gone on to fame and fortune thanks to that single picture, huzzah! Others have gone a different route, where they 'Simpsonize' characters, quite often from Sci-Fi - Dylan Meconis has done the entire cast of BSG, plus there are galleries for DC Comics characters, Marvel, movies and other characters... over a hundred characters in all. Quite a different take on the usual comic image.

Being a day off, it vanished fairly quickly - I ended up installing a few more games on my laptop, including Battlefield2, StarWars BattlefrontII, and one of my favourites: Dawn Of War, which is set in the Warhammer40K universe - tabletop gaming brought into the computer age in 3D. Which still doesn't mean you can't create your own boardgame pieces fairly easily... this shows you how. Simple!

June 30th - Mmmm.... Timmy's!

I was at the Colwood branch for a change today, actually arriving an hour earlier to do an interview for a prospective hire. One of my favourite things is the Bacon Breakfast Biscuit at Tim Horton's, which is where I did the interview today( I recommended she be hired ). Back to the biscuit: not too doughy, with just the right about of Crumbly Factor to it; a firm texture and a delightful taste, topped with cheese and bacon. One heckuva good start to the day... and a good thing too, because it was $#@! busy, being the last day of the month plus the last banking day before the holiday tomorrow. I felt rather stretched when I went home, 2 hours past when I had been scheduled to - I just didn't want to leave the other staffer to handle the massive influx of last-minute customers we were getting. Silly people.

Tonight also saw me send out a 90-day update to the members of my NWN project, to keep everyone updated and on track. It's very difficult to keep people who are on different time schedules in all parts of the world coordinated, but so far we are managing. Shared visions are tricky things, yet I am hopeful everything will be getting off the ground soon.

Another virtual world I miss is based on Battletech, where you run around as giant robots blasting other robots piloted by your friends to glowing little bits. There was a Battletech Centre at the base of the CN Tower way back in the 90's, which has long since vanished... but I did manage to find mention of an updated version being present at the Origins Games Convention this year. Simulator pods for giant robots... if I only had the capital to open one here or in Niagara Falls - tourist dollars! The official Virtual World website has a comprehensive listing of sites where the simulators will be this year - moblie mech madness!

And if you don't like virtual worlds, you can always just grab some wood, nails and glue to build your own. Plus you could hire this guy to do it - skills!

July 1st - Red and White

Happy Birthday Canada. I'll let others express my feelings about this lovely country we all share. Love ya.

For once, I didn't have any plans, or anywhere to go. I had expected to work today, but at the last moment yesterday I received word that Head Office had decided to closed my branch for the holiday. It was lovely to have the day off, with pay, but I had made no plans with anyone and so I simple stayed home and enjoyed the time off in the morning, because...

Unsurprisingly, by noon the park next door was packed with partying people. so much so that nearly 20 people crowded the tiny floating dock alone - this all in on a surface area the size of a modest bathroom. It likely made for a lot of new aquiatances and friendliness, but there was barely room to swig a beer out there, from what I could see. Thankfully nobody decided to dose the crowd with high-amperage music, as the chatter levels were loud enough already.

In the main, I kept to the quieter parts of the house - the racket next door in the park gradually died down towards dinnertime as more and more people left to attend various festivities elsewhere. I received word from a friend via text msg that the downtown was impossibly packed with people around the Inner Harbour - a literal zoo. So my desire to travel down there for the fireworks evaporated; I didn't want to wander around alone in a crowd, trying to find friends somehow, even with the convenience of cell phones.

July 2nd - Up, up and awa....zzzz...

I had my new trainee for the third day today; she seems to be taking things in fairly well. though it's obviously too early to tell much beyond that. Being a certified trainer for the company is an interesting thing, in that I get to pass along all my accumulated wisdom in measured doses and see how much sticks. So far, things seem to be going well, avoiding overload while making sure we stick to a schedule to cover all the bases. It's nice that we're at a store where some days are much quieter than others, as there's a lot of reading to do and I want to break that up with practical practice fairly regularly. So far, so good.

On the topic of training: I wish, I wish, that I had this list in grade school to learn my ABC's from. Though I seemed to have turned out to be a SciFi fan anyway, thanks perhaps to my superhero Underroos and Superfriends wallpaper( mind had Shazam and no villains )in my childhood room. Made for good dreams!

On the other hand, some things most people just don't think about, like what happens to Disney Princesses when Ever After isn't so happy after all...

July 3 - Fridaze

Today I worked at our Colwood branch, and boy was it busy. It didn't help that I was with a newer teller, so that I ended up doing at least three transactions for every one of his... ah well. Better that there were two of us there to handle things, with my trainee hovering nearby taking it all in as best she could.

Sometimes, I wonder about the work week. I wonder that we all have to work, or at least the majority of us do. Some of us are lucky enough to love the jobs we do, in that they pay well enough that we don't have to worry incessantly about things like balancing the budget monthly. Adding kids into the mix only complicates things, which makes me all the more impressed with single mothers out there who make many sacrifices for their kids. Needing to work stinks, in my opinion, as most anyone you ask would rather not be working if they had the choice, apart from those who feel a calling towards their profession or the need for fame and fortune.

Thoughts on that? Anyone? Or am I wrong in that all of you would rather be doing what you're doing?

Maybe the folks at CLAW have the right idea... while British Airways might go to the other extreme to survive.

Or, if you can believe it, you can stab your friends on an MMO in the back to make some real-world cash. It just happened in EVE Online - scary!

July 4th - Boom and Bust

There were no fireworks for me today, just like on Canada Day - some people had told me that if the weather was right, one could stand on Dallas Rd on the southern edge of Victoria and look towards Port Angeles to see their fireworks for the Fourth of July over there in the USA. I was too exhausted from my day: between a busy customer day( good weather / sunny skies always does that )and trying to train my new hire, plus all the manager duties for the end of the month, every minute of the day was full. As are every day of mine for the next 2 months as I train - but that's part of the job, and I'll do my best.

Unfortunately, the evening was a wash, as our landlord did something that managed to both surprise and shock myself and my parents. I won't go into the details, but suffice to say all of our small 'goodwill' projects around the place have been suspended indefinitely, pending an explanation - if any is forthcoming, that is. Sadly, I was less shocked than my parents, as my grasp of the foibles and frailties of the human condition is much more refined than theirs, with my near-decade spent at MMart dealing with people, money and all the lovely trouble that conjures up. I have to say I am disappointed too, as I had been looking forward to more yardwork to get in shape, beautifying the place bit by bit as time and enery permits. Who doesn't want to improve the place they live in, without spending money, when they can?

But, being handy doesn't always mean the work you do is... good. Unlike Mike Holmes, the guys at ThereIfixedIt.com come up with solutions that will never be called elegant, pretty or professional - but they do make for good photos, so go have a look.

July 5th - Last Sunny Day

My morning was somewhat groggy, as I didn't sleep well last night( see above ). My mind, being the temple that it is, was busy whirring with possibilities and such late into the night, and so kept my body awake. At least I was able to sleep in a bit today, though the open window last night let me catch the unpleasant encounter of the dog next door meeting something nasty... though I don't believe it was a cougar.

First thing after breakfast today I eagarly logged onto Future Shop's site to pre-order Windows 7, as they had it at a 50% discount, plus a 'Staycation' Coupon for $10.00 off that... quite a deal. Or so I thought. You think I could get the site to let me order the thing? Nope. It stuck me in a loop, saying that I could neither ship nor pick up the item, no matter what I did. Very, very frustrating.

Instead of driving, I cycled over to Future Schlock to see what could be done... of course I was disappointed with the outcome. After a lot of head-scratching on the floor( great service there, fellahs... not. )the staff directed me to call the Customer Service line... where I eventually was told the item was actually Sold Out. Since the website didn't actually SAY this anywhere, I was rather put out... and chalked it up again to poor e-commerce design. Really: get it together, F.Schlock.

I managed to shed my disappointment by mid-afternoon, after diving into a 3-hour session of Civ:Rev that ended when I suddenly won in the middle of my grand plan - I hate that. The 'You have Won!' screen pops up and all of a sudden you are done, plans unfinished and that sense of victory stolen from you without rancor - darn the luck. Why can't that happen when I buy a lottery ticket - surprise win! I'd be good with that!

In the evening, I took the bus south to Victoria( it was door to door practially - wow! )to attend a 'meeting' a work: we started our new financial year this month, so staff gathered from the region to relax and eat free food while swapping stories. My fave part were the door prizes: I managed to randomly pick the best one there, an iPod Shuffle! Go me! Now I have some portable tunes, and I won't feel so behind the times... but have I given a little bit of my soul to Apple after all?

Time will tell... for now, I will Shuffle on!


That's it for the week... less than a month until I am Niagara-bound!

Ruins, Redheads and R.I.P.

Did you know that Mars Canada has cut all production of green & blue Smarties? Apparently synthetic dyes are on the out, so as of now, if you have a box with those colours, save it - they're collectables!

June 22 - Old Stones

Similar to my friend friend Bob's Ruined Niagara blog, I ran across this: Abandoned Places In The World. There are quite a few cool places listed there, starting off with an abandoned Japanese industrial island that looks to be straight out of a sci-fi movie. I hope that they update soon; Bob's blog has been remiss of late, so I can only wish that he'll stumble across some new ruins soon to share with us all...

There was a news story this month that notches rather nicely into the above topic: how the St. Lawrence Seaway was a Bad Idea. Having grown up next to the Welland Canal, I was used to seeing giant cargo ships passing by majestically on their way to deliver cargoes from around the world. The article talks about how bad the Seaway is for the environment of the Great Lakes, as well as the ever-diminishing cargo loads that are traveling through it - far below the projections that the original builders had for it to accomplish by this date.

Mondays - that's about it for me. Just relaxing and recovering - the doctor said that after this Wednesday, I can go back to biking to work as long as I don't push myself. In a month I can begin regular exercises, including light abdominal workouts - I plan mainly to focus on the cardio work, and leave the rest of it until after I return from Niagara. One nice thing about working where I have been for so long is that I have a ton of vacation time saved up. Even counting my trip in a month, I'll still have over two weeks of vacation time left, and that's taking into account the week I've already used at the start of June for my operation. Sweet!

June 23 - Hee-Haw?

Way, waaaay back in the day, when computers were just stumbling out of their monochromatic phase and games were able to fit quite nicely on a single 5.25" disk, there was a game called M.U.L.E. from a tiny company called Ozark Softscape. It came out in 1983, and proposed a novel idea: what it computer games were designed to bring people together to play, instead of just being a single-player experience? This novel concept saw M.U.L.E.( which stands for 'Multiple Use Labour Element )arrive on shelves to become a classic of classics, that rare game that is fun and new every time you play it. Several clones of the game were made( including one for the Amiga! Ha! )which are listed on this very informative page entitled Subtrade. There is even some concept art for the game here - very good, for a fan-made art sheet.

Since the arrival of the internet and much better computer hardware, a few fans have managed to create AMO, which is Atari Mule Online. Yes, you heard it right: you can now download and play a game of M.U.L.E. with your friends, online... something the original designers of the game could only dream of 25 years ago. Sweet! Anybody want to play a game...?

MMO's these days seem to be taking a new path: no longer are they behemoths charging a monthly fee to play. Instead, the game is free to play... but supported through microtransactions, meaning players can augment & customize their characters through small purchases within the game world. Add a hat, a bigger gun or some fancy boots to make you faster - the more you pay, the cooler the play, or so the idea goes. The new Battlefield: Heroes is one of these games, and I will be checking it out this week, should I manage to get it working - for some reason, it just doesn't want to connect me to a server... overload, perhaps?

June 24 - Brekkie with the Bear

I had breakfast at A&W this morning, of all places - and it was good! They open at 6am, which is nice, and they're located right across the street from the plaza I work in in Millstream. The toast was perfect, the eggs were sizable and the hash brown was light and tasty. The only letdown was the bacon, which seemed to have been unwrapped from a large spool and passed close by some flames for a few seconds - underwhelming. Maybe they need a little refresher course on How To Make Perfect Bacon... ? Sure, it's not fast, but why rush perfection?

For those of you out there who like comics a lot, I have a few links for you. ComicArtFans.com is a place where comic artists and fans gather to exchange ideas, post new comic series and do all the other fun things that comic fans do when they get together. A similar place is ComicSpace.com. for those of you who enjoy comic book movies, there is always ComicBookBovie.com, where the latest and greatest in reverse are foisted on the unsuspecting world.

One comic I hope to see return to semi-regular production is The Adventures of Newt & John - Two Roommates Take On The Universe. Mike has been very busy( as usual )for some time, including work on The Jinx Project... but I hope he will find some time in the near future for an N&J update. You can read all about what he's been up to here at his blog.

June 25 - Celeb-Apocalypse

Today marks the premiere of Stoked, a new animated TV series on Teletoon brought to you by the creators of Total Drama Island and 6teen. It also happens to be a show that two of my good friends worked on very hard for the last long while: take a bow, Mike & Brian. The is about a group of young surfers who arrive at a summer camp for surfer-wannabes... and find it is not exactly what they expected. The visuals are amazing; the waves and water( way to go Mike! )look incredibly realistic, all for being realized within the Flash medium - this is hard stuff to pull off, folks.

Sadly, today also saw the demise of the King Of Pop, Michael Jackson, whose music I admit I have liked on and off over the years - I think it depends on whether Weird Al did a cover of a song before I really took a liking to it. Back in grade school, I remember being at a school gathering in the gymnasium for( I think )school fund raising by selling chocolate bars - the usual scheme. When the prizes for top sellers were announced, one of them was a large framed photo of a Michael Jackson - before all the strangeness, so he looked somewhat normal. When I asked a classmate who this guy was, they gave me That Look, as in "Boy, are you behind the latest fad..." - I remember the scene more because of that look and the feeling it engendered than anything else... like who it was exactly that I asked the question of.

On top of that, Farrah Fawcett also passed on today from cancer, which she had apparently been suffering from since 2006. Known for her mane of amazing blond hair and stunning smile, the star of Charlie's Angels will be missed by millions, myself included - few knew she had a very cutting, dry wit. I do not believe that a star loved by so many could have had any detractors from a life lived so well. Hopefully her story will raise awareness of cancer in the public, much as Patrick Swayze's own 2008 diagnosis has prompted many to take potentially life-saving tests they might have otherwise wavered on.

June 26 - Of all the... ?

One of the things I love about life is the ironies: those little things that make you scratch your head and wonder if someone out there is having us all on. Take, for example, my moving from St. Catharines to Victoria - what are the chances they both would lay claim to the title of 'Garden City' ? For the record, Victoria wins hands-down... it has more green and more flowers than anywhere I have ever seen or heard of, bar none. Another chance occurrence: I now live in Langford... right near Niagara Creek, which you can see near the center of this map - no patch on the Niagara River, but then I don't have to deal with tourists at the Falls.

The laptop I've been happily using for the last year or so is running great: it's a Gateway FX model, which apparently have been damned hard to find in stores. It's one of those ironies: a great product at a great price, but you can't find it anywhere as the manufacturer made only so many and has moved on to other product lines - I was lucky to be in Best Buy when I was last September, as they apparently sold out within a few weeks across the continent - ouch! Good news though: the new models of the FX laptop series are coming, so those of you who are looking for a helluva bargain might want to keep an eye on Besy Buy's shelves in August...

A while back I discovered a blog that covers some of the cool things to see & do on Vancouver Island. It's worth a read... and eventually I'll get to a few of the places & events myself. Darn this time-sucking day job... another irony, really. I've lived here almost 2 years now, and in some ways I'm still a tourist. Heck, I've yet to go to Vancouver, which is only a little further away than T.O. was from Niagara - without the traffic headaches, but you have to pay to take a boat there. We'll see...

June 27 - Quarter-century clue-in

Who the heck is Haviland Morris, you ask? Well, considering that I saw her in two TV movies this week, I was surprised at the answer. She played Caroline Mulford in 1984's Sixteen Candles alongside Molly Ringwald, and Marla Bloodstone in 1990's Gremlins 2 - I only put those two roles together through IMDB.com where I clued in that she had covered her glorious red hair in Sixteen Candles with a blond wig, so as not to show up Ringwald's own auburn locks. Personally, I think she could have carried the earlier film, though she also could have done without the constant cigarette in Gremlins 2 - Phoebe Cates looked rather drab in comparison, even so. For those so inclined, this site has a listing of quite a few actresses you may recall from decades past, and what they've been up to now.

Part of my evening was spent setting up my Canon ip4500 inkjet printer to be accessible over the network - basically, either of the laptops here can see and print to it wirelessly. While it sounds easy, the fact remains that modern networking hardware still makes you buy a few 'extras' to get it alk talking. Fortunately, my new Dlink DIR-655 router has a unique feature called SharePort built in - a USB port that can be shared to any computer on your network. Plug in something like, oh, a printer and voila - it's available to any computer on your network. No fuss, no muss - you can do the same with hard drives as well. The good folks over at Butterscotch.com talk about NAS( Networked Attached Storage )which is the next Big Thing in home entertainment: no more switching DVD's around from the bookshelf. Instead, all of your media( movies, pictures, autio )is contained on one ultra-reliable home server box. Simply select what you want and play, just like a PVR. Not cheap yet though... but if current flat-screen TV sales figures are any indication, it's only a matter of time.

I actually scared myself tonight while watching the HD-DVD version of Blade Runner: the Director's Final Cut. Not that the film itself scared me, but while I was watching it I was constantly pausing the DVD to do one thing or another. After a while, I switched back to regular TV to see a show... and noticed to my horror that the 'pause bar' had left a burn-in mark on the screen! Normally only of worry with plasma-based screens, I was stunned that it had happened to my LCD TV... but it faded after a few minutes of regular TV watching as the pixels shifted with the show's motion - phew! Good thing I have a 2-year warranty... and you bet I won't be pausing things for overlong with the HD player. I must say I am disappointed with both, as I never expected an LCD to exhibit burn-in, or the HD player not to initiate a screen-saving mode after a few minutes on pause.

June 28 - Leave it for the weekend

today I spent quite a few hours outside doing yard work, specifically raking leaves which is not a lot of fun in the summer. The Arbutus tree, native to Vancouver Island and the lower Mainland, sheds its dead leaves in the early summer to make way for new growth. these leaves are quite acidic and so cannot be left on the lawn as they would damage it. So we freaking hand I spent four hours of an admittedly lovely Sunday afternoon raking leaves into plastic bags for later disposal; a total of12 bags later I was quite ready to chop down a few trees to avoid doing this next year... but I stopped as they will so darn nice compared to a wretched old elm, for example. I was glad that we had a hottub here, as I really needed it after all that - my first time in for over a month now, and it was fantastic.

I was engrossed in a game of Civ:Revolution for the remainder of the evening, playing as the Mongols vying for world domination against, as fate would have it, the Chinese. I won eventually through sheer economic might, but the funniest moment of the game came when the Chinese, headed by the avatar of Mao Tse Tung, threatened to go to war with me.... unless I parted with the secret of Communism! I laughed out loud, as the avatar was waving Mao's little red book right at me as he did it! After that, I ground them into dust, but I was quite put out - one of the game's glitches caused me not to end up with an ICBM, the most powerful weapon in the game, despite the fact I had built everything correctly to receive it. Bummer - no nukes, so the endgame was somewhat anticlimactic.


As I finish off this entry, I am writing it outside on the deck... watching the leaves still falling from the arbutus trees in nearby yards as the wind gusts. Looks like I will have a lot to do next weekend, again. *sigh* No leaf blowers though - those things annoy the heck out of me, and where do the leaves go? Nowhere.