Saturday, May 15, 2004
Friday, May 14, 2004
Thursday, May 13, 2004
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Just for the record, I hate the temporary office chair I have been forced to use.
My original office chair finally ceased being useful yesterday. The back of it broke the last little bit it had left. It went out yesterday afternoon. The poor thing flaps around like the tail of a fish that is tossed in the bottom of a boat. I have already ordered a new chair, but it won't be here until next week. Thus I must suffer the indignity of this chair.
My original office chair finally ceased being useful yesterday. The back of it broke the last little bit it had left. It went out yesterday afternoon. The poor thing flaps around like the tail of a fish that is tossed in the bottom of a boat. I have already ordered a new chair, but it won't be here until next week. Thus I must suffer the indignity of this chair.
No one seemed to like the guessing game I proposed a couple of days ago. I'm not exactly sure why that is, as I recieved no feedback on the game. I am assuming it is because it revolved around a money figure. People don't always respond to questions like that. So, we will try a new game.
Today's game will be a time guessing game. I spent yesterday writing a report on the situation in Souris. In specific, whether the iron filter system that is installed, is providing any benefit, and for how long it can be operated, before it exhausts itself. The report writing took me nearly all day yesterday, and at the conclusion of it, I emailed it to all relevant parties. These people all live in Manitoba, so according to their clocks, they recieved it after normal business hours.
In short, the report said, the iron filters are useless. It is now Wednesday morning and I am nervously awaiting everyone's response to my report. The tension mounts as more time elapses without a response. I figure I'll be into full panic mode if I don't hear something before lunch.
However, that's all ancillary information. Today's guessing game is, when will I get the first call about the report? All times submitted should be made according to current Saskatchewan time. I believe that is Mountain Daylight Time but don't hold me to that.
Let the games begin!!
Today's game will be a time guessing game. I spent yesterday writing a report on the situation in Souris. In specific, whether the iron filter system that is installed, is providing any benefit, and for how long it can be operated, before it exhausts itself. The report writing took me nearly all day yesterday, and at the conclusion of it, I emailed it to all relevant parties. These people all live in Manitoba, so according to their clocks, they recieved it after normal business hours.
In short, the report said, the iron filters are useless. It is now Wednesday morning and I am nervously awaiting everyone's response to my report. The tension mounts as more time elapses without a response. I figure I'll be into full panic mode if I don't hear something before lunch.
However, that's all ancillary information. Today's guessing game is, when will I get the first call about the report? All times submitted should be made according to current Saskatchewan time. I believe that is Mountain Daylight Time but don't hold me to that.
Let the games begin!!
Tuesday, May 11, 2004
Monday, May 10, 2004
Okay people, I have a question!
Why would I ever want to answer the phone when it comes up with no name, or no number? Honestly, why!?!
It boils to this. If you're hiding your name from me, by getting your number unlisted, or whatever it is you have to do to not show up on name/number display, then you obviously have a reason for wanting to hide that. Odds are, the reason you wanna hide that, is because the info will likely make me not want to answer the phone. (the most glaring example being, a telemarketer) So then why do it?
Maybe I'm atypical for people, with respect to their telephone. Personally, I hate the phone. I'm getting better with it, as a business tool. I know I need to talk to people, and the phone is efficient. I still don't like it. But at home? You can forget me answering the telephone if I can't know ahead of time who you are. No blocking! If you're someone I know, I will talk to you. But telemarketers, surveyers, sales people, and any other annoying idiot in the world, you can forget reaching me. I answer my phone MAYBE once a month. I'd scrap it entirely but I need it to get high speed internet.
Why would I ever want to answer the phone when it comes up with no name, or no number? Honestly, why!?!
It boils to this. If you're hiding your name from me, by getting your number unlisted, or whatever it is you have to do to not show up on name/number display, then you obviously have a reason for wanting to hide that. Odds are, the reason you wanna hide that, is because the info will likely make me not want to answer the phone. (the most glaring example being, a telemarketer) So then why do it?
Maybe I'm atypical for people, with respect to their telephone. Personally, I hate the phone. I'm getting better with it, as a business tool. I know I need to talk to people, and the phone is efficient. I still don't like it. But at home? You can forget me answering the telephone if I can't know ahead of time who you are. No blocking! If you're someone I know, I will talk to you. But telemarketers, surveyers, sales people, and any other annoying idiot in the world, you can forget reaching me. I answer my phone MAYBE once a month. I'd scrap it entirely but I need it to get high speed internet.
Sunday, May 09, 2004
We are going to play a new game. If, of course, you, my faithful readers, want to play this game. The context of the game is the absurd value of gas. Now, my consumption of fuel is not all THAT dependent on our fluctuating gas pricing lately. More at fault is the multiple trips I've made to Manitoba. But I digress. To the rules of the game!
I am flabbergasted by the absurd value of my gasoline purchases during this billing period. All of my gas is purchased on a credit card, the balance of which I can check online, as time passes. I did a review of it the other day, and nearly stopped my heart when I saw the total.
So here's the game. Its a stupid game for me to play, given the circumstances, but I like fun, and absurd fun at that, so this could be exciting. Plus the money at stake will make it exhilerating.
The game? Guess my fuel bill. The billing period of my credit card is from April 16th, until May 15th. Your job? Guess, to the penny, the sum of gas purchased, by me, in that period. Your reward for winning, if you manage it? A sum equal to the total of my gas bills.
Entries will be accepted until the arrival of my MasterCard statement, which should come in the later half of the month. To win you must guess the exact amount of my gas purchases.
Have fun, and let the guessing begin!!
I am flabbergasted by the absurd value of my gasoline purchases during this billing period. All of my gas is purchased on a credit card, the balance of which I can check online, as time passes. I did a review of it the other day, and nearly stopped my heart when I saw the total.
So here's the game. Its a stupid game for me to play, given the circumstances, but I like fun, and absurd fun at that, so this could be exciting. Plus the money at stake will make it exhilerating.
The game? Guess my fuel bill. The billing period of my credit card is from April 16th, until May 15th. Your job? Guess, to the penny, the sum of gas purchased, by me, in that period. Your reward for winning, if you manage it? A sum equal to the total of my gas bills.
Entries will be accepted until the arrival of my MasterCard statement, which should come in the later half of the month. To win you must guess the exact amount of my gas purchases.
Have fun, and let the guessing begin!!
Saturday, May 08, 2004
Melissa, please forgive me!
My day started out with the best of intentions. Unfortunately my great intentions were interrupted at 8:02 this morning, but a phone call from a project manager, wanting to know what I was going to do about the fact that a long standing client of ours, an Indian band to the south of us about an hour, no longer had membranes that were effective. From there my life descended into another race, at 100 mph, in the wrong lane as usual.
So I run a marathon, at full speed, for the whole day. Issue upon issue is piling up in front of me. Supply problems on this job, no one ordered the stuff for another. We need staff in five places but we only have one available technician. Staff are taking vacations, missing work for farming. We are promising people product on completely impossible schedules. It seemed like every time I turned, it was another crisis.
At 4:10 I had to go. If I was going to beat traffic to the Metallica concert, I had to leave early. So at ten minutes after four I bolt out the door. Its a boring drive, and there's lots on my mind, so I figure I'll stop for a Coke to sip on as I drive. Pull up to the Co-op gas bar, zip out the door and inside, leaving the truck running, as I'll only be a minute. I run in, grab a Coke, pay and go outside. The door is locked. WTF!?! Its still running, so I couldn't have locked it. Every door around the vehicle is locked. DAMMIT does not even cover it.
Its a 'to the nuts' Chevy Trailblazer so I have OnStar. First problem is, I don't know the OnStar number. I can push the button on the mirror and get them, but I don't know the phone number to call if I'm not in the vehicle. So first I gotta call my secretary, and get her to look up the OnStar number for me. I get that and then I phone. Sure I can help you, the pleasant female voice says. But first, you need to answer some questions. For the ordinary person this would be okay. But I have at least 2 permanent addresses, about a half dozen relevant phone numbers, at least 3 different job/lifestyle personas and more accounts of various types than I could ever possibly hope to remember. The questions aren't hard but they are 'codes' I'm supposed to answer, but because of the wealth of options, I never know exactly what I gave as my answers when I signed up.
Anyway, I finally get this woman the answers she needs, and I get back into my truck. The whole ordeal has cost me all the time I'd hoped to gain by leaving at 4:10. Now I'm lead-footing it up Highway 5, because there are people waiting for me. Somewhere past the Wolverine Oil Recycling plant I realize that, its May 7 and I still haven't renewed my license. Well damn it all, I'd better not speed because I REALLY can't afford a ticket right now. So, agitation biting my every thought, I keep it at a medium pace.
All things put aside, I meet up with my compatriots, and with Greg at the wheel, we go to Sask. Place. I think I'm a crafty little bastard and I enter the building via the the stage door, and pretend to be what I usually am, a Western staff member. Thus I am not searched, and the brand new Canon ZR90 digital video camera I have in my pocket is not searched, and discovered. Feeling really proud of myself, I cruise the concourse, talk to some friends, both long time, and newly acquired from the Brier. Greg and I do a lap of the building, and it is approaching 7:30 so we head for the seats. Once there I begin fiddling with the camera so that when its showtime, I'm good to go.
The only trouble is, I'm about 20 feet from the stage. Which, is really good, from an, enjoy the concert, perspective. The problem with that is, I can look the performer in the eye, as he stands on stage playing, and I stand at my seat, with camera in hand. Its not a hard problem, in terms of logistics, but it does make me a tad self-conscious about directing the camera. The second problem, as I sit in my seat is, I have no bloody idea how to work this camera. To this point I had never attempted to use the camera for any purpose. Sean and I got matching cameras, in a sort of 'don't chicken out' pact that caused us to acquire hardware. Had Sean not insisted, the night I was at his house between trips to Souris, it might not have made it out of its original wrapping. Nonetheless I'm sitting here with this camera, and some instructions on how to use it that Sean had given me, and I can't even figure out where the tape compartment is.
So, I fiddle with this expensive toy, and lo and behold, I figure out how to access the tape compartment. Truthfully, I only really figured it out because I remembered Sean mentioning you couldn't load a new tape while it was tripod mounted. That narrowed down my search to the bottom of the camera.
So, another mystery solved, I push the door open button for the video camera, and prepare to inspect my tape. What the hell is this!?! The compartment opens, and there is no tape inside. Oh for Christ Sake!!! When Sean had me open my camera, and my pack of free tapes he'd acquired for me, by smooth talking the salesman, we had not left a tape inside, as I had been going on the assumption. So here I'd expended all this effort to sneak in my camera, pulled together the courage to make a bootleg recording, and I had foiled myself. The ultimate cause of this disaster being, the fiasco with the locked, running truck.
Suffice it to say I felt like a tool. I asked Kevin, Chris and Dale Cooper (friend of Kevin's who is a videographer by career) and none of them had a tape. Thus, I was screwed. Had I known Metallica was going to be late I could have left, drove home and got the tape, then come back and had a Pepsi before the band went on stage. But I did not do that, and did not capture the concert for posterity, and basically wasted the entire extent of my pre-concert machinations. Foiled by fate and a lack of proper planning. Sounds like the typical end to all my schemes.
I did enjoy the concert however. I will gush on that subject at a later time. I had to tell this video camera fiasco now because the event is fresh in my mind and I suspect many of you will get a chuckle from the story. I will leave you with mirth at my expense, as I often do.
Good night all!!
My day started out with the best of intentions. Unfortunately my great intentions were interrupted at 8:02 this morning, but a phone call from a project manager, wanting to know what I was going to do about the fact that a long standing client of ours, an Indian band to the south of us about an hour, no longer had membranes that were effective. From there my life descended into another race, at 100 mph, in the wrong lane as usual.
So I run a marathon, at full speed, for the whole day. Issue upon issue is piling up in front of me. Supply problems on this job, no one ordered the stuff for another. We need staff in five places but we only have one available technician. Staff are taking vacations, missing work for farming. We are promising people product on completely impossible schedules. It seemed like every time I turned, it was another crisis.
At 4:10 I had to go. If I was going to beat traffic to the Metallica concert, I had to leave early. So at ten minutes after four I bolt out the door. Its a boring drive, and there's lots on my mind, so I figure I'll stop for a Coke to sip on as I drive. Pull up to the Co-op gas bar, zip out the door and inside, leaving the truck running, as I'll only be a minute. I run in, grab a Coke, pay and go outside. The door is locked. WTF!?! Its still running, so I couldn't have locked it. Every door around the vehicle is locked. DAMMIT does not even cover it.
Its a 'to the nuts' Chevy Trailblazer so I have OnStar. First problem is, I don't know the OnStar number. I can push the button on the mirror and get them, but I don't know the phone number to call if I'm not in the vehicle. So first I gotta call my secretary, and get her to look up the OnStar number for me. I get that and then I phone. Sure I can help you, the pleasant female voice says. But first, you need to answer some questions. For the ordinary person this would be okay. But I have at least 2 permanent addresses, about a half dozen relevant phone numbers, at least 3 different job/lifestyle personas and more accounts of various types than I could ever possibly hope to remember. The questions aren't hard but they are 'codes' I'm supposed to answer, but because of the wealth of options, I never know exactly what I gave as my answers when I signed up.
Anyway, I finally get this woman the answers she needs, and I get back into my truck. The whole ordeal has cost me all the time I'd hoped to gain by leaving at 4:10. Now I'm lead-footing it up Highway 5, because there are people waiting for me. Somewhere past the Wolverine Oil Recycling plant I realize that, its May 7 and I still haven't renewed my license. Well damn it all, I'd better not speed because I REALLY can't afford a ticket right now. So, agitation biting my every thought, I keep it at a medium pace.
All things put aside, I meet up with my compatriots, and with Greg at the wheel, we go to Sask. Place. I think I'm a crafty little bastard and I enter the building via the the stage door, and pretend to be what I usually am, a Western staff member. Thus I am not searched, and the brand new Canon ZR90 digital video camera I have in my pocket is not searched, and discovered. Feeling really proud of myself, I cruise the concourse, talk to some friends, both long time, and newly acquired from the Brier. Greg and I do a lap of the building, and it is approaching 7:30 so we head for the seats. Once there I begin fiddling with the camera so that when its showtime, I'm good to go.
The only trouble is, I'm about 20 feet from the stage. Which, is really good, from an, enjoy the concert, perspective. The problem with that is, I can look the performer in the eye, as he stands on stage playing, and I stand at my seat, with camera in hand. Its not a hard problem, in terms of logistics, but it does make me a tad self-conscious about directing the camera. The second problem, as I sit in my seat is, I have no bloody idea how to work this camera. To this point I had never attempted to use the camera for any purpose. Sean and I got matching cameras, in a sort of 'don't chicken out' pact that caused us to acquire hardware. Had Sean not insisted, the night I was at his house between trips to Souris, it might not have made it out of its original wrapping. Nonetheless I'm sitting here with this camera, and some instructions on how to use it that Sean had given me, and I can't even figure out where the tape compartment is.
So, I fiddle with this expensive toy, and lo and behold, I figure out how to access the tape compartment. Truthfully, I only really figured it out because I remembered Sean mentioning you couldn't load a new tape while it was tripod mounted. That narrowed down my search to the bottom of the camera.
So, another mystery solved, I push the door open button for the video camera, and prepare to inspect my tape. What the hell is this!?! The compartment opens, and there is no tape inside. Oh for Christ Sake!!! When Sean had me open my camera, and my pack of free tapes he'd acquired for me, by smooth talking the salesman, we had not left a tape inside, as I had been going on the assumption. So here I'd expended all this effort to sneak in my camera, pulled together the courage to make a bootleg recording, and I had foiled myself. The ultimate cause of this disaster being, the fiasco with the locked, running truck.
Suffice it to say I felt like a tool. I asked Kevin, Chris and Dale Cooper (friend of Kevin's who is a videographer by career) and none of them had a tape. Thus, I was screwed. Had I known Metallica was going to be late I could have left, drove home and got the tape, then come back and had a Pepsi before the band went on stage. But I did not do that, and did not capture the concert for posterity, and basically wasted the entire extent of my pre-concert machinations. Foiled by fate and a lack of proper planning. Sounds like the typical end to all my schemes.
I did enjoy the concert however. I will gush on that subject at a later time. I had to tell this video camera fiasco now because the event is fresh in my mind and I suspect many of you will get a chuckle from the story. I will leave you with mirth at my expense, as I often do.
Good night all!!
Thursday, May 06, 2004
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
I have a question.
Can someone explain this 'no carb' thing to me? I know its a diet strategy. But why has this one become SO god damn prevalent? Its as if the laws of nature have been rewritten and somone discovered an elemental truth. Why has the world fallen in line with this particular, stupid fad? Its just a fad. Quite likely that by 2005, everyone will be off this particular bandwagon, and will have found a new one.
Subway has a low carb menu.
The breweries have introduced new, low carb, beers, or extoled the virtues of their existing product as, low carb.
Almost every food product being advertised, seems to minimize the amount of carbohydrates they may, or may not have in them.
Now I read that Pepsi and Coke are looking to put out products that feed into this particular, stupid obsession.
Give it up people! If you're fat, eat less and exercise more. It doesn't matter what food you want to eat. Go ahead and eat it. Just don't go back to the buffet for a third time, and walk your portly ass home. The equation is simple. Energy coming in must be less than energy being expended. If you burn more energy than you consume, you'll lose weight, and the pants will fit better.
Call it Grant's Weight Loss Plan. Eat less of whatever you want but about 1/4 as much of it as you want, and walk home instead of driving. No need to thank me when you lose that 10 pounds.
Toodles.
Can someone explain this 'no carb' thing to me? I know its a diet strategy. But why has this one become SO god damn prevalent? Its as if the laws of nature have been rewritten and somone discovered an elemental truth. Why has the world fallen in line with this particular, stupid fad? Its just a fad. Quite likely that by 2005, everyone will be off this particular bandwagon, and will have found a new one.
Subway has a low carb menu.
The breweries have introduced new, low carb, beers, or extoled the virtues of their existing product as, low carb.
Almost every food product being advertised, seems to minimize the amount of carbohydrates they may, or may not have in them.
Now I read that Pepsi and Coke are looking to put out products that feed into this particular, stupid obsession.
Give it up people! If you're fat, eat less and exercise more. It doesn't matter what food you want to eat. Go ahead and eat it. Just don't go back to the buffet for a third time, and walk your portly ass home. The equation is simple. Energy coming in must be less than energy being expended. If you burn more energy than you consume, you'll lose weight, and the pants will fit better.
Call it Grant's Weight Loss Plan. Eat less of whatever you want but about 1/4 as much of it as you want, and walk home instead of driving. No need to thank me when you lose that 10 pounds.
Toodles.
Tuesday, May 04, 2004
Have any of you ever, actually seen one of those germ free pod balls, that seem to crop up on TV and in movies? The type where the sickly looking kid has to sit inside it all the time, to be protected from a world that would otherwise devour him, because of his weak immune system? I need one of those. My allergies are kicking my ass today.
Do you think I could find one on eBay?
Do you think I could find one on eBay?
Monday, May 03, 2004
And then he steps up . . .
Its weird when someone does something you didn't expect, and it lifts the burden from your shoulders. I'd girded myself for another tormenting week of driving from here to places yonder. I outlined the dilemma to my boss this afternoon, and he stepped up. It was completely unexpected, and something of a welcome relief. I hadn't expected that at all.
So I can take a short breather this week, from a pace that has been beyond that which would be described as 'hectic'. I really appreciate this respite. I plan to use it to its full benefit and maybe catch some sleep that I've been missing out on lately.
Blogger is being gay on me today, so I'll keep this message short, in case it screws me over again. Have a nice day all of you!
Toodles!
Its weird when someone does something you didn't expect, and it lifts the burden from your shoulders. I'd girded myself for another tormenting week of driving from here to places yonder. I outlined the dilemma to my boss this afternoon, and he stepped up. It was completely unexpected, and something of a welcome relief. I hadn't expected that at all.
So I can take a short breather this week, from a pace that has been beyond that which would be described as 'hectic'. I really appreciate this respite. I plan to use it to its full benefit and maybe catch some sleep that I've been missing out on lately.
Blogger is being gay on me today, so I'll keep this message short, in case it screws me over again. Have a nice day all of you!
Toodles!
Sunday, May 02, 2004
I am calling out for help. To all of you who read my blog, I ask for your assistance, in answering a question that has been plaguing my mind over the past week or so. I don't necessarily expect any one of you to have the 'magic bullet' answer. However, if we could drum up some kind of 'brain storm' of ideas, I would appreciate it.
Last weekend I bought this digital video camera. In 25 words or less, its a camera that records movies to tape, but is also exportable to computer to edit. In short, I have the capacity to make movies.
Thus the question. Does anyone know anything I could put this new toy to use on?
Reply, as always, to the address provided.
Toodles!!
Last weekend I bought this digital video camera. In 25 words or less, its a camera that records movies to tape, but is also exportable to computer to edit. In short, I have the capacity to make movies.
Thus the question. Does anyone know anything I could put this new toy to use on?
Reply, as always, to the address provided.
Toodles!!
Thursday, April 29, 2004
I have returned. Sadly, there is little to report.
In news from 'the place we shall not name', there is no news. God damn iron filters. I blew off three days and did not get to ascertain the state of my accursed filters. One day to seal everything back up, and prepare for rinse. One day to rinse, and not get it completely clean, and then another day wasted trying to backwash. God do I hate that place. God do I hate iron filters. I hate the whole damn thing!!!!!
In other news, there is no news. My life has become sadly boring. I really need to get out of that town in Manitoba. It has made me bitter and sad. Luckily I've had Melissa's cell phone messages to guide me from darkness into the sun. Thanks Missy, you're a doll.
Off to the APEGS meeting tomorrow. I doubt there will be highlights but I'll keep you informed.
Toodles!!
In news from 'the place we shall not name', there is no news. God damn iron filters. I blew off three days and did not get to ascertain the state of my accursed filters. One day to seal everything back up, and prepare for rinse. One day to rinse, and not get it completely clean, and then another day wasted trying to backwash. God do I hate that place. God do I hate iron filters. I hate the whole damn thing!!!!!
In other news, there is no news. My life has become sadly boring. I really need to get out of that town in Manitoba. It has made me bitter and sad. Luckily I've had Melissa's cell phone messages to guide me from darkness into the sun. Thanks Missy, you're a doll.
Off to the APEGS meeting tomorrow. I doubt there will be highlights but I'll keep you informed.
Toodles!!
Monday, April 26, 2004
Okay, I just remembered one of the things I wanted to blog about. Credit for remembering this goes to Melissa, as her food comments made me remember my boycott of Mr. Sub, which has lead to another boycott.
I will be boycotting the Teacher's Credit Union. Their radio commercials are idiotic. Don't take 0% financing from the dealership and instead come to the Teacher's Credit Union and get bend over for 10%+ rates on a car!?! Oh yeah, that makes sense. Argument #1 from them, you might pay full sticker price. Full stick, at 0% is probably cheaper than paying all that interest to the Credit Union. (You might save money on this if the car is really, really cheap) To the best of my knowledge, the only vehicles that are exempted from 0% financing are the really expensive ones, which if you can afford, probably are not being paid for by a Teacher's Credit Union loan..
They made a bunch of stupid reasons but they were all gay. Suffice it to say, its a crappy commercial. Please, all of you, join with me in boycotting the Teacher's Credit Union.
I will be boycotting the Teacher's Credit Union. Their radio commercials are idiotic. Don't take 0% financing from the dealership and instead come to the Teacher's Credit Union and get bend over for 10%+ rates on a car!?! Oh yeah, that makes sense. Argument #1 from them, you might pay full sticker price. Full stick, at 0% is probably cheaper than paying all that interest to the Credit Union. (You might save money on this if the car is really, really cheap) To the best of my knowledge, the only vehicles that are exempted from 0% financing are the really expensive ones, which if you can afford, probably are not being paid for by a Teacher's Credit Union loan..
They made a bunch of stupid reasons but they were all gay. Suffice it to say, its a crappy commercial. Please, all of you, join with me in boycotting the Teacher's Credit Union.
Sometimes I really hate that drive back to Watson on Monday morning.
I must have had about 30 good thoughts for a blog entry, as I drove back this morning. Then i've been through two hours of my usual phone hell, and now I can't remember a single one of them. That, right there, is damn messed up. And you can't even scribble the ideas down for yourself, because you're driving. Have you ever tried to write something while you drive? I nearly end up in the ditch every time I try.
I sunburned my head, driving around on Friday with the sunroof unobscured. I didn't notice until I had a shower and wondered why it hurt to get water on my head. I didn't get that shower until Saturday morning. I got up at 10:00 on Friday morning, and by 10:30 I was driving. Except for the four hours I spent in the field south of Virden, all I did on Friday was drive. For the record, it was boring. I got to my friend Greg's place, and promptly fell asleep on the couch. I don't think my fellow gamers were very amused. :-)
I now have a digital video camera. Its still in the box, two days later. I think I'm going to have to sit down and have a serious conversation with myself about buying stuff I never use. I bought a high definition satellite system, and I haven't been home for a majority of a week since I got it. I bought that high definition TV last summer, and promptly went on the road for two weeks after bringing it home. I need to either a) buy less stuff, or b) only buy portable stuff. Or, failing either of those, actually have a freakin' plan for all the crap I buy.
I may be a Shop-o-holic. I'll get evaluated and report the results to all of you.
This is G-5 signing off, from beyond the moon of Endor.
I must have had about 30 good thoughts for a blog entry, as I drove back this morning. Then i've been through two hours of my usual phone hell, and now I can't remember a single one of them. That, right there, is damn messed up. And you can't even scribble the ideas down for yourself, because you're driving. Have you ever tried to write something while you drive? I nearly end up in the ditch every time I try.
I sunburned my head, driving around on Friday with the sunroof unobscured. I didn't notice until I had a shower and wondered why it hurt to get water on my head. I didn't get that shower until Saturday morning. I got up at 10:00 on Friday morning, and by 10:30 I was driving. Except for the four hours I spent in the field south of Virden, all I did on Friday was drive. For the record, it was boring. I got to my friend Greg's place, and promptly fell asleep on the couch. I don't think my fellow gamers were very amused. :-)
I now have a digital video camera. Its still in the box, two days later. I think I'm going to have to sit down and have a serious conversation with myself about buying stuff I never use. I bought a high definition satellite system, and I haven't been home for a majority of a week since I got it. I bought that high definition TV last summer, and promptly went on the road for two weeks after bringing it home. I need to either a) buy less stuff, or b) only buy portable stuff. Or, failing either of those, actually have a freakin' plan for all the crap I buy.
I may be a Shop-o-holic. I'll get evaluated and report the results to all of you.
This is G-5 signing off, from beyond the moon of Endor.
Sunday, April 25, 2004
Its 3:41 AM on a Saturday night/Sunday morning. What the hell am I doing still awake?
I don't even know anymore. Things that felt right, feel wrong now. Successes have mutated themselves until they feel like failures. Good times have been painted over with a wide brush, tainted heavily with slate grey. The light that would shine in my eyes, has given way to the soul absorbing color of black.
Its quarter to four in the morning, and I can't make the voices in my head stay still enough to find sleep. They shriek and howl at me, demanding that I do things I feel incapable of doing. They moan about failures past, and failures that are sure to come. The wailing and screaming echoes around in my brain, drowning out any merriment I might find in a life that is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a bad one.
I can't stand the noise. The incessant barking and roaring floods my senses. It gives me a headache. It won't let me rest, even though my body does nothing else but beg from me that I stop. Exhaustion piles on fatigue and yet I keep going. One half of me wants nothing more than to stop completely, and hide in the dark from the demons that would pursue me. The other half rails at me to not be weak, to not give in to those desires. The cacophony of sound in my brain makes me want to pull it from within my skull and hurl it as far as my limbs can make it go.
I just want some peace and quiet. A few hours, or a day, when all the shouting stops, and my mind can truly be at rest. A moment of silence, that stretches on so that I don't remember it beginning, and can not see it ending. One block of time when all wants, desires, responsibilities and duties, melt into the background and I can just rest. And enjoy that I am resting.
One night of sleep.
Good night.
I don't even know anymore. Things that felt right, feel wrong now. Successes have mutated themselves until they feel like failures. Good times have been painted over with a wide brush, tainted heavily with slate grey. The light that would shine in my eyes, has given way to the soul absorbing color of black.
Its quarter to four in the morning, and I can't make the voices in my head stay still enough to find sleep. They shriek and howl at me, demanding that I do things I feel incapable of doing. They moan about failures past, and failures that are sure to come. The wailing and screaming echoes around in my brain, drowning out any merriment I might find in a life that is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a bad one.
I can't stand the noise. The incessant barking and roaring floods my senses. It gives me a headache. It won't let me rest, even though my body does nothing else but beg from me that I stop. Exhaustion piles on fatigue and yet I keep going. One half of me wants nothing more than to stop completely, and hide in the dark from the demons that would pursue me. The other half rails at me to not be weak, to not give in to those desires. The cacophony of sound in my brain makes me want to pull it from within my skull and hurl it as far as my limbs can make it go.
I just want some peace and quiet. A few hours, or a day, when all the shouting stops, and my mind can truly be at rest. A moment of silence, that stretches on so that I don't remember it beginning, and can not see it ending. One block of time when all wants, desires, responsibilities and duties, melt into the background and I can just rest. And enjoy that I am resting.
One night of sleep.
Good night.
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
For being an active blogger, Blogger.com parent company, Google (some of you may have heard of this organization) has offered to let me be a beta tester of their new email service, Gmail. I just signed up. I can't offer a lot of details right now, as I've had the account about 5 minutes so far. I will be playing with it in the coming days/weeks.
For those of you that might want to email me at my new address, the account address is:
telk26@gmail.com
Toodles my friends!!
For those of you that might want to email me at my new address, the account address is:
telk26@gmail.com
Toodles my friends!!
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
I have come face to face with the most insidious virus that you will ever find infesting your system. The virus is so pervasive, so intrusive, you forget that its a virus, a pestilence, a pox upon all of humanity. But the software of which I speak is the single greatest impediment to the advancement of human society, and the celebration of our arts.
I am speaking, of course, of RealPlayer, or as they call themselves now, RealOne player. Do not be fooled. This software is not helpful, useful, or in any way worth having. It is a virus. It is a foul infestation that overwhelms your system, and brings it to its knees. Nothing will make your computing experience any worse than an episode with RealOne.
At the least, at the absolute, rock bottom least, you could correct your mistakes as you progress from version to version. Still, STILL, these idiots at Real have not figured out how to have individual volume control for your movie selection. Every other media player in the computing world has independent volume control. i.e. you can set your system volume, but turn it up or down for your movie only. And this can't be hard to do. Nonetheless, their crappy software has been around for 10, count'em TEN, years, at least, and they still haven't fixed this. If RealOne comes up, for any reason, it immediately screws with your Windows system volume settings. I loathe this to a degree that I can't even express in coherent sentences, as my anger overwhelms my mental faculties.
Do not use RealOne. Do not even download it. For if you do, all the Norton's and McAfee's in the world will not be able to save you from the plague of RealOne. Throw out your computer and start over. Its your only hope.
I am speaking, of course, of RealPlayer, or as they call themselves now, RealOne player. Do not be fooled. This software is not helpful, useful, or in any way worth having. It is a virus. It is a foul infestation that overwhelms your system, and brings it to its knees. Nothing will make your computing experience any worse than an episode with RealOne.
At the least, at the absolute, rock bottom least, you could correct your mistakes as you progress from version to version. Still, STILL, these idiots at Real have not figured out how to have individual volume control for your movie selection. Every other media player in the computing world has independent volume control. i.e. you can set your system volume, but turn it up or down for your movie only. And this can't be hard to do. Nonetheless, their crappy software has been around for 10, count'em TEN, years, at least, and they still haven't fixed this. If RealOne comes up, for any reason, it immediately screws with your Windows system volume settings. I loathe this to a degree that I can't even express in coherent sentences, as my anger overwhelms my mental faculties.
Do not use RealOne. Do not even download it. For if you do, all the Norton's and McAfee's in the world will not be able to save you from the plague of RealOne. Throw out your computer and start over. Its your only hope.
Some reflections from a weekend away from home:
If you can go 30 miles with your right turn signal light on, and not notice it, I don't feel very comfortable with you going faster than me.
What kind of a numbnut do you have to be, to play frisbee in a mall parking lot?
What is it about Wal-Mart that makes people lose their minds?
When you put the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on your door in a hotel, shouldn't that tell EVERYONE not to bother you, including the front desk phoning about something?
Is it a new millenium thing in parenting to just let your hellspawn run amok in a public swimming pool?
Am I alone in thinking Jann Arden BUTCHERED the national anthem the other night?
The Inn Solutions Internet package, for hotel users, is NOT worth $7.95 a night.
I was gonna blog 'Go FISH' over the weekend, but they choked on it last night so now I'm mad at them. (Brian Burke - sign a real goaltender)
That is all. Damn Alzheimers. I can't remember everything anymore. Toodles for now!
If you can go 30 miles with your right turn signal light on, and not notice it, I don't feel very comfortable with you going faster than me.
What kind of a numbnut do you have to be, to play frisbee in a mall parking lot?
What is it about Wal-Mart that makes people lose their minds?
When you put the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on your door in a hotel, shouldn't that tell EVERYONE not to bother you, including the front desk phoning about something?
Is it a new millenium thing in parenting to just let your hellspawn run amok in a public swimming pool?
Am I alone in thinking Jann Arden BUTCHERED the national anthem the other night?
The Inn Solutions Internet package, for hotel users, is NOT worth $7.95 a night.
I was gonna blog 'Go FISH' over the weekend, but they choked on it last night so now I'm mad at them. (Brian Burke - sign a real goaltender)
That is all. Damn Alzheimers. I can't remember everything anymore. Toodles for now!
Thursday, April 15, 2004
I have a suggestion for all the car manufacturer and/or automotive accessory people who read my blog. (I'm sure there must be some since everyone LOVES me and my blog, no?)
You need to add the functionality of being able to turn on the seat warmers with the remote fob. Sure I can warm the whole vehicle up for 28 minutes so its at a comfortable temperature. However, I could let it warm up for 5 minutes, and be able to comfortably stand the climate, if only I could power up the seat warmers without being in the vehicle.
Something for the automotive geniuses to ponder.
Toodles!!
You need to add the functionality of being able to turn on the seat warmers with the remote fob. Sure I can warm the whole vehicle up for 28 minutes so its at a comfortable temperature. However, I could let it warm up for 5 minutes, and be able to comfortably stand the climate, if only I could power up the seat warmers without being in the vehicle.
Something for the automotive geniuses to ponder.
Toodles!!
I talk on the phone a lot these days.
The above statement probably doesn't sound all that momentous. Lots of people talk on the phone a lot. Many people have whole jobs, that are nothing but talking on the phone. I even know one such person that has that job. It is however, momentous to me. I hate the phone. Perhaps hate is too strong a word but 'don't like' doesn't really say enough. Its a grey area in between, with my preference more to the loathing side. Suffice it to say, its not my favorite past time.
Today, for instance, I'm sure I've spent 4 hours on the phone already, out of the 5 hours I've spent at work. And I've probably talked to over a dozen people. I'll get one answer, take it to the person asking, and then get another question. Thus chasing me from person to person and phone to phone. I was even on two phones at once, at one point.
Coming from my perspective, this is incredible! I've never pursued the telephone, when any other method of communication would work. Not work better, but just work.
I just got interrupted from writing this blog entry for 45 minutes while I dealt with the phone. Again. I wanted to rant about this state of affairs but apparently the stupid phone, the bane of my existence, will not leave me alone, long enough, to finish it. So I quit here.
Have wonderful days everyone!!
The above statement probably doesn't sound all that momentous. Lots of people talk on the phone a lot. Many people have whole jobs, that are nothing but talking on the phone. I even know one such person that has that job. It is however, momentous to me. I hate the phone. Perhaps hate is too strong a word but 'don't like' doesn't really say enough. Its a grey area in between, with my preference more to the loathing side. Suffice it to say, its not my favorite past time.
Today, for instance, I'm sure I've spent 4 hours on the phone already, out of the 5 hours I've spent at work. And I've probably talked to over a dozen people. I'll get one answer, take it to the person asking, and then get another question. Thus chasing me from person to person and phone to phone. I was even on two phones at once, at one point.
Coming from my perspective, this is incredible! I've never pursued the telephone, when any other method of communication would work. Not work better, but just work.
I just got interrupted from writing this blog entry for 45 minutes while I dealt with the phone. Again. I wanted to rant about this state of affairs but apparently the stupid phone, the bane of my existence, will not leave me alone, long enough, to finish it. So I quit here.
Have wonderful days everyone!!
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Okay, this is an amusing piece of pop culture.
But first, a rant.
This could only happen, here in the armpit of the world. Pop culture media simply does not extend to us here in Saskatchewan. Anything that filters down to us, has long since been abandoned by the rest of mainstream media. If we get it, it already sucks.
My example? A pair of songs. One by Eamon, and a second, rebuttal from someone named Frankee. In one, a guy, Eamon, cusses out some woman that obviously wronged him. And he's a touch bitter. You'll not know the extend of it, listening to mainstream media of any type. But its got a good rhythm and the lyrics intrigue, so finding it by other means is not difficult, and is actually something I would recommend. The explicit version is definitely superior. Suffice it to say, he is not amused with his former paramour.
Now comes a rebuttal. Its only in tandem the situation becomes really amusing. I don't know if its the exact woman mentioned in the Eamon song, but someone named Frankee has taken issue with the comments made in the Eamon song. Same beat, different lyrics. Basically, throws all the assertions from the Eamon song, back in his face. Again, get the explicit version. Its worth the effort.
Ain't love grand?
But first, a rant.
This could only happen, here in the armpit of the world. Pop culture media simply does not extend to us here in Saskatchewan. Anything that filters down to us, has long since been abandoned by the rest of mainstream media. If we get it, it already sucks.
My example? A pair of songs. One by Eamon, and a second, rebuttal from someone named Frankee. In one, a guy, Eamon, cusses out some woman that obviously wronged him. And he's a touch bitter. You'll not know the extend of it, listening to mainstream media of any type. But its got a good rhythm and the lyrics intrigue, so finding it by other means is not difficult, and is actually something I would recommend. The explicit version is definitely superior. Suffice it to say, he is not amused with his former paramour.
Now comes a rebuttal. Its only in tandem the situation becomes really amusing. I don't know if its the exact woman mentioned in the Eamon song, but someone named Frankee has taken issue with the comments made in the Eamon song. Same beat, different lyrics. Basically, throws all the assertions from the Eamon song, back in his face. Again, get the explicit version. Its worth the effort.
Ain't love grand?
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
You know, I don't really care who you are. You can be the wealthiest man in the world. You can be good looking beyond all measure. You can be so famous that even indigents in the rain forest know your name. You can be all those things but I still think this truth holds true.
How can you let a woman like Rebecca Romijn get away!?!?!
How can you let a woman like Rebecca Romijn get away!?!?!
Saturday, April 10, 2004
Friday, April 09, 2004
Thursday, April 08, 2004
Blog Tip Of The Day:
You can look up the weekly Safeway flyer, from your neighbourhood Safeway, at:
Safeway.com
You can look up the weekly Safeway flyer, from your neighbourhood Safeway, at:
Safeway.com
I was thinking about my friend Amanda the other day. I'm not exactly sure what brought her to my mind. Its funny how things can come to you, when there's really no reason for them to do so. My mind drifted across memories of her, and settled in on the regular reports she emailed to her friends and family during the trip to India she took last year. (now that I've given it some thought, I believe the remembrance came from the fact that I ran into her at the Brier) There was something that I recalled vividly, from her descriptions of the society that she encountered on her trip. There was much poverty and homelessness, and she took the opportunity to implore her readers to consider sponsoring a child through one of the organizations that have this as their goal.
I thought about this, and remembered my own childhood. We would spend Sunday's at my grandma's, recieving only two channels of television. When there was nothing outside to do, I would find myself in grandma's living room, watching the deplorable offering of entertainment on CBC and/or CTV. (Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom anyone?) I remember those commercials where they showed the poverty stricken children, and then said that for pennies a day you chould change their lives. I always wanted to do that, but I was little more than 10 years old and didn't have the kind of money they were asking for. (which was only about $15 or so)
Now I'm 30 years old, or will be a in a few days. I do very well for myself. Certainly well enough that a contribution of this type would not stretch my resources greatly. After this long, drawn out background, I get to the question that I feel deserved more wording than would typically be in a Blog Question Of The Day.
Should I commit myself to sponsor a child?
I thought about this, and remembered my own childhood. We would spend Sunday's at my grandma's, recieving only two channels of television. When there was nothing outside to do, I would find myself in grandma's living room, watching the deplorable offering of entertainment on CBC and/or CTV. (Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom anyone?) I remember those commercials where they showed the poverty stricken children, and then said that for pennies a day you chould change their lives. I always wanted to do that, but I was little more than 10 years old and didn't have the kind of money they were asking for. (which was only about $15 or so)
Now I'm 30 years old, or will be a in a few days. I do very well for myself. Certainly well enough that a contribution of this type would not stretch my resources greatly. After this long, drawn out background, I get to the question that I feel deserved more wording than would typically be in a Blog Question Of The Day.
Should I commit myself to sponsor a child?
Wednesday, April 07, 2004
All you hockey experts out there, I have a scenario for you.
What happens if all your goalies die? Let's say they go to a sushi restaurant. All of them, together, as a playoff camaraderie thing. They all order the blowfish. It is prepared wrong and they all die, a la the classic Simpsons episode. Can you add new goalies to your roster, or does a defenseman have to strap on the pads?
What happens if all your goalies die? Let's say they go to a sushi restaurant. All of them, together, as a playoff camaraderie thing. They all order the blowfish. It is prepared wrong and they all die, a la the classic Simpsons episode. Can you add new goalies to your roster, or does a defenseman have to strap on the pads?
Tuesday, April 06, 2004
'There is no word for what I have become'
I heard that once. I think its from a movie. I've been puzzling over it for quite some time, but the source of the quote eludes me. Nevertheless as I contemplate my life, that quote seems relevant to my situation.
I sat through a 4 hour meeting today. The topic of conversation was, the place we shall not name. I would have expected this meeting, and the underlying tension in the room to have driven me to spasmodic fits. I had fully prepared myself for a debilitating anxiety attack. To my great surprise it did not come.
When did I become the calm, level-headed one? I can't identify with myself, in this role. I have no experience with it. I have never been the relaxed, head about him, guy. I was always the one that freaked out, lost his temper, threw stuff and raved like a lunatic. Now I'm watching my boss melt into seething anger and need to take a moment. How did it come to pass that I'm the one talking to him outside the building, making sure he's okay?
I don't know how to do this? I can do it. Amazingly, to me at least, I am calm and relaxed. How did that happen? I know part of it is the pills but is that all of it? Has anyone else seen the instability drain out of me? I'm almost reliable. I still have minor lapses in behaviour but for the most part, I'm dependable. How can I be dependable? My whole personal identity is centered around being a screw-up. I had this thought while doing all this driving the past couple days. I drive and I think about all that has happened, and all that has changed. I pondered the experiences that have shaped my current reality.
My question remains, how did I become this person?
I give the credit to my friends and family. Through all the mistakes, screw-ups, failures, let down, and general inappropriate behaviour, there has been a contigent of people that have stuck by me. As life handed me lemons, knowing I had backup gave me the clarity to make lemonade. For years I felt alone, and adrift on an island. I don't feel that way anymore. There are so many people that line up behind me, and around me, giving me strength and hope. You know who you are, or at least I hope you do. I thank you all, from the bottom of my heart. You have given me back the faith that I'd lost. I could write for 100 years, and still not say it all.
I haven't the space to mention everyone by name, and say what you're done for me. The support has been incredible, and I thank you to depths I haven't words to express. But in one particular respect I do want single out some individuals.
Tara, you are the one. You know how I feel, as I've told you a million times before. I wish things were different and we could have what we want. That appears not to be, and someday I might even be alright with that. For now, and until then, I love you. That will have to suffice.
Melissa, and Christiane, you also gave me something I've never had. You are friends, through and true. I love you dearly, and hope we never grow apart, although the possibility certainly exists. I value you beyond any system of measure. When I needed faith, you gave it. When my mind went dark, you breathed light into the gloom. You are a pleasure, and delight. Please don't ever change, or let your light fade.
My life has changed. The person I am now, probably wouldn't even recognize the person I was. Growth and change has swallowed me whole, allowing me to be reborn, like the phoenix. Again, I thank you all. For it is only by you, that I became this which I am.
Love for all! Good night!
I heard that once. I think its from a movie. I've been puzzling over it for quite some time, but the source of the quote eludes me. Nevertheless as I contemplate my life, that quote seems relevant to my situation.
I sat through a 4 hour meeting today. The topic of conversation was, the place we shall not name. I would have expected this meeting, and the underlying tension in the room to have driven me to spasmodic fits. I had fully prepared myself for a debilitating anxiety attack. To my great surprise it did not come.
When did I become the calm, level-headed one? I can't identify with myself, in this role. I have no experience with it. I have never been the relaxed, head about him, guy. I was always the one that freaked out, lost his temper, threw stuff and raved like a lunatic. Now I'm watching my boss melt into seething anger and need to take a moment. How did it come to pass that I'm the one talking to him outside the building, making sure he's okay?
I don't know how to do this? I can do it. Amazingly, to me at least, I am calm and relaxed. How did that happen? I know part of it is the pills but is that all of it? Has anyone else seen the instability drain out of me? I'm almost reliable. I still have minor lapses in behaviour but for the most part, I'm dependable. How can I be dependable? My whole personal identity is centered around being a screw-up. I had this thought while doing all this driving the past couple days. I drive and I think about all that has happened, and all that has changed. I pondered the experiences that have shaped my current reality.
My question remains, how did I become this person?
I give the credit to my friends and family. Through all the mistakes, screw-ups, failures, let down, and general inappropriate behaviour, there has been a contigent of people that have stuck by me. As life handed me lemons, knowing I had backup gave me the clarity to make lemonade. For years I felt alone, and adrift on an island. I don't feel that way anymore. There are so many people that line up behind me, and around me, giving me strength and hope. You know who you are, or at least I hope you do. I thank you all, from the bottom of my heart. You have given me back the faith that I'd lost. I could write for 100 years, and still not say it all.
I haven't the space to mention everyone by name, and say what you're done for me. The support has been incredible, and I thank you to depths I haven't words to express. But in one particular respect I do want single out some individuals.
Tara, you are the one. You know how I feel, as I've told you a million times before. I wish things were different and we could have what we want. That appears not to be, and someday I might even be alright with that. For now, and until then, I love you. That will have to suffice.
Melissa, and Christiane, you also gave me something I've never had. You are friends, through and true. I love you dearly, and hope we never grow apart, although the possibility certainly exists. I value you beyond any system of measure. When I needed faith, you gave it. When my mind went dark, you breathed light into the gloom. You are a pleasure, and delight. Please don't ever change, or let your light fade.
My life has changed. The person I am now, probably wouldn't even recognize the person I was. Growth and change has swallowed me whole, allowing me to be reborn, like the phoenix. Again, I thank you all. For it is only by you, that I became this which I am.
Love for all! Good night!
Monday, April 05, 2004
Just for the record, HDTV is awesome!!!
I finally got to play with my HDTV satellite system today. And now I'm leaving town again. I really should schedule myself better than this. But I got to see how good it could be and OH MAN is that sweet! You watch this image and you can see the 3D aspect. Its not flat, but dynamic. They had a girl walking in from of a sunflower field, and you could actually see that she was moving across the field. You could see the depth. I was in AWE!!!
So, consider this an open invitation. Anyone that wants to come check out my HDTV, you are welcome in my home. It is so cool I can't even find the right words to talk about it. I love it!
Toodles!
I finally got to play with my HDTV satellite system today. And now I'm leaving town again. I really should schedule myself better than this. But I got to see how good it could be and OH MAN is that sweet! You watch this image and you can see the 3D aspect. Its not flat, but dynamic. They had a girl walking in from of a sunflower field, and you could actually see that she was moving across the field. You could see the depth. I was in AWE!!!
So, consider this an open invitation. Anyone that wants to come check out my HDTV, you are welcome in my home. It is so cool I can't even find the right words to talk about it. I love it!
Toodles!
Sunday, April 04, 2004
Saturday, April 03, 2004
Friday, April 02, 2004
Okay, when did the office turn into a god damn day care center!?!
I could see it being okay at night. You come in to work in the evening, and your child tags along because there's no one at home to look after him, and keep him out of trouble. I can even accept bringing the game console in, so he has something to play games on.
But in the middle of the day? When we are 'supposed' to be getting some work done. I gotta listen to this stupid kid screw around in here? Is this an office or a damn club house!?! I swear, if you wanna know where the real lack of discipline is in this organization, its not in the service technicians. Its in the office manager position, where she bends, breaks, and pisses on all the normal rules of decorum, for the sake of her convenience. THAT is a problem.
I could see it being okay at night. You come in to work in the evening, and your child tags along because there's no one at home to look after him, and keep him out of trouble. I can even accept bringing the game console in, so he has something to play games on.
But in the middle of the day? When we are 'supposed' to be getting some work done. I gotta listen to this stupid kid screw around in here? Is this an office or a damn club house!?! I swear, if you wanna know where the real lack of discipline is in this organization, its not in the service technicians. Its in the office manager position, where she bends, breaks, and pisses on all the normal rules of decorum, for the sake of her convenience. THAT is a problem.
For every success, there is a failure.
The place whose name we shall not speak.
I will not details the failures. It is counter-productive to invest any time in a detailed listing of all that is screwed up. We shall conclude with, its screwed up, and move on. Suffice it to say, there are more problems than solutions on the table.
On the bright side, Clarence and I got my new, High Definition satellite system up and running this morning. A couple days ago we started the project, and eventually gave up as it was too dark to see what we were doing anymore, and we needed to start over from scratch anyway. So we abandoned that for the night. I monkeyed with it for a few minutes last night, about midnight, and made some progress on a few points. I was encouraged to the point of trying again this morning.
Clarence and I went back to my house this morning, for about an hour, and monkeyed with the system. I had some ideas I wanted to explore. We followed the directions in the manual precisely, and got every response we were expecting, except for a satellite signal on Expressvu 82. We couldn't do anything that would dial in that satellite. Then I got word of another fire back at the office and we had to abandon the project.
I went hope at lunch. Clarence suggested I call the help line, and see if we were missing something. I did, including going through the byzantine phone system to get to a live person. I outlined my problem to him, and then he asked me a couple of questions. The one being, what transponder are you on? It turns out I was on the wrong one. We had Expressvu 82 dialed in when we tried before lunch. We just were on a transponder that was giving no signal. After I set it to transponder 7, it was fully functional, and we registered it, and before I came back to work, I had full digital, HDTV in my house!
That was almost enough to take the black stain off my week. Sometimes a success, no matter how minor, is enough to get your through a day. That is my enduring hope.
Toodles!
The place whose name we shall not speak.
I will not details the failures. It is counter-productive to invest any time in a detailed listing of all that is screwed up. We shall conclude with, its screwed up, and move on. Suffice it to say, there are more problems than solutions on the table.
On the bright side, Clarence and I got my new, High Definition satellite system up and running this morning. A couple days ago we started the project, and eventually gave up as it was too dark to see what we were doing anymore, and we needed to start over from scratch anyway. So we abandoned that for the night. I monkeyed with it for a few minutes last night, about midnight, and made some progress on a few points. I was encouraged to the point of trying again this morning.
Clarence and I went back to my house this morning, for about an hour, and monkeyed with the system. I had some ideas I wanted to explore. We followed the directions in the manual precisely, and got every response we were expecting, except for a satellite signal on Expressvu 82. We couldn't do anything that would dial in that satellite. Then I got word of another fire back at the office and we had to abandon the project.
I went hope at lunch. Clarence suggested I call the help line, and see if we were missing something. I did, including going through the byzantine phone system to get to a live person. I outlined my problem to him, and then he asked me a couple of questions. The one being, what transponder are you on? It turns out I was on the wrong one. We had Expressvu 82 dialed in when we tried before lunch. We just were on a transponder that was giving no signal. After I set it to transponder 7, it was fully functional, and we registered it, and before I came back to work, I had full digital, HDTV in my house!
That was almost enough to take the black stain off my week. Sometimes a success, no matter how minor, is enough to get your through a day. That is my enduring hope.
Toodles!
Thursday, April 01, 2004
Wednesday, March 31, 2004
I think I'm developing an aneurysm. Can you develop such a thing, or does it just happen, all of a sudden?
Would someone, I don't care who, PLEASE line me up a date with a sexy, uninhibited young girl!?! I think a significant proportion of my stress problem is unrelieved sexual tension. And if it turns out I'm wrong about that well, it certainly wouldn't hurt the situation at all. 8-D
Would someone, I don't care who, PLEASE line me up a date with a sexy, uninhibited young girl!?! I think a significant proportion of my stress problem is unrelieved sexual tension. And if it turns out I'm wrong about that well, it certainly wouldn't hurt the situation at all. 8-D
Tuesday, March 30, 2004
Well, there went another Tuesday!
I kind of wasted my day today. I drove to Maple Creek and back. That's it, that's all. There was only minimally more than that that I accomplished. During the drive down I had AMPLE time to consider my budget situation, with respect to the project in Maple Creek. I have it some hard, analytical thought, made a couple calls to confirm things, and decided I needed $5000 to put all parties to the deal at ease. Including my own sense of comfort, at not eating too much of the cost for 'additions'. About the only useful thing I did today was come to this $5000 conclusion. Having made it, I really didn't need to drive to Maple Creek to address it. Using the phone would have sufficed. But sometimes you do P.R. just for the sake of it, and this would be one of those times. I'm learning that its often the appearance of interest that is important, and not the actual interest.
Interesting to note from the 8 hours and 800+ kilometers was the extreme police presence on the highways today. I don't think I'd be lying if I said I saw a dozen police cars, in the course of my trip down and back. One followed me for awhile, between Vanscoy and Delisle. I saw one parked in Vanscoy. I was passed in the opposite direction by a cruiser, just outside of Rosetown. Met yet another cop on the road between Kyle and Rosetown. One was parked in Elrose. (I think it was Elrose) Saw a couple on the Trans-Canada Highway, as I headed west towards Medicine Hat. Stared at another cruiser across a weird three way stop in the Town of Maple Creek. Took note of a speed trap set up by the police, in a blind spot, on the Trans-Canada Highway. They were set up to nail people heading to Alberta. (Good idea, Alberta drivers are maniacs) Saw a cop car in Vanscoy on my way back into Saskatoon, and once I got here again, sat at a red light with a police car and the Avenue C and Circle Drive intersection. I think I missed a few, in that above rundown. I have a vague recollection of another cop car in Rosetown but I can't crystallize the image in my head so it won't go on the count. A dozen or not, it was a LOT of police presence during my drive.
They didn't get me, as I'm Johnny Law-Abider. All of you that believe that, please email me. I have a real estate deal for you that you simple CAN'T pass up!
Toodles!
I kind of wasted my day today. I drove to Maple Creek and back. That's it, that's all. There was only minimally more than that that I accomplished. During the drive down I had AMPLE time to consider my budget situation, with respect to the project in Maple Creek. I have it some hard, analytical thought, made a couple calls to confirm things, and decided I needed $5000 to put all parties to the deal at ease. Including my own sense of comfort, at not eating too much of the cost for 'additions'. About the only useful thing I did today was come to this $5000 conclusion. Having made it, I really didn't need to drive to Maple Creek to address it. Using the phone would have sufficed. But sometimes you do P.R. just for the sake of it, and this would be one of those times. I'm learning that its often the appearance of interest that is important, and not the actual interest.
Interesting to note from the 8 hours and 800+ kilometers was the extreme police presence on the highways today. I don't think I'd be lying if I said I saw a dozen police cars, in the course of my trip down and back. One followed me for awhile, between Vanscoy and Delisle. I saw one parked in Vanscoy. I was passed in the opposite direction by a cruiser, just outside of Rosetown. Met yet another cop on the road between Kyle and Rosetown. One was parked in Elrose. (I think it was Elrose) Saw a couple on the Trans-Canada Highway, as I headed west towards Medicine Hat. Stared at another cruiser across a weird three way stop in the Town of Maple Creek. Took note of a speed trap set up by the police, in a blind spot, on the Trans-Canada Highway. They were set up to nail people heading to Alberta. (Good idea, Alberta drivers are maniacs) Saw a cop car in Vanscoy on my way back into Saskatoon, and once I got here again, sat at a red light with a police car and the Avenue C and Circle Drive intersection. I think I missed a few, in that above rundown. I have a vague recollection of another cop car in Rosetown but I can't crystallize the image in my head so it won't go on the count. A dozen or not, it was a LOT of police presence during my drive.
They didn't get me, as I'm Johnny Law-Abider. All of you that believe that, please email me. I have a real estate deal for you that you simple CAN'T pass up!
Toodles!
Monday, March 29, 2004
Well, that was fun.
Membrane cleaning on the latest set of membranes from Souris has resulted in yet another expense for us. On previous sets of membranes, that had been in service since November of last year, there was considerable iron deposits in the membranes. Thus, it was taking an overnight soak in pure, undiluted, acid to remove the blockage sufficiently that the membranes could be rinsed, and brought back to original condition.
On the last trip from Souris, we brought back some of the original, replacement membranes. They were only a month or so, in place. On removal, they were noticeably cleaner than the membranes that had been in since the fall.
These replacement membranes were hit with an overnight soak in pure, undiluted acid. In the morning, when they rinsed them, there was no iron washing off the membranes. So they switched to a caustic solution, and pounding on the housing to loosen attached scales, and flush them to drain.
Around 11:00 this morning Tim brought me a sample of the water that was coming off the membranes. it was an opaque, white color, with a solid white, powdery, precipitate. I spend a couple hours analyzing the water, and this precipitate, with my 20 year old toy microscope. Murray cut up a residential membrane that was being discarded, and we previewed the two, side by side, under the microscope.
To our eyes, the sample Tim brought me, with the white powder, was the same as that of an intact membrane. The conclusion reached being, they burned up the membranes with their acid soak, rendering them useless. At almost $1000 per membrane, replacement cost, and if all ten have already been soaked, we are out somewhere in the neighbourbood of 10K.
We are not amused.
Membrane cleaning on the latest set of membranes from Souris has resulted in yet another expense for us. On previous sets of membranes, that had been in service since November of last year, there was considerable iron deposits in the membranes. Thus, it was taking an overnight soak in pure, undiluted, acid to remove the blockage sufficiently that the membranes could be rinsed, and brought back to original condition.
On the last trip from Souris, we brought back some of the original, replacement membranes. They were only a month or so, in place. On removal, they were noticeably cleaner than the membranes that had been in since the fall.
These replacement membranes were hit with an overnight soak in pure, undiluted acid. In the morning, when they rinsed them, there was no iron washing off the membranes. So they switched to a caustic solution, and pounding on the housing to loosen attached scales, and flush them to drain.
Around 11:00 this morning Tim brought me a sample of the water that was coming off the membranes. it was an opaque, white color, with a solid white, powdery, precipitate. I spend a couple hours analyzing the water, and this precipitate, with my 20 year old toy microscope. Murray cut up a residential membrane that was being discarded, and we previewed the two, side by side, under the microscope.
To our eyes, the sample Tim brought me, with the white powder, was the same as that of an intact membrane. The conclusion reached being, they burned up the membranes with their acid soak, rendering them useless. At almost $1000 per membrane, replacement cost, and if all ten have already been soaked, we are out somewhere in the neighbourbood of 10K.
We are not amused.
Greetings to all on a Monday!
We will open with some pictures!
Brier Reward
Isn't that just the biggest piece of beef you've ever seen!?! That was, as I labelled it, my Brier Reward. Western Concessions provided for us, the trench grunts from the Brier, one day to be treated like royalty, in compensation for all we experienced at the Brier.
Was it enough compensation? I would answer with, absolutely! The day started at 3:00, when I arrived at the Sheraton, in Saskatoon. I checked in at the desk, and was greeted with the wonderful news that all expenses had been taken care of. All I had to do was, sleep in the bed. That's a pretty good deal.
Not long after I arrived, it was off to the water slides!
Shooting the Tube
I love watersliding. Its never more fun climbing stairs, than when you get to come zooming back down again, on a slide covered in water. I apologize for not posting to this blog all the pictures I took at the waterslides. I have to conserve my webspace, as its a finite amount, and I want to save space for continuing additions to this blog. I have the watersliding pictures, and they all turned out, so if you'd like to see them, just email me from above, and I will ship you off my collection of pictures.
Brier Bandits
Here we all are (at least most of us) enjoying the hot tub, after some exciting waterslide action. Not everyone is in this picture but this is the majority of us. Speaking only for myself, but probably encompassing everyone, it was a great time. It is hard to choose between the water sliding and the meal, for which I enjoyed the most. I'm guessing the meal, but the sliding was great too. The only disappointment was that there wasn't enough time to spend on any aspect of the night, to fully satisfy my enjoyment. I could have easily spent more time by the pool, but we had a reservation for Carvers, so the pool time had to be cut short. I suppose I could have gone back after supper but . . .
No more Cowasaurus
I ate the whole thing. And a salad, and some delicious French Onion soup. I wasn't really in a condition that was conducive to physical activity at that point. So I joined the boys in the hospitality room that was provided to us, by the hotel. That too was a nice time, if a little subdued. I think everyone was feeling much the same as I, fat and lazy. There was some cards played, and a few songs heard, along with multiple drinks consumed. Not a wild party by any stretch of the imagination, but a nice culmination to a grateful reward.
Sunday morning dawned, and some of the group went for breakfast. Chris was hogging the bathroom, and I wasn't hungry anyway, so I skipped that. At 11:00 I checked out, and sadly my Brier Reward experience was over. It was with some sadness in my heart that it came to a close. It had been such a nice time that I felt it ended too soon. Oh well, all good things must come to an end.
Was it worth it? My vote goes for yes. Thank you to Kevin, Cowan, Wendy, Al, and all that made the event possible. It was a wonderful token of appreciation. I thank those responsible.
Toodles!
We will open with some pictures!
Brier Reward
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Isn't that just the biggest piece of beef you've ever seen!?! That was, as I labelled it, my Brier Reward. Western Concessions provided for us, the trench grunts from the Brier, one day to be treated like royalty, in compensation for all we experienced at the Brier.
Was it enough compensation? I would answer with, absolutely! The day started at 3:00, when I arrived at the Sheraton, in Saskatoon. I checked in at the desk, and was greeted with the wonderful news that all expenses had been taken care of. All I had to do was, sleep in the bed. That's a pretty good deal.
Not long after I arrived, it was off to the water slides!
Shooting the Tube
.jpg){kind=link}
I love watersliding. Its never more fun climbing stairs, than when you get to come zooming back down again, on a slide covered in water. I apologize for not posting to this blog all the pictures I took at the waterslides. I have to conserve my webspace, as its a finite amount, and I want to save space for continuing additions to this blog. I have the watersliding pictures, and they all turned out, so if you'd like to see them, just email me from above, and I will ship you off my collection of pictures.
Brier Bandits
.jpg){kind=link}
Here we all are (at least most of us) enjoying the hot tub, after some exciting waterslide action. Not everyone is in this picture but this is the majority of us. Speaking only for myself, but probably encompassing everyone, it was a great time. It is hard to choose between the water sliding and the meal, for which I enjoyed the most. I'm guessing the meal, but the sliding was great too. The only disappointment was that there wasn't enough time to spend on any aspect of the night, to fully satisfy my enjoyment. I could have easily spent more time by the pool, but we had a reservation for Carvers, so the pool time had to be cut short. I suppose I could have gone back after supper but . . .
No more Cowasaurus
.jpg){kind=link}
I ate the whole thing. And a salad, and some delicious French Onion soup. I wasn't really in a condition that was conducive to physical activity at that point. So I joined the boys in the hospitality room that was provided to us, by the hotel. That too was a nice time, if a little subdued. I think everyone was feeling much the same as I, fat and lazy. There was some cards played, and a few songs heard, along with multiple drinks consumed. Not a wild party by any stretch of the imagination, but a nice culmination to a grateful reward.
Sunday morning dawned, and some of the group went for breakfast. Chris was hogging the bathroom, and I wasn't hungry anyway, so I skipped that. At 11:00 I checked out, and sadly my Brier Reward experience was over. It was with some sadness in my heart that it came to a close. It had been such a nice time that I felt it ended too soon. Oh well, all good things must come to an end.
Was it worth it? My vote goes for yes. Thank you to Kevin, Cowan, Wendy, Al, and all that made the event possible. It was a wonderful token of appreciation. I thank those responsible.
Toodles!
Friday, March 26, 2004
Another day, another water plant installation with problems.
Today we were in conversation with the management of one of my company's very first, municipal drinking water system, clients. They are doing an upgrade to their system. It seems that demand for good water was under-estimated in the original design, and system purchase. The system runs flat out, 24/7 and has developed some operational problems since installation in 2001.
It was kinda funny, the moment at the end of the meeting when the water treatment plant operator, the guy that checks the equpment daily, opened up to share his thoughts on water treatment. Bear in mind that I think this episode was 'funny' primarily because I work in water treatment and I share the majority of his views. Those of you not in water treatment will probably fail to see the humor in it, but I suspect you'll appreciate the irony.
We're sitting in the council chamber, of the band office. There are council members, important people in the day to day operation of the reserve, along with some professional types/management, who were at the meeting for the provision of technical advice and direction. I would be among that group.
The meeting was concluding and I wanted to ask a quick question about the condition of the system now, and whether they needed some loaned membranes, to get them through to the conclusion of the upgrade. This opened a can of worms that the plant operator took, and ran with. This guy is not schooled. I'm sure he went to regular school, but nothing seemed to indicate a higher level of scholastic achievement. In fact, he seemed to be playing on that angle a little, when he made his point. It came out sounding like 'I'm just a lowly plant operator but I can see why this doesn't work, so why don't you?'.
The point in question? Iron filtration by use of manganese greensand filters. I almost howled this was so funny to me. I'd just spent 5 hours in the office last night, not leaving until 12:45, going over this very same topic with my boss. We discussed, in great length, the lack of technical merit to having greensand filters ahead of a membrane plant. Then, in a meeting the next day, this plant operator put to his design engineer/management team, the question of, why are you using this stupid, antiquated technology that, time and again, proves itself to NOT work adequately.
I know, its probably only funny to me. Nonetheless, it was refreshing to hear someone say to a design engineer, these stupid greensand filters don't work.
Toodles!
Today we were in conversation with the management of one of my company's very first, municipal drinking water system, clients. They are doing an upgrade to their system. It seems that demand for good water was under-estimated in the original design, and system purchase. The system runs flat out, 24/7 and has developed some operational problems since installation in 2001.
It was kinda funny, the moment at the end of the meeting when the water treatment plant operator, the guy that checks the equpment daily, opened up to share his thoughts on water treatment. Bear in mind that I think this episode was 'funny' primarily because I work in water treatment and I share the majority of his views. Those of you not in water treatment will probably fail to see the humor in it, but I suspect you'll appreciate the irony.
We're sitting in the council chamber, of the band office. There are council members, important people in the day to day operation of the reserve, along with some professional types/management, who were at the meeting for the provision of technical advice and direction. I would be among that group.
The meeting was concluding and I wanted to ask a quick question about the condition of the system now, and whether they needed some loaned membranes, to get them through to the conclusion of the upgrade. This opened a can of worms that the plant operator took, and ran with. This guy is not schooled. I'm sure he went to regular school, but nothing seemed to indicate a higher level of scholastic achievement. In fact, he seemed to be playing on that angle a little, when he made his point. It came out sounding like 'I'm just a lowly plant operator but I can see why this doesn't work, so why don't you?'.
The point in question? Iron filtration by use of manganese greensand filters. I almost howled this was so funny to me. I'd just spent 5 hours in the office last night, not leaving until 12:45, going over this very same topic with my boss. We discussed, in great length, the lack of technical merit to having greensand filters ahead of a membrane plant. Then, in a meeting the next day, this plant operator put to his design engineer/management team, the question of, why are you using this stupid, antiquated technology that, time and again, proves itself to NOT work adequately.
I know, its probably only funny to me. Nonetheless, it was refreshing to hear someone say to a design engineer, these stupid greensand filters don't work.
Toodles!
Thursday, March 25, 2004
I swear that I will get to the task of telling the story, around my sister's house purchase. Its just not going to be today. More crap from, the place which we do not name. I believe I am developing a cerebral hemmorhage from that place. Intestinal problems for sure.
In the mean time, some happiness to share.
Candace's NEW house!
My preliminary assessment is, it looks very nice. I am totally jealous now. And a little peeved she managed to resolve the whole thing so quickly. I was looking forward to house shopping with her. Oh well. Candace seems thrilled to the gills, so my momentary disappointment must be swept away.
Congratulations Pooh!!!
In the mean time, some happiness to share.
Candace's NEW house!
My preliminary assessment is, it looks very nice. I am totally jealous now. And a little peeved she managed to resolve the whole thing so quickly. I was looking forward to house shopping with her. Oh well. Candace seems thrilled to the gills, so my momentary disappointment must be swept away.
Congratulations Pooh!!!
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
Okay, I've got a god damn question!
I'm sitting here at me desk, in the office. I never went home. As previously reported, I have NO computers at home that work. Thus, if I want to continue being productive, I had to stay here and work on my office computer.
That part is fine. I don't mind. Its quiet, the phone won't ring since business hours are over, I can get something done. And I did. In the 90 minutes between 5:00 and 6:30, I got an excellent amount of stuff completed. I was close to being done in fact.
Then the play turned into Grand God Damn Central! My boss came in. His wife came in to do her cleaning (she's the janitorial service). The wife's assistant came in. The office manager came in, with child in tow. What was a peaceful, quiet, relaxing place to get something done, turned into this shrill cacophony. I'm in a bad, god damn mood.
And I'm not finished yet.
P.S. Stay tuned to this blog for an exciting announcement regarding my sister. She has some BIG news, but I'm holding off on spilling everything until I hear back from her meeting this evening.
I'm sitting here at me desk, in the office. I never went home. As previously reported, I have NO computers at home that work. Thus, if I want to continue being productive, I had to stay here and work on my office computer.
That part is fine. I don't mind. Its quiet, the phone won't ring since business hours are over, I can get something done. And I did. In the 90 minutes between 5:00 and 6:30, I got an excellent amount of stuff completed. I was close to being done in fact.
Then the play turned into Grand God Damn Central! My boss came in. His wife came in to do her cleaning (she's the janitorial service). The wife's assistant came in. The office manager came in, with child in tow. What was a peaceful, quiet, relaxing place to get something done, turned into this shrill cacophony. I'm in a bad, god damn mood.
And I'm not finished yet.
P.S. Stay tuned to this blog for an exciting announcement regarding my sister. She has some BIG news, but I'm holding off on spilling everything until I hear back from her meeting this evening.
Okay, I need to know what god-like deity I pissed off to have so much misfortune rained down on my head. Is there a deity for computers? If there is, that god must hate me.
Let's review:
Toshiba notebook computer was broken. Required a replacement motherboard. Returned to me from Microage, but not currently in my possession because I have loaned it to my uncle.
Toshiba PDA will not connect to the wireless ethernet in my house. Connects fine at work. I can not figure out the problem that prevents surfing the internet on the PDA when at home.
Main desktop system in Watson has gone south. No longer boots. It was halfway working, but that performance has disappeared as well. I get POST error beeps when I try to power it up. Needs at least a video card, and maybe a new motherboard as well.
Desktop in Saskatoon will not connect to portable hard drive, because I can not recover the original FAT32 partitioning on the drive. All re-partititions require that I use NTFS which is incompatible with Windows 98 on the computer in Saskatoon.
If I must reboot my desktop at work in Watson, the video refuses to work, and I must re-install the video drivers. It happens every time, and since I don't have the luxury of multiple hours to fix it, I must live with the situation of never turning off my computer.
The Blue Furnace will not accept a Windows installation. I attempted to bring the Furnace back online, as a stop-gap measure for this week. I have tried Windows 98, 2000 and XP, and all three error upon attempts to install the operating system software. I have run two complete diagnostics of the hard drive, and there are no errors, according to the diagnostic tools. The computer works in all other respects. I guess I could install DOS on it.
My previous satellite internet server has also seen an attempt to revive it from the dead. It accepts power, and makes some starting up noises but, I never get display, and judging from the beeps and whirs emitted from the tower, I do not believe it is following a normal boot-up procedure. The system would appear to be DOA, in its present condition.
I still have a tower in my home office in Watson that is broken. It was a PII-350 server that I'd had the parts for, for several years. The power supply blew up last summer, and I presume it friend most of the components inside. Nevertheless the tower itself sits in my home office, mocking me.
I have a 17" Packard Bell monitor that will not work. When it is plugged in, the power light blinks rapidly, and it never produces an image on the screen.
I have all of this equipment. By my count, that's 8 systems that are not functioning properly. Despite the presence of 4 towers, and a wireless capable PDA in my house in Watson, I can not get on the internet at home. I am seriously posing the question, am I cursed? It seems farcical, to the point of absurdity, that I could have this much equipment, and not be able to accomplish a basic task. I should probably get mad but its so surreal I can barely believe it.
Anyone got a Pentium 166 kicking around? I might as well go low tech.
Toodles!
Let's review:
Toshiba notebook computer was broken. Required a replacement motherboard. Returned to me from Microage, but not currently in my possession because I have loaned it to my uncle.
Toshiba PDA will not connect to the wireless ethernet in my house. Connects fine at work. I can not figure out the problem that prevents surfing the internet on the PDA when at home.
Main desktop system in Watson has gone south. No longer boots. It was halfway working, but that performance has disappeared as well. I get POST error beeps when I try to power it up. Needs at least a video card, and maybe a new motherboard as well.
Desktop in Saskatoon will not connect to portable hard drive, because I can not recover the original FAT32 partitioning on the drive. All re-partititions require that I use NTFS which is incompatible with Windows 98 on the computer in Saskatoon.
If I must reboot my desktop at work in Watson, the video refuses to work, and I must re-install the video drivers. It happens every time, and since I don't have the luxury of multiple hours to fix it, I must live with the situation of never turning off my computer.
The Blue Furnace will not accept a Windows installation. I attempted to bring the Furnace back online, as a stop-gap measure for this week. I have tried Windows 98, 2000 and XP, and all three error upon attempts to install the operating system software. I have run two complete diagnostics of the hard drive, and there are no errors, according to the diagnostic tools. The computer works in all other respects. I guess I could install DOS on it.
My previous satellite internet server has also seen an attempt to revive it from the dead. It accepts power, and makes some starting up noises but, I never get display, and judging from the beeps and whirs emitted from the tower, I do not believe it is following a normal boot-up procedure. The system would appear to be DOA, in its present condition.
I still have a tower in my home office in Watson that is broken. It was a PII-350 server that I'd had the parts for, for several years. The power supply blew up last summer, and I presume it friend most of the components inside. Nevertheless the tower itself sits in my home office, mocking me.
I have a 17" Packard Bell monitor that will not work. When it is plugged in, the power light blinks rapidly, and it never produces an image on the screen.
I have all of this equipment. By my count, that's 8 systems that are not functioning properly. Despite the presence of 4 towers, and a wireless capable PDA in my house in Watson, I can not get on the internet at home. I am seriously posing the question, am I cursed? It seems farcical, to the point of absurdity, that I could have this much equipment, and not be able to accomplish a basic task. I should probably get mad but its so surreal I can barely believe it.
Anyone got a Pentium 166 kicking around? I might as well go low tech.
Toodles!
Tuesday, March 23, 2004
I am giving my endorsement to Shoutcast. I really like this service. Stuck out in Watson, I can't get any conventional radio stations. It seems like this place is a black hole for radio waves. Reception is fine until you get the the junction of highways 5 and 6. Then it goes from fine, to non-existent. I wish I understood why the effect was so pronounced.
Thus I am relegated to being my own DJ. That was fine, for quite awhile actually. But doing that means you have to keep looking for new material constantly. Again, not a huge, huge problem. It can be managed. But its kinda frustrating sometimes when you don't really care about what you're listening to, as long as there is some noise to fill the air.
So I got this Shoutcast idea from Kevin. Actually, I had to do it because I forgot the portable hard drive in Saskatoon (DOH!!!) and didn't have any music. It is a great service. Just pick a genre and it tunes you in. I love it! Now, to get up the ambition to figure out how to capture these songs as MP3's that I could listen to on my own. For instance, the song that is playing now is Alice Cooper - Poison. I don't have that on CD. If I could rip it, the song would be in my collection. Project for later I guess.
I have nothing else to say this afternoon. I just wrote a job description for the technicians that are going to be assigned as my employee's. Everyday I work here, I find new responsibilities to assume. Not that I mind all that much. At least that way I SHOULD know what's going on. Knowing what's going on would help. I really hate when stuff happens and I don't hear about it.
I should get back to it. I have a quote to finish before Thursday.
Be well my friends!
Thus I am relegated to being my own DJ. That was fine, for quite awhile actually. But doing that means you have to keep looking for new material constantly. Again, not a huge, huge problem. It can be managed. But its kinda frustrating sometimes when you don't really care about what you're listening to, as long as there is some noise to fill the air.
So I got this Shoutcast idea from Kevin. Actually, I had to do it because I forgot the portable hard drive in Saskatoon (DOH!!!) and didn't have any music. It is a great service. Just pick a genre and it tunes you in. I love it! Now, to get up the ambition to figure out how to capture these songs as MP3's that I could listen to on my own. For instance, the song that is playing now is Alice Cooper - Poison. I don't have that on CD. If I could rip it, the song would be in my collection. Project for later I guess.
I have nothing else to say this afternoon. I just wrote a job description for the technicians that are going to be assigned as my employee's. Everyday I work here, I find new responsibilities to assume. Not that I mind all that much. At least that way I SHOULD know what's going on. Knowing what's going on would help. I really hate when stuff happens and I don't hear about it.
I should get back to it. I have a quote to finish before Thursday.
Be well my friends!
Monday, March 22, 2004
Monday morning has dawned upon us all again. It was a nice weekend. I hid from the prying eyes of the world, for most of the weekend. I just wanted to vegetate. 9 days of Brier, and then back into it in water treatment had left me with a body that was requiring some relief. So I found some. Hiding out in the basement, watching TV and playing with my computer.
(By the way, it would appear my computer is broke. No end of problems with in Friday night and Saturday morning. And then, it went away. I don't completely understand that. I may buy a new video card.)
However, back to Monday. I was kinda groggy when I got to work this morning. I took my pills too late last night, and my head was still covered in wool socks. I wanted to take awhile and just clear the cobwebs. No such luck. Three phone calls and two visitors later, and I'm buried in issues again. I don't seem to get much down-time at work anymore. It seems to work like this. I sit here, and if I just wait, something will come along that needs doing.
I will get back to averting calamity. The rest of you, have a great day!
P.S. To all of my readers from Winnipeg, could you please keep Kiki out of trouble? She's showing an alarming trend towards hanging out with potential serial killers. I'd like to keep her safe, and harm free, if we can arrange it. Thanks
(By the way, it would appear my computer is broke. No end of problems with in Friday night and Saturday morning. And then, it went away. I don't completely understand that. I may buy a new video card.)
However, back to Monday. I was kinda groggy when I got to work this morning. I took my pills too late last night, and my head was still covered in wool socks. I wanted to take awhile and just clear the cobwebs. No such luck. Three phone calls and two visitors later, and I'm buried in issues again. I don't seem to get much down-time at work anymore. It seems to work like this. I sit here, and if I just wait, something will come along that needs doing.
I will get back to averting calamity. The rest of you, have a great day!
P.S. To all of my readers from Winnipeg, could you please keep Kiki out of trouble? She's showing an alarming trend towards hanging out with potential serial killers. I'd like to keep her safe, and harm free, if we can arrange it. Thanks
Saturday, March 20, 2004
Ditch Run 2004
In The Ditch
Ditch Tracks
Curling Ice
Well, I promised you all that I would blog again, to let you know that all was well, and I got to my destination intact. That much I can say did happen. However, it was not without incident that I got from point A to point B.
I hit the ditch. That much is pretty obvious from the pictures. Strangely though, it was almost fun. I think I stayed pretty upbeat about it. It wasted about an hour of my time, but there doesn't appear to be any consequences from the trip into the ditch. (I can't say through, because I didn't make it)
Here's what happened, encapsulated into a bite sized portion. I was travelling south on the highway. There was a truck ahead of me. I was giving more following distance than would ordinarily be necessary. The truck slowed down to turn right, onto the grid road that is present in the pictures. I hit the brakes. The vehicle started to fishtail. So I let off the brake. Coming at me were three vehicles. One passed me by as I began to fishtail. A second was coming towards me and the truck in my lane. Behind that vehicle was a third vehicle. I had three choices.
Fishtail into the wrong lane, and potentially collide with oncoming traffic.
Stay where I was, and rear-end the truck in front of me.
Hit the ditch.
In the 1/64 of a second I had to make the decision, I picked ditch. I was privately hoping that I'd make it through the ditch, and into the field. With a 4x4 truck I figured I could probably get out of that mess. I didn't make it through the ditch. The snow was knee deep at the base, where I ended up. I couldn't get a picture of that unfortunately.
In the final analysis I would have to say, no harm, no foul. It was an adventure I'd have sooner not had but, all it really costed me was an hour. I should probably consider myself lucky. Those of you that would be alarmed by this news, please try not to be. I am fine, the truck appears unaffected, so for the most part, the event might never have existed. Relax and enjoy your weekend.
Toodles!
In The Ditch
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Ditch Tracks
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Curling Ice
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Well, I promised you all that I would blog again, to let you know that all was well, and I got to my destination intact. That much I can say did happen. However, it was not without incident that I got from point A to point B.
I hit the ditch. That much is pretty obvious from the pictures. Strangely though, it was almost fun. I think I stayed pretty upbeat about it. It wasted about an hour of my time, but there doesn't appear to be any consequences from the trip into the ditch. (I can't say through, because I didn't make it)
Here's what happened, encapsulated into a bite sized portion. I was travelling south on the highway. There was a truck ahead of me. I was giving more following distance than would ordinarily be necessary. The truck slowed down to turn right, onto the grid road that is present in the pictures. I hit the brakes. The vehicle started to fishtail. So I let off the brake. Coming at me were three vehicles. One passed me by as I began to fishtail. A second was coming towards me and the truck in my lane. Behind that vehicle was a third vehicle. I had three choices.
Fishtail into the wrong lane, and potentially collide with oncoming traffic.
Stay where I was, and rear-end the truck in front of me.
Hit the ditch.
In the 1/64 of a second I had to make the decision, I picked ditch. I was privately hoping that I'd make it through the ditch, and into the field. With a 4x4 truck I figured I could probably get out of that mess. I didn't make it through the ditch. The snow was knee deep at the base, where I ended up. I couldn't get a picture of that unfortunately.
In the final analysis I would have to say, no harm, no foul. It was an adventure I'd have sooner not had but, all it really costed me was an hour. I should probably consider myself lucky. Those of you that would be alarmed by this news, please try not to be. I am fine, the truck appears unaffected, so for the most part, the event might never have existed. Relax and enjoy your weekend.
Toodles!
Friday, March 19, 2004
Its been another one of those days. Things falling all over themselves trying to vie for my attention. I handled it well, given the circumstances I was dealt but, as we come to the end of another Friday, I find myself glad that its the weekend.
I have one final task to complete, before I will truly be 'off' for the weekend. I have to drive. It looked scary, about 10:00 this morning, and I was having some second thoughts. The skies are reasonably open now, and the only concern should be the road surface. I'll take it easy and it should be fine. I promise to blog, for all of you that would worry about my safety.
Be well, my friends and readers. It is the weekend. Enjoy!
I have one final task to complete, before I will truly be 'off' for the weekend. I have to drive. It looked scary, about 10:00 this morning, and I was having some second thoughts. The skies are reasonably open now, and the only concern should be the road surface. I'll take it easy and it should be fine. I promise to blog, for all of you that would worry about my safety.
Be well, my friends and readers. It is the weekend. Enjoy!
Thursday, March 18, 2004
While I'm thinking about things, I have another thought.
I forgot my hard drive in Saskatoon on Monday. Thus I have NO music at my disposal, as I sit at my desk. I remembered Kevin telling me about Shoutcast once so, in the absence of anything else, I checked it out.
Major thanks to Monsieur Hills for the great idea. This is exactly the type of facility I wanted to have. New music, all day long. Thanks Kevin!
I forgot my hard drive in Saskatoon on Monday. Thus I have NO music at my disposal, as I sit at my desk. I remembered Kevin telling me about Shoutcast once so, in the absence of anything else, I checked it out.
Major thanks to Monsieur Hills for the great idea. This is exactly the type of facility I wanted to have. New music, all day long. Thanks Kevin!
Okay this bit of news fits in both the weird, and cool directory.
The Rant King
I forget the story that lead me to this guy's blog. I think it was a link, on another page that I ended up on for a reason I don't recall. Let's just say, I don't remember when or why I started reading his blog. The material was good, the writing better than most, and final analysis, it was a good read. So I'd check it occasionally.
I am not entirely certain what made me read the, non-blog, side bar. I'd scanned it briefly before, as it had some elements similar to me, such as the email link. A TSN link, to which I can relate. Come to think of it, since I'm pondering it now, I think I ended up on this site because the reference I saw for it said, Canadian, and Rant. Since both would apply to me as well, I thought it worth noting.
In the sidebar, on the right side of the main blog window. Seventh yellow heading down is a section called 'Blog Roll'. 11th on the list happens to be 'Grant's Rants'. That's me. Now I'm curious. How did I end up on this list? Its very cool that I ended up there. I don't write in my blog solely for the cathartic release. I do kinda want it to be read. I wonder if this is stimulating any proliferation in my readership? So many questions!
I wonder if I should email him? Say thank you? Is there an etiquette to linking to someone's site? I don't know any of the rules!
All thoughts would be welcome. Contact me same as always.
Toodles!
The Rant King
I forget the story that lead me to this guy's blog. I think it was a link, on another page that I ended up on for a reason I don't recall. Let's just say, I don't remember when or why I started reading his blog. The material was good, the writing better than most, and final analysis, it was a good read. So I'd check it occasionally.
I am not entirely certain what made me read the, non-blog, side bar. I'd scanned it briefly before, as it had some elements similar to me, such as the email link. A TSN link, to which I can relate. Come to think of it, since I'm pondering it now, I think I ended up on this site because the reference I saw for it said, Canadian, and Rant. Since both would apply to me as well, I thought it worth noting.
In the sidebar, on the right side of the main blog window. Seventh yellow heading down is a section called 'Blog Roll'. 11th on the list happens to be 'Grant's Rants'. That's me. Now I'm curious. How did I end up on this list? Its very cool that I ended up there. I don't write in my blog solely for the cathartic release. I do kinda want it to be read. I wonder if this is stimulating any proliferation in my readership? So many questions!
I wonder if I should email him? Say thank you? Is there an etiquette to linking to someone's site? I don't know any of the rules!
All thoughts would be welcome. Contact me same as always.
Toodles!
Wednesday, March 17, 2004
My boss has been a very bad influence on me.
He likes gadgets. And, being owner of a successful company, he has the means to acquire almost any toy he wants. Thus there is an almost endless parade of new trinkets and toys, parading passed my eyes. I like gadgets too. Thus, every time he gets something new, I begin scheming for a way to get myself something new.
However, that is not how I arrived at the topic sentence of this particular blog entry. Today we are talking about 4x4 trucks. Again, Murray is a bad influence. From time to time he will go, play in the mud. Ripping around in a bog, with his 4x4 Chevy Avalanche, and then come back and describe how much fun it is.
So I got back to Watson on Monday, only to find my driveway full of snow. I probably should have shoveled. However, Murray's voice echoed in my ear, and after a couple of examinations of the quantity and quality of snow in my driveway, I made the critical decision to not shovel. 4x4 LO, and away we go!
It was okay the first couple times. I appear to be making things slippery now, on top of snow filled. I almost had my truck stuck this morning. Did I shovel? Ummmm, no. :-D
I will provide pictures, should the occasion arise that I do get stuck. Toodles!
He likes gadgets. And, being owner of a successful company, he has the means to acquire almost any toy he wants. Thus there is an almost endless parade of new trinkets and toys, parading passed my eyes. I like gadgets too. Thus, every time he gets something new, I begin scheming for a way to get myself something new.
However, that is not how I arrived at the topic sentence of this particular blog entry. Today we are talking about 4x4 trucks. Again, Murray is a bad influence. From time to time he will go, play in the mud. Ripping around in a bog, with his 4x4 Chevy Avalanche, and then come back and describe how much fun it is.
So I got back to Watson on Monday, only to find my driveway full of snow. I probably should have shoveled. However, Murray's voice echoed in my ear, and after a couple of examinations of the quantity and quality of snow in my driveway, I made the critical decision to not shovel. 4x4 LO, and away we go!
It was okay the first couple times. I appear to be making things slippery now, on top of snow filled. I almost had my truck stuck this morning. Did I shovel? Ummmm, no. :-D
I will provide pictures, should the occasion arise that I do get stuck. Toodles!
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
This is one of the coolest things ever!
When I was about 10 or 12, I bought one of those remote control cars that Radio Shack has been selling, since forever. It was a fun toy, but it burned through batteries faster than I could afford (being 10 and all) so it ended up on the shelf.
Fast forward 20 years. For some reason I started thinking about this car again. I went through my boxes of toys at home with my parents, and I found my little car. Three weeks later, and several aborted attempts at getting the right number and size of battery, I have the car working.
Nostalgia is kinda fun. I wonder what else I have squirrelled away that might be fun to play with? Anyone remember those little windup cars you wore on your wrist like a watch? I have one of those somewhere too, although it never really worked all that well. There is my LARGE Lego collection. I had some neat toys when I was a kid. I miss those days.
Look out for speeding Tandy Camaro's. I have one on the road now. :-D
Toodles!
When I was about 10 or 12, I bought one of those remote control cars that Radio Shack has been selling, since forever. It was a fun toy, but it burned through batteries faster than I could afford (being 10 and all) so it ended up on the shelf.
Fast forward 20 years. For some reason I started thinking about this car again. I went through my boxes of toys at home with my parents, and I found my little car. Three weeks later, and several aborted attempts at getting the right number and size of battery, I have the car working.
Nostalgia is kinda fun. I wonder what else I have squirrelled away that might be fun to play with? Anyone remember those little windup cars you wore on your wrist like a watch? I have one of those somewhere too, although it never really worked all that well. There is my LARGE Lego collection. I had some neat toys when I was a kid. I miss those days.
Look out for speeding Tandy Camaro's. I have one on the road now. :-D
Toodles!
Monday, March 15, 2004
Have you ever had one of those moments? One of those moments that you could tell would be a defining one. There's something inside of you, in a place you could never locate for anyone, when you could tell that something was going to happen. A truth would be revealed or a hope would be renewed. Or conversely, despair would descend and blackness would color your eyes.
I have these moments, from time to time. Perhaps its unusual to note them as I do. I suspect that everyone has these moments. I further suspect that a great part of, the secret of life, is to not note the occurence of a crystallizing moment, but simply live in it, and make the decision that seems most natural.
I do note these moment however. The razor sharp focus that comes to my mind, strikes me far deeper than the vividness of the moment. I 'know' somehow that I'm going to be facing a decision that will take me along one path, or the other, without going back again to make another choice. This decision will shape some part of my future, in a way I can't understand or describe. I just 'know' it.
And almost without exception, I make the wrong choice. However, that summation is not entirely accurate either. It would be more correct to say, I make no decision, and the moment to change my life passes. I stay where I am, grounded in the same reality, and unable to grow, and change, in a way that is long, long overdue. The opportunity to become someone new, to experience new adventures, and be in love with my life, just fades away, like the rising of the moon through the darkness, as the sun fades quickly into the western horizon.
I am here. Same as I was the day before. You can expect that I'll always be here. Knowing there is more to life, but unable to touch it. Share with me your stories, all of you, my loved ones. It is only through friends and through family that I remain whole.
Good night, and may fortune smile on you.
I have these moments, from time to time. Perhaps its unusual to note them as I do. I suspect that everyone has these moments. I further suspect that a great part of, the secret of life, is to not note the occurence of a crystallizing moment, but simply live in it, and make the decision that seems most natural.
I do note these moment however. The razor sharp focus that comes to my mind, strikes me far deeper than the vividness of the moment. I 'know' somehow that I'm going to be facing a decision that will take me along one path, or the other, without going back again to make another choice. This decision will shape some part of my future, in a way I can't understand or describe. I just 'know' it.
And almost without exception, I make the wrong choice. However, that summation is not entirely accurate either. It would be more correct to say, I make no decision, and the moment to change my life passes. I stay where I am, grounded in the same reality, and unable to grow, and change, in a way that is long, long overdue. The opportunity to become someone new, to experience new adventures, and be in love with my life, just fades away, like the rising of the moon through the darkness, as the sun fades quickly into the western horizon.
I am here. Same as I was the day before. You can expect that I'll always be here. Knowing there is more to life, but unable to touch it. Share with me your stories, all of you, my loved ones. It is only through friends and through family that I remain whole.
Good night, and may fortune smile on you.
And the saga continues . . .
More from the world of truck repair today. I stopped at Sherwood and got my vehicle. They were full of it, but I couldn't be bothered to argue about it today. I wanted to get back to the office. I missed it, in a strange way. It feels good to be back.
Nevertheless, we had new truck problems. Not right away. I came back to Watson, everything was groovy. The trouble was, as soon as lunch came, and I tried to remote start, I got a definitive, not gonna happen. That left me highly unamused.
I guess its easily fixed though. Not that it matters anymore. Winter, or at least the chillingly cold part, seems to be over. Hopefully spring is just around the corner. I'm anxious to wear shorts again.
Toodles!
More from the world of truck repair today. I stopped at Sherwood and got my vehicle. They were full of it, but I couldn't be bothered to argue about it today. I wanted to get back to the office. I missed it, in a strange way. It feels good to be back.
Nevertheless, we had new truck problems. Not right away. I came back to Watson, everything was groovy. The trouble was, as soon as lunch came, and I tried to remote start, I got a definitive, not gonna happen. That left me highly unamused.
I guess its easily fixed though. Not that it matters anymore. Winter, or at least the chillingly cold part, seems to be over. Hopefully spring is just around the corner. I'm anxious to wear shorts again.
Toodles!