Life goes on

It's my birthday today! More than a half-century on this earth, and I still haven't figured out what I want out of life. But I do know that I enjoy having my wife around (she decided to visit this weekend - wasn't that sweet!).

On a sadder note, my sister's father-in-law passed away yesterday. The funeral is tomorrow, and I'm a pall-bearer. Not the way I'd have chosen to celebrate my birthday weekend, but that's life.

Bye, Brian

One of the first blogs I started reading Life in New York has gone off the air. Good luck, Brian.

Fleetwood Mac's latest

I'm a big Fleetwood Mac fan. They're probably in the top 5 groups in my book (Beatles, Eagles, Queen, Supertramp, Fleetwood Mac). So, I was looking forward to their newest studio album. Overall, I've enjoyed the tracks I've heard on radio, although I can't be the only one who's noticed a significant similarity between the tune in "Peacekeeper" chorus, and the old Paul Simon song "Kodachrome".

George Harrison got in copyright trouble once by lifting a tune from another artist. I'd really like to know if they have permission to rip off Paul Simon's tune.


Keanu Reeve's Generosity

I've heard this from one news outlet, and I'd like to hear from a different source before declaring this as fact, but if true, this is incredible. Often, actors in a blockbuster movie will have a deal that pays them "points" (a percentage of the profit) based on boxoffice performance. The report I heard today was that Keanu Reeve's portion of the points for The Matrix Reloaded comes to a cool $100,000,000 (yes 100 MILLION dollars). News is that he's giving it ALL away. Quoted as having "more money already than I know what to do with", he is reported to have given lavish gifts to the stuntmen on the movie. I didn't get from the news piece whether he's simply "giving it away", or "donating it to charities". Still, if true, that's definitely news!

Just wasting time

Not intentionally, mind you... I tried to read my weblog a couple of hours ago. After repeated attempts to load the page, it came up the same way each time - totally messed up. Normally, I wouldn't think twice about it. I'd assume that there was a problem with blogspot's server, and that somehow, partially completed pages were being served up.

But yesterday, I had experienced lots of problems with w.bloggar's interface to blogger. When I went to w.bloggar's site to see if there were any technical notes posted, I noticed that there was a new version of w.bloggar available for download - and I promptly upgraded. With no improvement in performance, I headed over to blogspot to see if anything was posted on that site. There was a post, but not about problems... it was about a new beta version of blogger.

Although I didn't opt to download the new version, I did visit their site that gives you a taste of what your blog would look like if you were using the new blogger interface. I didn't change anything, but I did poke around for quite a while.

Which brings me back to my current issue... seeing all the mumbo jumbo on the screen, I jumped to the conclusion that maybe, just maybe I had changed something. For a person who backs up data twice a day, I'm ashamed to say I don't have a single backup copy of the template stored on blogger's server. So, I spent the past two hours comparing the template code from an old googled archive of my site to the template on file with blogger.

You probably know that google's version of a page has all the template tokens expanded with actual content, so it wasn't a trivial matter to look at the source code of both forms and try to find the similarities and differences. But I persisted, and after two hours, I concluded that the templates were undamaged. Just to be sure, I tried loading them into Dreamweaver, and it couldn't find anything out of the ordinary either. And then I tried to go back into Blogger, and lo-and-behold, the page came up perfectly.

Sometimes, computers can be so juvenile!

Is free email the next thing to die?

Free email, the orignal "killer app" of the internet, might soon be dying. Before you run out and spread the rumour, be aware this is only my opinion. Service providers, hungry for new revenue sources, are slowly removing the free services that attracted users. It's the old "make them dependent - then raise prices" philosophy. Illicit drugs are marketed in this way, and soon, I believe all internet services will be paid.

It's not necessarily a bad thing, having paid services. It could be argued that without a steady source of revenue, the providers you have come to depend on will go out of business. It can also be said that anything you receive for no charge is not highly valued. Would you be willing to pay a penny to be able to mail an electronic letter? It would be a good bet compared to snail mail, and would probably cut down on the number of unsolicited emails. People who send out or respond to chain letters would think twice about wasting their money. If charges for emails were automatically added to your cable bill, or phone bill, you wouldn't need to worry about managing additional numbers of bills (just higher costs). I can foresee a time when internet rates become even more multi-tiered, perhaps varying based on the number of emails you send per month.

With MSN's announcement that they will be phasing out free hosting for photographs, many people will be inconvenienced by having to find other sources of storage for their pictures. I can't imagine the day is far off when Hotmail will be an MSN-member only service. And once that happens, it won't be long before Yahoo and other email providers figure they can get away with charging a fee, because their biggest competitor is doing so.

Enjoy free email while it lasts.


Updated to add...
I just noticed that this post from Saturday had not been published. My cable service is so slow, the connection times out before I can get the message published

American Idol

Let me start by saying I've never seen this show; not last season, not this season. I don't know the contestants, or anything about them. However, as the hype for this season's final saturates the airwaves, I've seen pictures of the final two. And I'd like to know if I'm the only one that thinks the skinny guy looks a lot like Martin Short?

I wonder if he sounds like Martin too?

What a weekend!

I'm so glad I decided to go home to Windsor for the holiday weekend. Despite having been there last week, I had no regrets about this trip. The weather was beautiful, both for the drives there and back; and for spending quality time together outdoors. Last weekend, I got a chance to walk the dogs with my wife, and it felt good being outdoors. This weekend, I got the opportunity to go on multiple walks, and to also spend time shopping, talking, and just enjoying my wife's company. The focus was on the two of us, and we made the most of our time together.

On Friday, the subject of my move back to Windsor came up at work. I informed the boss of my decision to set a specific date for the move, and he concurred that the date I picked was workable. So, I will be giving my notice at the beginning of July, and at the end of August, I will be back in Windsor, hopefully for good! Sure, there will still be business trips to Toronto, but "home base" will be Windsor. I'm so excited!

I also let my parents know this news, and they were also very happy at the prospect of having me back home with my wife.

Heading home... eventually!

I really hadn't planned to drive home this weekend. I'm still recovering from the last drive back to Toronto early Tuesday morning. But when I realized that it's a long weekend, and the laptop computer I was planning to use this weekend had been previously checked out by a colleague, there wasn't much reason to hang around. It's been raining cats and dogs all day, and I seem to be unable to stay awake when rain is falling (or even on the way). Bottom line... I fell asleep while eating dinner, and I've just now woken up, still very much groggy. I won't be attempting to drive any time soon. Perhaps I'll try the next time I wake up this evening.

Now, it's off to sleep!

Smile for the birdie

Looking at those mother's day pictures, I relived not only the beautiful moments of the day, but also the frustrating moments caused by my digital camera. I should say that the camera itself is amazing. In its day, it was the best in its price class - winner of the Editor's Choice Award - and highly recommended by all the camera reviewers. But, the world of technology changes quickly. And with today's cameras coming down in price, there's no reason to stick with a camera that takes over 10 seconds to warm up, has a one-to-two second lag time from the time you click the shutter button, and takes more than 15 seconds to transfer the image to its 8MB SmartMedia memory card. Oh, did I mention that you can eat through a set of alkaline batteries before you fill the camera's memory?

The images I've posted on this site, although they were taken with this camera, were intentionally reduced in size and image quality to facilitate quick load times over low speed internet connections. The typical picture, in its "normal" size, is about 100-200K. By the time it's posted here, the size has been reduced to 10-20K. This past weekend, we had to stop taking pictures at 55 shots when the memory card was filled. There were at least that many additional shot opportunities that were missed due to the slow data transfer times and low memory capacity.



It was all too much to bear. I realized there are just too many "photo-worthy" moments when you have small grandchildren, and when you miss an opportunity for the perfect shot, that opportunity is gone for good. The day after our trip to Colasanti's, we went to Future Shop to find a new camera. Future Shop had more than 50 models on display, and I spent the better part of the day researching various internet web sites to determine which camera would offer the best range of features at the most reasonable price.

and the winner is...

After much research, and test-drives of several models at the store, the winner is the Canon PowerShot S400 ELPH. This 4 Megapixel camera costs about the same as the camera above, and allows photo quality pictures to be printed up to 8x10. But, for the most part, we'll be using this camera to record tons of pictures and even some audio/video clips (up to 3 minutes in length).



With the 128MB Compact Flash card, we can store almost 1500 pictures at 640x480 resolution without having to unload the memory card. And the time needed to store even the highest resolution photos is less than one-half second. Finally, due to its compact size, my wife can carry it in her purse at all times.

No more missed photo-ops!

You've got mail!

Tonight, my mailbox runneth over. And the news is all good! I've been waiting for pictures from Mother's Day weekend. Although I've become accustomed to the instant gratification afforded by a digital camera, the reality of living away from home is that I have to wait for my wife to find the time to download the pics into her computer, and then email them to me. Tonight, I received a nice assortment of keepsake pictures, and I thought I'd share some with you.

We start with the child midway at Colasanti's, where for just a dollar (that's a Canadian dollar), your child is treated to a 2-minute ride. The flying bug was very colourful and inviting. Though you can't tell from the close up, the seat-back on each car was designed to look like a stuffed animal.



Still in the midway, an electric train in the form of a caterpillar makes its way around a winding set of tracks. It was an excellent opportunity to catch mother and daughter having a great time!



Leaving the midway, we head over to the petting zoo. At only 75 cents per adult, you can spend as much time as you want in the company of the most adorable (and greedy) barnyard animals you'll ever encounter.



As you can see from these pictures, the goats were a big hit. There were lots of other animals to see up close. But these goats were the only ones that were allowed to roam freely among the visiting crowd.



Lest you think that Courtney was the only one having fun with the goats, Christie seems to be a hit with the younger kids as well...



Although it was difficult getting Courtney to leave the petting zoo, there was still much to be done. Before we left Colasanti's for the day, we decided to take in a round of miniature golf. Here, Courtney displays her winning style.



Well, kiddies... That's enough for now. I hope your Mother's Day was as enjoyable as mine!

Mother's Day Weekend

I'm just now walking in the door, having finally arrived from Windsor. I'll try to keep this short so I can get some sleep before having to head in to work.

Mother's Day Weekend was, in a word, memorable. Starting with an overnight drive to Windsor Friday, and a full schedule of family oriented events Saturday, the entire weekend was devoted to my wife, my mother, Laurie's mother, and our daughters. Everyone was home for the weekend, and it was a grand reunion. With my parents having returned within the past couple of weeks from their winter retreat, I finally had everyone back together. In an effort to avoid the Mother's Day Sunday crowd, my wife and I took her mother, and our three children, and two grandchildren to Colasanti's on Saturday. We spent six glorious hours playing with the grandchildren, taking a liesurely stroll through the petting zoo (more than one pass, actually, thanks to the irresistible goat kids that really knew how to warn your heart and empty your pockets of spare change). While there, we also enjoyed a picnic lunch and a round of indoor golf.

There was much to see, and even more to photograph. As usual, I'll have to get my wife to send me some pics by email so that I can post them here.

Sunday was spent with my parents, whom I hadn't seen since their return. They are looking marvelous, and it was really good to see them. My mom seems to appreciate and approve of the decorating that my wife has done while I've been here in Toronto. I got to see some of her handiwork for the first time this weekend, and I must say, she's quite talented.

I have so much to say, but I can barely keep my eyelids open...

So, goodnight for now.

Happy Mother's Day

One more feeding of my sister's cat, and I'm on the road. When you read this, sis, know that I actually stayed in town long enough to feed the cat twice, as promised. And thanks for leaving me dinner. That was so cool! My wife called around 11:00PM, and was surprised I hadn't left the city yet. (I guess she forgot about the cat!)

Good luck at the competition, Stef!

Honey, I'm comin' home!!!

e-i-e-i-o

There are certain words that I tend to misspell on a regular basis. Not because I can't spell, but because my fingers, when typing, have a mind of their own. Apparently, the word "niece" is one of them. As my sister so kindly pointed out, (with only a modicum of ribbing), I had misspelled that word in a post which she dredged up in my archives. Well, to you, dear sister, phhhht!!! Just kidding. The error has been corrected.

You go, girl!

Michele is the brains behind Troop Trax. And now, she's received a community award for her efforts. Congratulations, Michele.

(I've avoided posting links in this piece, because Michele apparently avoided making the connection between the two sites in her own posting. Why, I don't know, but who am I to go against her own intentions). Catch Michele at "A Small Victory" in my link list.

Have you seen my bird?

I'm looking for a bird. Not just any bird. His name is Norden. He has taken a particular liking to my vehicle. For three days running, I've noticed that my car has been adorned with airborne decorations. These have appeared in a consistent pattern, no more than an inch from where they appeared the day before. What I find most intriguing is that there are no tree limbs or wires anywhere near my parking spot... which means that Norden is performing these feats of precision bombing while in flight. While I find him truly amazing, and would venture that he was trained by the folks at Lockheed Martin, I would like to introduce him to a stone I'm saving just for him.

Happy birthday, dad!

Riddle me this... who's the world's best dad?

Mine of course, but don't take my word for it. My sisters think so too! And at 83 years young, I hope to be wishing him a happy birthday for many years to come. I can't imagine the world without him (and my mom too, lest she think she's not appreciated). But today's his day, so I hope she'll cut me some slack!

I consider myself very lucky that I've had the benefit of two, loving parents to see me through some rough times. They've taught me a lot about life, and the importance of family.

I was named for his father, so every once in a while, I joke around and call him "son". He seems to enjoy this, and I see a bit of a sparkle in his eye when we play this game. My father is an easy person to like. He used to have a lot of friends, but at his age, he's starting to get to the point where he's outliving them. Just remember, dad, that there are some good friends right here at home, and we're in no hurry to lose you!

A man who knows what he wants

Have you ever had one of those days when your personal slave isn't in the mood to cater to your whims. Well, this man knew just what to do.

Various ramblings

I had a bit of a scare today. It had to do with my archives. After hearing all sorts of horror stories about Blogger archives, and wondering what all the fuss was about, I finally got a taste of the problems myself.

Actually, I haven't been able to successfully "republish" my archives since November. A pesky Java Error was displayed; but since I don't use any Java code that hasn't been in my template for the better part of a year already, I couldn't figure out what could have changed in November. So today, I decided to investigate. Following all the instructions on the Blogger help pages, I tried to unlink, then relink and republish my archives - all to no avail. Then, horror of horrors, when I visited my archive page, I was shocked to see that all the pages since April 2002 had been delisted!

To make a long story short, I tried some unorthodox (i.e. undocumented) methods of attempting to resurrect the archives, and after close to an hour of trying, everything seems to be back in order. The archive page list is up to date, and my last attempt to "republish" all the archives progressed without incident.

Lindsey recently changed her web page template, and I think it's quite attractive. So much so, that I paid a visit to the site of the artist who created her graphics, and I'm seriously considering a facelist - the first since I started blogging.

A facelist, for those who know me, is a radical concept. I'm someone who has used the same barber (not the same barber shop - the same BARBER) since the age of 8 (I'm now over 50). I continue to buy the same style of shoes, year after year, until they go out of production. I eat the same foods every day, and like it that way. I could go on, but you get the idea. I don't embrace change.

So, if I do make a change in my blog template, it will be a major undertaking.

Last weekend, my parents returned from their winter holiday in Phoenix, and this weekend, it's my dad's birthday. I won't be in town to see him until the following weekend (Mother's Day). I'm really looking forward to seeing them. It's been a long, eventful winter.