The Vancouver Canucks won their hockey game tonight. They looked pretty good doing it. There is renewed hope in their chances for the playoffs. We'll see how things go tomorrow for our Canadians.

Toodles!

What is the deal with Wal-Mart!?!

I don't get it. Wal-Mart was just INSANE this afternoon. Candace needed a new fish tank for her fish, as the other one broke along the side. We checked Petland and they had none that were compatible with her existing tank hardware, so we go to Wal-Mart. It was retarded with people! It was like half the population of Saskatoon was in there. And the not so desirable half either. It was enough to make you feel uncomfortable. Actually, it made me a lot uncomfortable. I don't like people at the best of times and here were all these wooly people, crawling all over each other for the supposed deals available at Wal-Mart. You don't really wanna get me started on Wal-Mart's pricing policy but suffice it to say, there is no deal at Wal-Mart worthy of the type of insanity I saw in that place today.

And what was the deal with the girl with purple hair, a white face, and more metal in her face than a fisherman has tackle in his tacklebox!?!

Toodles.

Reflections on a Thursday:

I am the MASTER of hyperbole!

I don't like SGI adjusters.

Highway 55 past Carrot River sucks goat butt.

The Pas is a grubby place and I don't want to live there.

Prices for things really vary, depending on where you buy them.

Garmin Mapsource software is not always accurate.

That is all. Toodles!

Sometimes you just can't win. No matter how hard you try, or what you do, good fortune eludes you at every grasp.

My deep freeze died. It had to have happened since Monday morning because I remember putting stuff in there, when I re-organized my food to add the stuff my mom sent me this week. So it died after that. I'm wondering if it happened when I was monkeying around with it, when I was installing those table legs. I rolled it around, I remembe that much. I fussed with the plug this afternoon but it didn't seem to want to fire up or anything. I'm guessing the pump on it went kaplooey.

So my next question becomes, what do I do now? I can't get my mother on the phone because they've left one off the hook somewhere, and don't realize it. I have trouble believing she could have been talking on the phone for 90 minutes over the lunch hour, and into the afternoon. It always rings busy when I call. I would like to get a second opinion on what I should do now.

I'm not even pissed off. I'm mostly sad or disappointed. I didn't need another situation to work on. I'm trying to put things in order. I need a stretch of good luck, or at worst, luck without connotation. I didn't need bad. ...sigh... Maybe I'll just not replace the deep freeze. I suppose that's an option. I would like a $100 deep freeze to replace it, not the $400 I looked up in the Sears catalog.

Oh well. Life sucks, wear a rutabaga.

Toodles.

I committed the ultimate sin today, and paid the ultimate price. And its not like this hasn't happened to me before, for me to have not learned. I have done this before but I never learn. Its quite sad.

I didn't save my work. I did a drawing this morning, and just left it on the screen. I never did commit it to disk. I even went so far as to send the unsaved one to a consultant, in error. Then, when I went to do another drawing in the afternoon, I closed and said no to saving, thus losing all the work I'd done in the morning.

I never learn. I get lacksadaisical about it because AutoCAD is so annoying with save messages. i start ignoring them all the time and say no. Then I get burned like this. I was hopping mad this afternoon.

...sigh...

Toodles.

Why is it that the ugliest cars have the biggest, most powerful stereos?

I have a problem. Perhaps its symptomatic of my psychosis but, I keep hearing the 'you have mail' beep that Outlook Express makes when you get email, but I'm not actually recieving any email. Apparently the sound is a figament of my imagination. Should I be concerned?

Toodles!

Its been a wild day!

Lots happening, while nothing happened. Ever have one of those days? I didn't so much chase my tail but, after all my efforts, not much got done. I wrote two section in my bi-annual engineering experience report. I'm laying it on REAL THICK about how important I am at my job. A lot of it is hyperbole but this sodhumpuers that are in charge of deciding my fate seem to need to be impressed so, I'll impressed them. I''ll write a report the likes of which I've never managed before. Half will be hyperbole, the other an extension of the truth. The reality is, NO ONE is so integral to their job that things could not progress without them. Engineers seem to have a pumped up opinion of themselves so I'll play the game and make myself sound like the next best thing to god. Maybe it'll help.

One good thing to happen was, I finally got the wireless ethernet to the shop working. That was an impressive engineering feat, and proof positive that if you throw enough money at something, you can fix it. Two wireless antennas, some low loss cables, and probably $1000 and we have wireless ethernet halfway across time. Result? They can surf the internet but its virtually unusable for the accounting program, because the accounting program is a pig. A bad design decision, from our standpoint, makes our current program ineffective, especially through the wireless ethernet. On the up side, the connection itself is stable and strong so I think that particular nemesis has been vanquished.

I had a dream last night. It was about Melissa. We were back in the Dominican Republic, and I convinced her to come stay out in the slum area. We didn't have a room though, and were staying in one of those barn shaped garden sheds. The beds were two rickety cot like contraptions with a mattress thrown over top. It was a weird dream.

Toodles!

What a turn around!

My day started very slowly. I didn't want to get up. When I did I came to work and I didn't want to do anything. I eventually did, and cobbled together a specifications sheet for a new project. Interrupting that was what I thought was going to be a trip to Lanigan for another meeting (i.e. get screamed at again) but that was cancelled. Murray, as he is very prone to do, forgot to tell me it was cancelled. I think my boss does WAY too much. He needs to delegate more and just sit in his office and do boss stuff. He's taking meetings, making calls, answering requests, doing quotes. There's so much he does that he doesn't actually do a good job of all of it, and ends up forgetting stuff. Like, for instance, noting to me that a meeting has been cancelled. A trifling thing, I know, but its indicative of a larger problem.

Now its the afternoon and I'm filled with vim and vigor. I could take on anything right now. I am actually enthused about the rest of the day. Its like night and day in the cavernous interior of my mind. I'm just in love with everything. Maybe this is a good sign of things to come. I can only hope.

Toodles!

What a boring day its been today!

No one is doing anything interesting. Sean is researching water guns, after it came up in an email this morning. Melissa is playing solitaire on her computer. Kevin is making spreadsheets, and Greg and I are (were?) emailing back and forth about a Supercom order, and the price of monitors. Oh, and Candace is sick. Everyone seems to be killing time this afternoon. Its what I like to refer to as 'a slow news day'.

Melissa has suggested I write about Rainbow Brite in today's blog entry. She was even kind enough to send me a picture of Rainbow Brite, to refresh my memory and thus be able to write something about it. Alas, her efforts are in vain. I do remember Rainbow Brite. I have a sister, and I was thus exposed to Rainbow Brite in my childhood. However, I am a male, and Rainbow Brite did not impact upon my consiousness sufficiently that even with Melissa's heroic efforts, I am unable to muster any thoughts about Rainbow Brite. I'm sure the pre-teen girls of the 80's enjoyed Rainbow Brite, and all that she brought to the word but, I was more into fire trucks and Superman or Batman. I could probably even find my capes at my parents house somewhere. However, I would not find any Rainbow Brite stuff of my own.

Toodles!

I had the most peculiar dream last night. Unfortunately I don't remember much of the details. It has something to do with searching for, and protecting a God creature that was disguised as a child, and not aware of his full powers. There was a lot of it set in a basement apartment, much like the one I lived in when I went to university. There was also elements from my childhood, and the yard of a friend of mine who lived in the trailer court in Coronach. I wish I could write out the details of it for you but they slip my mind. The first coherent part of the dream had me on a mountain top with a flat plateau. This mountain top morphed into a city, as we travelled across to the right. Then we came across this half buried shrine that, after an interminable trip down steps in the dark, opened up into the apartment vista I mentioned earlier. Jerry O'Connell was guarding the God child as we (I don't remember who was in the group). Then some evil person attached the apartment and we fought it off. Water was involved in some way. The rest of the dream evolved as a mystery to figure out who was chasing the God child and what we could do to make it blossom into its full power.

That was my weird dream. Then I drove into work and had a really productive morning. I got some shop drawings and a full set of O&M manuals ready for shipment out. Except I need some electrical drawings for the manuals, then they are done. I plugged away very industriously all day. I just now too a breather to write this blog entry.

I also should mention that I attempted to revive my French skills. I was chatting for a brief time with our Winnipeg friends, en francaise. I had moderate success. I needed the help of the online translator a lot. I hope I'll get better the more I try it.

Toodles!

MSN sucks. Its really getting on my nerves. I wouldn't care so much if it would just tell me its signed me out. If you know, you can just sign back in, and all is well. The pain in the ass part is, sitting there thinking you're signed in and actually not be signed in. First you think everyone's being rude for not replying to you, then you find out you're the rude one for having gone offline without mentioning anything.

Maybe I worry about inherent rudeness too much. Everyone knows how MSN is, so its not really much of a shock when it screws you in the left ear and you get logged out like that. Everyone understands. I just hate being like that. If I'm leaving I say I'm leaving. Maybe its over-politeness but I think its appropriated.

Toodles!

The enemy has been joined. The Battle With SGI has been launched?

What is it with these people. I was on the phone with this guy who's doing the controls for the Souris plant this afternoon. I talked to him for quite awhile and as I was, this weiner from SGI called me and left an insolent message on my phone. I didn't look at my phone when I hung up and only noticed the flashing message sign around 4:00. I listened to the message and nearly flew into a rage.

From his words and tone it sounded like an accusation. The impression I got was, he thought I was trying to pull a fast one on him, and slip someone under. He repeated the same thing more than twice.

***NEWS FLASH***

The guy just phoned me back. He is a dick. He just knows I'm lying to him, or so he thinks. The smug, arrogant, insolent asshole. I could just choke him to death right now. I would love to do that. Wrap my hands around his slimy, underworked, overpaid neck and just wring the life out of him. That would be so lovely.

I'm not lying. I quite honestly do not know how the damage to my bumper occurred. When Ken brought in my license plate, and dropped it on my desk, that was the first I knew of it. I didn't look or anything in the morning before I left, to see if it was damaged already. It was 6:00 in the freakin' morning. Who thinks about stuff like that. I drove back to Watson and worked until lunch. I think I even drove home at lunch and came back. If I remember correctly he brought it in after lunch. I don't know how it came to pass that my license plate ended up on the side of the road.

It finally happened.

The snow has begun in Watson. An almost two day long waiting for the wait stuff to descend was finally reached when it began snowing a few minutes ago. And its going hard at it too. The ground is nearly white after only a short duration of snow. I'm not really a fan of snow. Certainly not in April. By now we should be pulling out ball gloves, and thinking about golfing. Shoveling the white stuff should not even be contemplated anymore.

I do not want this. (That's a quote from somewhere. A song I think.)

Toodles!

I have news.

I'm not going to Brandon tonight for a meeting in Souris tomorrow. They rescheduled the meeting for April 10. I am at once happy about not having to travel, especially considering the storm that is supposed to blow into Manitoba tomorrow. While on the other hand I'm unsettled because it upsets the plans I had constructed for myself. I had everything set out for what I was going to do, and how I was going to accomplish stuff. There were things I was actually looking forward to. Oh well, we must adapt. Life is constantly in flux.

Now I need to make supper for myself. I have NO idea what I'm going to make. On the positive side, I get to work out today, when I didn't expect to have the opportunity.

Its a damn good thing I didn't leave at 2:00 like I was threatening to do. That would have sucked. If I'm bitter about anything in this situation, its being phoned this last minute. I'm a long way away. Make up your mind quicker. Again, oh well.

Toodles!

Good news, good news, good news!

I should have posted this earlier but, I get into a routine of posting at work, and if I don't, when I get home it slips my mind. No excuse, just and explanation.

My truck is getting fixed. The bumper, that was mysteriously broken around the license plate, will be repaired, probably by the end of the week. To all of you looking for autobody repairs for your vehicle, I heartily recommend Boyd Autobody & Glass. They have been super to work with, at the two separate locations, I have dealt with them. Quick, courteous and effective. I phoned this morning, Tuesday, and they expect by Friday I can be having my new bumper put on, painted and ready to go. That is efficient, in my books.

That's my good news for the day. Likely you didn't enjoy it as much as me but, that's okay. Its for me to enjoy!

Toodles!

Its interesting to note the variety of things that you think about, when you're stuck in a vehicle, by yourself, for a long stretch of time. I drove from Saskatoon to Watson this morning. Here's a smattering of the things that went through my mind.

Tara (When isn't she in my mind? She was kind of prevalent in my thoughts during the whole trip.)

Why didn't I get a paycheque at Sask. Place last night?

Would the tape I used for my GPS mount work to hold my CD changer controller and 4-1 12V adapter hub?

What kind of compensation are we going to get for our miserable hotel accomodations in the Dominican?

I should make a reservation in Brandon for Wednesday night.

Apparently driving back to Watson is a lot like dreaming. Once you stop doing it you can't remember most of the stuff you thought up while you were doing it. Like a dream, I have forgotten most of the details of my trip from Saskatoon. Which doesn't make for a very interesting blog entry. Oh well.

Toodles!

Murphy's Law is incredibly reliable. Of all the natural laws that exist, I think Murphy's Law is the most solid. Even better than gravity. Eventually they found cracks in the Law of Gravity too but Murphy never lets you down.

Nearly every weekend I come to Saskatoon and have no plans for Friday night, the guys want to go online and play video games. Invariably I'll have other plans for other parts of the weekend, so I won't bring my game CD's. They'll ask if I want to play, and I'll have to say no because I don't have my stuff. This weekend I took the initiative and brought my games and headset. What happens? None of them are available to game. Murphy's Law strikes again!!

On another note, I love my GPS. I drove in from Watson tonight and watched my track on the little screen, noted my speed, and distance travelled. For me its not a tool but a toy. But its fun, and why shouldn't I enjoy the fruits of my labor?

Toodles!

First of all I want to say I am VERY IMPRESSED with the service I got from GPS City Canada. I ordered my GPS unit from them yesterday afternoon and by this morning at 11:00 I had it in my grimy little hands. I consider that very good service. The price was right, they sold me all the little doo-dad's that I need to make it go and here it is Thursday evening and I'm just about ready to put the little thing to use. Maybe buying one was a good idea, maybe it wasn't. End of story, it doesn't really matter. The money's spent and I've got the calculator looking thing on my desk. I'm happy. (And it really didn't cost that much either)

I hate the photocopier. It hates me. We have a mutually symbiotic hate/hate relationship. There isn't an ounce of goodwill between me and that infernal beast. Somehow I got another set of shop drawings out of the creature this afternoon but it took me nearly all afternoon to do it. I lost count of how many times I had to stop to clear a paper jam out of the thing. The less photocopying I have to do, the better. One thing about working for a small company, there's no one down the food chain to delegate menial tasks.

Back to the GPS thing for a minute. Another benefit of this nifty, new purchase is, I took the bull by the horns to do something that has frustrated me for some time. I carved up my ashtray at lunch today, and removed the cigarette lighter plug from its molded plastic. In so doing, and by removing the tray part, I was able to get the plug, and an adapter, into the fold up tray, and well, fold it up, and out of sight. That makes me very happy. Having to have that stupid thing half open because I had an adapter in it, has bothered me for some time. And for $20 I bought this converter box and now I can plug four things into my truck instead of one. That is a major bonus!

Toodles!

I was sitting here watching the end of the Edmonton-Phoenix hockey game when I realized a very gratifying thing. They played this commercial, from the Safeway Club, and the person won a trip to Cancun, Mexico. I sat here thinking, you know, I've been there! That was a neat feeling. I saw some pictures from a model's trip to Cancun and it was neat to recognize the place she had visited. It was the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza. I saw in the background the remnants of buildings that I'd seen myself.

I was exceptionally pleased with the realization that I got from this. I've travelled. I've seen part of the world now. Okay, I'm not some massive traveller but at least I've been a few places. I couldn't have said that a couple years ago. Since then I've been to Edmonton and Calgary a few times, east to Winnipeg and as far as Dryden, Ontario. I made it to Vancouver and saw a bunch of things there. And there was the two big trips, to Cancun, Mexico, and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. I'm not a great tourist. I don't have good tourist instincts but there's been new, different, interesting things that I've seen just by going other places. I also went to Tampa Bay, Florida this year. I think I can take some comfort in having seen some of the world now.

If there was any one place that I'd have like to have visited, and didn't, or haven't, it would be New Jersey. Whatever has gone right or wrong with Tara, I would have liked to have visited her town, and seen the sights of her state, with her. For all the traveling I have done, that is my one regret.

Toodles!