That's freaky!

I have lots of interests, all related to computers. For those who've been following along, I have been experimenting with a site dedicated to predicting the results of Major League Baseball games. In addition, I've had a fascination going back almost 25 years to create a unique matchmaking service. Being more a dreamer than a doer, most of my dreams/plans have gone unfulfilled. Lately, however, I've been more focused and am actually doing something about these things.

With respect to the matchmaking service, I've been scouring the internet for appropriate personality inventory systems - the idea being that certain personalities gel well with other personalities. When I find these kinds of sites, I generally take their test to see what my personality is like.

So today, I came across one and took the test. Here is an excerpt from the report - the VERY FIRST PARAGRAPH of the report (the emphasis is mine):

"The primary desire of the Protector Guardian is to be of service to others, but here “service” means not so much furnishing others with the necessities of life (the Provider’s concern), as guarding others against life’s pitfalls and perils, that is, seeing to their safety and security."

I kid you not! I guess my newest endeavour is well-conceived!

Colour me bashful!

My sister sent me a really cute video, which has been added to my Comic Relief section. I just think babies are adorable. Don't you?

(If you don't normally use your speakers, I'd advise turning them on for this clip).

Website update

It's getting bigger and bigger. Since my first site was posted, I've added a couple of tabs, and the information is now quite usable (I also have a PDF file with my "grand opening" promotion - though that's not what I called it). Now that I have flyers, and a copy of the artwork from my original online business card site (so I can print a temporary batch of cards while waiting for the real thing to be delivered), I might be able to get this puppy off the ground. Wish me luck!

Oh yeah, on a related note, you'll never guess what my sweetie did for Valentine's Day. She bought me (soon-to-be) monogrammed shirts with the business name stitched on! Wasn't that special?

One more day

That's all I've got left in my four-week long training course. I've learned a lot of useful stuff about starting and running my own business. And I've learned that despite all the training and positive reinforcement, I'm not alone in feeling like the first three months are going to be absolute hell. None of us know how closely we'll be expected to meet our initial revenue projections - projections made without a shred of knowledge as to how to set reasonable expectations. One thing is sure... regardless of whether I survive the three-month review, my commitment to this new path is absolute. I will continue down this path regardless of what anyone else says. Whether or not I can meet my three-month revenue projection, I have absolutely no doubt that LONG-TERM my business idea will be successful.

The website I've thrown together will improve with time, and grow in scope, but for now, here it is: Safe and Secure Computing

Superbowl XL and Sin City

It's surreal around here. We're located just across the river from Detroit, Michigan - home of Superbowl XL. My hometown of Windsor has always had a reputation as a "place to party". The Casino built in this city was the first in Ontario, and was probably the final straw that broke the camel's back when Detroit city council, after countless failed attempts to get public approval for casinos, realized they needed to build some to stop the flow of American gamblers to our fair Canadian city.

We have lots of licensed massage parlours, where, for a fee, you can basically get anything you want - completely legally, by the way, as long as you are properly registered and licensed by the city. And the strip clubs in this city rival anything you've ever seen in Las Vegas. Oh yeah, since Canada has excellent trade relations with Cuba, Windsor is also home to many cigar parlours - catering to the American crowd that crosses the one-mile-long bridge (or tunnel) that links our two countries.

Still, with all that Windsor has ALWAYS offered to our guests from America, the media somehow got locked into this "Sin City" moniker in relation to the Superbowl. Our reaction has probably been a bit mixed. While nobody wants their city to be referred to as "Sin City" (except maybe cities in Nevada), the tourism business in this town has gone absolutely bonkers these past few days. The local papers carry stories of the many rumours circulating about people such as Tom Cruise, Ben Affleck, and Jessica Alba - some or all of whom may be somewhere in our city.

Blue-collar town Detroit, meanwhile, seems to have aligned itself with like-minded Pittsburgh; with many on-air radio personalities openly supporting the Steelers. At least here in Windsor, our local papers are trying to provide equal and balanced coverage.

But back to the surreal atmosphere... each year for the July fireworks, we have several hundred thousand viewers camped out on both banks of the Detroit River to watch the show. A good portion of the crowd take their places on the Windsor side of the border, where the legal drinking age is lower, the Canadian dollar is (still) worth less than the American dollar, and there is virtually no crime. That crowd is gathered for only one day. The crowds around here lately have been building for the past week - to the point where the number of out-of-town license plates is rivaling the number of local plates.

I'll actually be a bit sad to see the city go back to its own, normal, obscurity after Sunday's game. Still, for those fleeting moments when some football viewers get to see Canada "up close", and seem so surprised when they find we talk the same language, dress like they do, and even have temperatures above the freezing point in the middle of winter, I get to smile a wide, proud smile in the knowledge that each one of us Windsorites did our part to welcome the world.

What a softie

OK, so I'm a softie. I don't have a feminine side, just a tender masculine side. So the video below really affected me.



What do you think?

Sick stuff

Not for the weak of heart... see what happens when a PETA member is duped into doing a work stint at a lab that does animal testing. It's sick stuff!

Corporate car

My new small business needs to be advertised. Ever since the smart car was released by Mercedes Benz, I've loved its geek chic look, and its undeniably low cost of ownership. So, I was very impressed when I saw this...




If I needed another reason to consider this as my next vehicle, that definitely was the deciding factor!

Week 2 finished - things heating up

The classes have been invaluable. Things I thought I had to do to be successful may not be needed. Simple things I hadn't considered might be critical. I've seen a lawyer, an accountant, a marketing guru, a business coach, and a graphic designer. All have lots of tips they're prepared to share - completely free of charge - because I'm part of this program. I can't imagine how much this could have helped me the first time I started a business... but that's ancient history.

I'm working on setting up my accounting system, creating ideas for marketing proposals, business card designs, web site text, and promoting strategic alliances as part of the preparation work for a concerted introductory campaign. I'm also trying to put together a press release that I'm hoping the local media will pick up on. I'll keep you all posted.

Week 1 completed - three more to go

I'm chomping at the bit. They're telling us not to print business cards yet, since we get free use of a professional graphic designer at the end of the second week of training. The question now seems to be "What do I give to my business contacts?".

I've had a modest number of service requests this week - all coming without the benefit of advertising. Some of my friends know that I'm now in business, and I've been getting gigs from that group. Thanks, guys!

Business training - day 1

I don't think I'll be doing a day-by-day breakdown of the training sessions. Just wanted to mention that today was day 1, and there are 18 days of training to go (we have the day off tomorrow). Only one day into the course, and there's already a world of useful information.

Employment update

Turns out that second interview didn't go well. I knew it had gone strangely, but I found out Monday that I hadn't gotten the job. In a way, that was a relief, because that last minute job potential had been distracting me from creating a business proposal to put before the Self-Employment Assistance program. The Canadian government provides the opportunity for unemployed people to seek self-employment, and the government is sometimes willing to extend unemployment benefits; providing you can put forth a business proposal that makes sense.

During the first week in January, I had attended a three-day course to learn how to prepare a business plan. Normally, when the government puts on this course, it runs from Monday through Wednesday, then you have an entire day to work on the plan before attending a question-period appointment. Because of the New Year falling on a weekend, the first Monday in January was a statutory holiday. The course was presented from Tuesday through Thursday, with no extra preparation day before the Friday question period. And it was during this period that I was also attending the job interview.

Anyway, I worked through the weekend on the proposal and presented it to my advisor on Tuesday. I was told that a decision would be made on Thursday, but was also informed that my conservative sales projections might work against me during the Thursday meeting.

About 1/2 hour ago, I got word that my proposal had been conditionally accepted. The program will monitor me closely to see whether I am achieving my revenue targets, and if not, they could still decide to withdraw their support after a three month trial period. But for the moment, the decision has been made to fund my efforts, and I'll be starting a four-week preparation seminar next Monday.

Here we go!

Second interview

I had a second interview yesterday. It was strange on so many levels, with very little, and very much being accomplished in a span of merely 10 minutes. I walked out not having a clue what was going to come of it all. Nevertheless, I do have other opportunities brewing, and I'll give that my full concentration for the moment.

It was bound to happen

The courts, in their "wisdom" have made it clear that marriage should not be restrictively defined as between a man and a woman. So, this really doesn't surprise me!

The spirit of Christmas

Here in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, we're located just one mile from Detroit, Michigan. So close, and yet so far. A different city, a different country, a different culture lies just beyond the narrow Detroit River. The majestic skyscrapers of downtown Detroit hide the seemier sights and sounds of the nearby ghettos - scenes of the infamous 1967 race riots. Many of the burned out shells destroyed almost 40 years ago still stand today. Detroit has a reputation, some say well-earned, of being a rough and dangerous city. While no longer considered the murder capital of the U.S., it is still close to the top of the list. Crimes of all kinds are far too frequent, as witnessed by the constant references to crime on the nightly news.

Contrast that with Windsor, a relatively sleepy city of 200,000+ residents, that has endured a particularly grisly year with six or eight murders. Windsor made the news this past week for a very strange reason. One that led to some unexpected comments from our neighbours in Detroit.

By the way... the place mentioned in the stories above is located four blocks from my home.

Today was alright...

My foot was feeling well enough to hobble along without much discomfort. I'm still favouring the foot, but the pain is substantially reduced. On the other hand, my cold has gotten worse, and I did a lot of coughing and throat clearing today. Normally, that wouldn't be so bad, except today I had a job interview. The people doing the interview had been told in advance about my foot and my cold, so I hope that was taken into account.

Interaction between them and me went smoothly, with each of us feeling quite comfortable. All questions were answered candidly, but in a positive fashion. Where there was a lack of knowledge in a particular field of expertise, I pointed out that none of those areas would be difficult to master with a bit of on the job training, and that I had other skills that could be transfered to other members of the support staff.

There were the standard "soft" questions to try to flush out my psychological profile. I have no way to tell how I did on those questions, since they weren't the standard questions you learn about from some of the recruiting websites. Still, I came away feeling that if I decide not to pursue self-employment, I may still be able to get a "real job".

How I spent the Christmas holiday

I've been suffering a particularly painful bout of the gout (at least I hope it's gout) for over a week now. My foot has been too swollen to properly fit into my shoes, and the bone just below the base of my big toe is red and tender to the touch. I haven't been able to walk properly in almost a week, and when I finally tried to leave my house yesterday, I could only do so with the aid of a cane.

With that in mind, the Christmas holiday visiting season was quite compromised this year. The day before Christmas, my father-in-law and his wife visited us, as did my step-daughter and her husband, with their three kids. Also joining us for that evening were my brother- and sister-in-law. This day marked the official "coming out" party for the newest grandchild, at the age of one month old. He's such a tiny package, but it was still a joy to see everyone fussing over him so!

I was pretty much confined to the easy chair, since I couldn't stand without difficulty.

By Christmas day, my step-son had made it into town and we celebrated the traditional Christmas lunch and present opening with nearly everyone present. Only one of my step-daughters was missing - her work schedule called for her to be at work and she couldn't make it home until the 26th. With the hustle and bustle of little kids around, my foot was in danger of being prodded; and despite my best efforts, there were a couple of times when it was subjected to an accidental jolt that nearly sent me through the ceiling with pain. Although our entire family had been invited out to dinner at a different brother-in-law's house, I tried but failed to put on shoes, and elected to stay home.

Things were much the same on the 26th, and I spent the entire day indoors and off my feet. On the 27th, I felt like I was letting my discomfort rule my life, so I did what I could to force a pair of shoes on, and took the opportunity to visit my mother and sisters; along with a neice who was celebrating a birthday that day. Walking was tolerable with the cane, but I had to warn everyone that I would not remove my shoes (dirty or not) for fear of being unable to get them back on.

This morning, I can finally fit a slipper over my foot without too much discomfort, although if I snag my toe or heel on a carpet, or an edge of a piece of furniture, the pain is immediate and excruciating. I am able to slowly shuffle around the house without use of a cane, but I haven't been brave enough to venture up to the second floor.

This afternoon, I hope to install a new DVD dual-layer drive into my computer. I received it as a gift from my wife, and I'm anxious to see how well it works. Also, when my step-son arrives home, I have to put some effort into trying to install a new water valve in the laundry room that will allow the dogs to automatically replenish their water supply when it runs low. Up until now, my wife has had the job of refilling and lugging a 50-pound water jug on average twice a week to keep those thirsty labs happy.

Next week, I'm scheduled to attend classes meant to prepare me for running my own business, but to throw a wrench into the whole self-employment concept, I received a call today from one of my ex-employers saying they'd like to interview me for a newly available opening. As much as I would enjoy working with those people again, I have some lingering doubts about the long-term prospects. I'll have to give the whole thing some serious thought.

Mixed message?

To understand the message, you must first understand the context.

Apologies in advance...

From here:


Christmas 2003

Twas the night before Christmas and Santa's a wreck...
How to live in a world that's politically correct?
His workers no longer would answer to "Elves".
"Vertically Challenged" they were calling themselves.

And labor conditions at the north pole
Were alleged by the union to stifle the soul.
Four reindeer had vanished, without much propriety,
Released to the wilds by the Humane Society.

And equal employment had made it quite clear
That Santa had better not use just reindeer.
So Dancer and Donner, Comet and Cupid,
Were replaced with 4 pigs, and you know that looked stupid!

The runners had been removed from his sleigh;
The ruts were termed dangerous by the E.P.A.
And people had started to call for the cops
When they heard sled noises on their roof-tops.

Second-hand smoke from his pipe had his workers quite frightened.
His fur trimmed red suit was called "Unenlightened."
And to show you the strangeness of life's ebbs and flows,
Rudolf was suing over unauthorized use of his nose
And had gone on Jerry Springer, in front of the nation,
Demanding millions in over-due compensation.

So, half of the reindeer were gone; and his wife,
Who suddenly said she'd enough of this life,
Joined a self-help group, packed, and left in a whiz,
Demanding from now on her title was Ms.

And as for the gifts, why, he'd ne'er had a notion
That making a choice could cause so much commotion.
Nothing of leather, nothing of fur,
Which meant nothing for him. And nothing for her.

Nothing that might be construed to pollute.
Nothing to aim. Nothing to shoot
Nothing that clamored or made lots of noise.
Nothing for just girls. Or just for the boys.

Nothing that claimed to be gender specific.
Nothing that's warlike or non-pacific.
No candy or sweets...they were bad for the tooth.
Nothing that seemed to embellish a truth.

And fairy tales, while not yet forbidden,
Were like Ken and Barbie, better off hidden.
For they raised the hackles of those psychological
Who claimed the only good gift was one ecological.

No baseball, no football...someone could get hurt;
Besides, playing sports exposed kids to dirt.
Dolls were said to be sexist, and should be passe;
And Nintendo would rot your entire brain away.

So Santa just stood there, disheveled, perplexed;
He just could not figure out what to do next
He tried to be merry, tried to be gay,
But you've got to be careful with that word today.

His sack was quite empty, limp to the ground;
Nothing fully acceptable was to be found.
Something special was needed, a gift that he might
Give to all without angering the left or the right.

A gift that would satisfy, with no indecision,
Each group of people, every religion;
Every ethnicity, every hue,
Everyone, everywhere...even you.

So here is that gift, it's price beyond worth...
"May you and your loved ones enjoy peace on earth."

More proof that God exists

I have no doubt that God exists, and that he watches over me. This apparently extends to those I love as well. Let me explain. Tuesday night, fairly late in the evening, I get a call from my sister. She's the one in the Toronto area whose basement was destroyed by a flash flood back in August. The walls and floors were just replaced, with the final repairs having been made that same day. Finally, she had the time (and new furniture set up) to put her computer back into service.

Everything was plugged in as per the wiring diagrams she had carefully drawn before disconnecting the equipment several months ago, and when the power switch was turned on... nothing happened. She could hear the computer running, but there was nothing except a blinking light on the monitor. So she called me.

She wanted to know if I could come over right away (I live 250 miles away and it's a couple of days before my wife hosts a large family Christmas party). I said no. She offered to pay for my train tickets. I still said no, and pointed out that a service technician would be much more convenient, and significantly cheaper than me hopping on a train. My wife even suggested that she pack up the computer and bring it to our house this coming weekend. She didn't think it would be safe to carry the computer on slippery pavement to her car, so she said that was not an option. After much badgering, and her insisting that she didn't want anyone else messing with her computer except me, I finally gave in.

We spent the next 15 minutes or so making online train reservations for the next morning (I can't believe how expensive last minute tickets cost - even economy!), and after using her credit card number to pay for the tickets, I remembered an important appointment that would be missed if I took that trip. We then cancelled the tickets, and made another reservation for later on in the day.

So, Wednesday comes, and I do everything I had planned; then rush to catch a 5:30PM train that should get me into Toronto at about 9:15PM. It was 10:00PM when I actually got to Union Station, and because of my current limp, it took me a few minutes to walk to the subway. I finally got to the subway stop where my sister had arranged to pick me up. It was the last stop on the line, and the time was after 11:00PM before I got in her car. I hadn't eaten in several hours, so finding food was a priority. Not much is open at that time of night on a weeknight, so I had to settle for fast food takeout.

By the time I got to my sister's house, it was after midnight. My return train ticket required that I get onto the subway by 10:00AM on Thursday, so I didn't have much time to waste. Luckily, the problem with the computer was very minor, and was fixed within 5 minutes of arriving at the workstation. Since the computer hadn't been used in a few months, there were many updates that needed to be applied. She doesn't have high speed internet, but it is slightly faster than dialup. Using her connection, it took several hours to update the antivirus program, spyware detection program, and browsers (both Firefox and IE had needed to be updated). And once all that was done, there were the general questions that were posed and answered.

Finally, at around 3:30AM, everything was done, and even though my sister was still using the computer to catch up on email, it was time for me to get to bed. No sooner had I stepped away from the computer than we heard a menacing pop followed instantly by smoke billowing from every orifice of the battery backup unit. The smoke was thick and acrid. It was clear that toxic fumes were being created from burning plastic. My first priority was trying to get under the computer desk and turn off the switch on the battery. Smoke continued to pour from the battery, and I worked frantically to unplug all the devices that were plugged into the battery. Each time a device was unplugged, smoke began to billow from the newly uncovered holes. Having finally been able to unplug all the wires, it was time to unplug the battery from the wall. That was difficult to do because of the position of the wall outlet, but eventually, we got it out.

The battery is somewhat rectangular in shape. I picked the battery up with my bare hands and tilted it so that the longer part of the rectangle pointed up. My rationale was that, if there was still an active fire inside the battery, it would be facing up, away from my hands, and away from the lead-acid battery cell. I quickly made it up the stairs, through the garage, and outside, where I gently laid the battery on the snow-covered sidewalk. We headed indoors to open some windows to air out the basement (the smell was overpowering), and eventually went back outside to disconnect the internal lead-acid battery cell from the battery housing.

As far as I can tell, nothing that was done to service the computer had any bearing on the battery. It had not been overloaded (the only things plugged into it were the computer, monitor, and cable modem). Based on what I can tell, that battery would have started on fire approximately three hours after the computer had been powered up, regardless of whether it had been fixed by a technician, by me at my home, or by me in her basement. Only the last option, however, would have resulted in me (or anyone else, for that matter) being present at the moment the fire started.

Any other scenario, and the house would have been burned to the ground, possibly with my sister and her daughter still inside.

Thank you, God, for saving us from all that grief.

(P.S. The trains were running so far behind schedule because of weather, VIA Rail has offered a 50% discount on my next trip!)

I knew there was something I liked about Christmas

I guess I should be proud this happened in Canada!

King of my domain

For someone without an income, I'm feeling pretty flush these days. I've been going on a bit of a buying spree, renewing and/or registering domain names that I think will be beneficial to me should I successfully start my own business. There are a number of domain registrars and hosting companies that sell their services for next to nothing, and I can only hope they'll deliver adequate quality once I actually set up more than a parked domain page. Time will tell.

Huh?

December 7th

December 8th

When is a blog not a blog?

What do you call a collection of dated postings, written by a single person, which expresses opinions, informs readers, and offers insightful advice. Many might call it a blog. There's one such site which I visit almost daily, yet for some reason, I access it via a dedicated link on my desktop. It's called Joel on Software. Why it hasn't been included in my list of blogs is, frankly, beyond me. Today, it gets added to my list of good sites to visit. Is it a blog? You decide. Is it interesting? For the right audience, definitely!

Ho ho ho

In the spirit of the holiday season, I've added a new entry into my Comic Relief list. Thanks to my sister for this submission.

Back to boring

Everybody's home from the hospital and things are pretty much back to boring.

Going home

It's a good day today. My mother-in-law received her pacemaker yesterday, and is scheduled to go home today. Except for a little residual pain, she's feeling fine, and her ticker now keeps better time than my wall clock. My daughter was released from the hospital days ago, but is still visitng the hospital daily to provide love and nutrition for her young son. He should be going home sometime soon, having done quite well in the neo-natal unit of the hospital.

I also want to acknowledge the many packages of clothing and other supplies that have been donated by family members, both mine and my wife's. These gifts are much appreciated by my daughter and her husband.

Setting the pace

The doctors have decided that my mother-in-law will be getting a pacemaker. It is scheduled to be inserted on Monday or Tuesday. My wife is naturally a bit concerned, but we all think it's better to have the procedure done before there is a "real" emergency. The only complaint we had is that the doctors had been saying all day Friday that they were going to be delivering "good news" before the end of the day.

Perception is everything... as far as my mother-in-law was concerned, "good news" meant she would merely be sent home with a change in medication. The doctors, however, meant the "good news" was that she was a good candidate for the surgery. Oh well, at least we've gotten that cleared up!

Like a good neighbour...

I got a call a few minutes ago. It was from the manager of the complex where my mother-in-law lives. It seems the neighbours had voiced some concerns that they had not seen or heard from my mother-in-law for a few days, and they wanted to make sure she was alright. Things like this restore my faith in the human race.

Welcome, Brandon

Born at 12:36AM, baby Brandon and mommy are doing fine!

How many birthdays tomorrow?

November 23rd is the day traditionally reserved for contacting my cousin about his birthday. We're the same age, with him being a few months older than I am. We grew up together, so he's pretty close to my heart. I have two grandchildren, both born on February 2nd. Both were born five weeks premature. My third grandchild is due around Christmas day. His soon-to-be mother just went into labour today - approximately five weeks early. The odds of him being born on the 23rd are probably better than 50%, as far as I'm concerned.





How cool would that be?

And how cool would it be to have grandma (my mother-in-law), my wife, her daughter, and possibly my step-daughter's new-born son, all in the same hospital on the same day.

It's shaping up to be just another boring Wednesday!

Not the best of days

Yesterday, my mother-in-law had an EKG on the advice of her doctor. She's been suffering from general fatigue and her GP had noticed a slow and erratic heartbeat. The EKG was scheduled to take half an hour, but before the test was even finished, technicians at the hospital had decided that things were going poorly, and my mother-in-law was sent to the emergency department. She has been placed on a heart monitor, and doctors are adjusting her heart medication to see what will happen. Consensus at this point is that she will need to have a pacemaker inserted, and surgery will probably be scheduled for some time in the next few days.

Meanwhile, there is a shortage of beds at the hospital. She spent last night sleeping in a cubicle in the ER. Rumour is that the man in the next cubicle has been there for several days. Except for the lack of solid walls and a TV, she is, at least, in a private area. If she had been placed in a room, it's likely it would have been in a ward, with three other roommates. This way, she's within a few feet of the main ER nurse's station and lots of doctors.

I hope all goes well with her, since she's relatively young, and my wife is certainly not ready to face a life-and-death situation with her mother.

A note from our sponsor

Today, I was asked whether I design web sites. The short answer is NO. Website design is more than just stitching together some HTML and placing it on the web. I have no artistic eye, and absolutely no artistic capability (except when it comes to code design and user interface). But colour and form are just not in my vocabulary.

Still, I told my friend that I would blog about a topic near to his heart, in lieu of actually creating a website for the purpose. The synagogue I attend is about to celebrate its centennial. Some say it's even older than that, but the consensus is that it has reached its 100'th year (though it's current location is not the original building).

I've been asked to announce that anyone who was a member of the Shaarey Zedek congregation in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and who would like to contribute stories and/or photographs depicting events or other gatherings from their time in the shul should contact the centennial committee chairman at 1-800-442-8190.

We now return to our regularly scheduled programme.

Speaking of technology...

I'm so pumped about the revival of the computer, I have been thinking of ways I can take advantage of its resurrection. Primarily, it will be used to demo software that I create. And it will be an excellent way to prove to prospective clients that my software will run on virtually any vintage PC - even really old ones with a slow processor!

On the other hand, I'll need to be careful about how much "junk" I load it with, since I just discovered that the hard drive in this puppy is smaller than the one on my tiny MP3 player!

Power to the people

The battery arrived in today's mail, and first impressions are definitely positive. The self-test button on the battery showed an initial 50% charge - which was verified when the battery was placed in the laptop and the power management software indicated a 49% charge. Just a short while later, the battery is showing a full charge and for the first time in years, the laptop is capable of running without a power cord.

It may sound like nothing much, but the decision to order the battery was difficult to make. First, the original battery was so dead, it wouldn't even respond to the self-test button, despite having been "recharged" for more than 24 hours, and despite showing an 89% charge on the power management software status screen. Second, I had no way to know if the internal battery charging circuit in the computer was still working, given what I was seeing with the original battery. Last, and certainly not least, was the fact that the computer was so old to begin with. There was some question whether there was any point making it functional again as a portable unit.

Now that the computer is running successfully under battery power, proving that the battery and the internal charger are fully operational, I feel much better about the decision, and will be using the computer much more than I had been.

I've (almost) got the power

I took a chance today, and I'll let you know later whether it will pay off. A few years ago, I worked as a consultant for a large IT services firm. They provided me with a laptop, and when I left their employment, I assumed they would want their equipment back. Despite my sending several emails offering to return it, they never followed up, so I eventually wound up keeping it.

The machine is probably seven or eight years old, so it's not exactly up to date, but it is portable, and better than nothing. However, a few years ago, the battery wore out and it has only worked properly when powered by the AC power source. I've considered buying a new battery for quite some time, but today, I took the plunge and plunked my money down on a no-name replacement battery I found on eBay.

It's the first time I've purchased anything from eBay, so I hope I don't get scammed. The seller had an excellent profile, and from the feedback, I could see that he has sold this item before to many people. At less than one third of the price from the manufacturer, I just couldn't say no. If it turns out to not work, I'll send it back for a replacement. If it works for only a short time, well then, I guess I'll have learned something. But for now, I am optimistic that my experience will be positive.

I'll keep you posted.

Movin' on up

This weblog, for me, is like an online diary. I had never kept a "diary" in the traditional sense prior to starting this. In the early days, I thought it was important how many people visited the site on a daily basis, and I was obsessive about trying to find ways to get more people to stop here. One day, a few years back, someone with a real presence in the world of blogging had honoured my tiny corner of the universe with the "Site of the Day" designation, and my numbers soared artifically high for a short while. But, on the average, fewer than a dozen or so people actually stop here on a regular basis and I no longer feel the need to entertain anyone.

So, what's the point of this post - following on the heels of only a very few in the past weeks...

One of the original "bloggers" - certainly the one whose site I've admired most over the years - has called it quits. Not because of anything sinister (like the blog wars of several years ago, where some good people were scared away due to insensitivity from others), but simply because she's run out of things to say. Her long-held desire to become an author has finally gained enough strength to force her to take action, and her weblog - which has taken so much time and energy to maintain - will be the project that is directly affected by her change in priorities.

"A Small Victory", as her site was known, was always a place where I could go to read well-crafted stories and passionate political commentary. In recent months, the political commentary began to disappear, and so did my interest in her site. In an attempt to become less controversial, she had lost the spark that had kept me coming back. I kept hoping she would change her mind and get back into the fray. But it was not to be, and this week, she pulled the plug.

I'll miss her, but I know she'll be happy in her new endeavours, and that's really what life is all about. So, goodbye, Michelle. It was a blast while it lasted.

Not much happening

Nothing much has changed... I'm still unemployed, still working hard to improve my stress issues, and still plugging away at my project. I've been updating my website fairly regularly, and plan to make some changes during the off-season. Here's hoping I make some money when the new season starts.

Thanksgiving weekend

I'm so thankful that I had the opportunity to see all my children this past weekend. They're not always able to come back home for the holidays, due to the demands of their various jobs. But this weekend, I got lucky and had the opportunity to spend time with them all. I'm so proud of how well they are maturing - and having the opportunity to celebrate my son's birthday was a real treat.

As they grew up and went their own ways, their mother had doubts at times about how well she had raised them. To see them now, she can be proud of the wonderful job she did. I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful family - where everyone is healthy, and for the most part, satisified with their direction in life. What more could a man wish for!

I've been VOIP'd

Our local cable company recently started offering telephone service using the same cable as the internet uses. I had been considering getting VOIP service from VONAGE or Packet8. There were always reasons for holding back. With the local cable company now offering the service, all my concerns were put to rest. We'll now be paying about $45 for telephone service (including unlimited long distance and the five most-used calling features). That's down from the $60+ we had been paying, and WAY DOWN from the $90+ when I was regularly calling my out of town employer. Now, even if I get a new telecommuting job, those calls will be free!

It's been installed less than an hour, and I'm already in love with the caller ID feature and clear voice signal.

Edited to add

So, I'm on the phone talking with my daughter (it's the third call since getting the service) when the internet goes down. The phone goes dead right in my ear. Just a bit disconcerting. Hopefully, this is not some kind of omen.

Looking for good news?

Sorry I haven't been posting often. There hasn't been much "good" news to talk about, and I'm acutely aware that very few people get any pleasure reading the daily whinings of someone down on their luck.

So, today, I offer a bit of good news. My kids are coming from out of town to join us for the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday weekend. It will be great to see them for the first time since before Labour Day.

In other news, my baseball project is showing promising results. After extensive testing and validation, I decided there wasn't enough time left in the current season to launch a commercial service. I will continue working on automation processes during the off-season and hope to be able to go live early next season.

Somebody's having a birthday!

This Sunday, my wife will be celebrating a birthday. I'm looking forward to the day, because it will give me something very positive to focus on. She does so much on a daily basis to buoy my spirits and I don't tell her enough how special she is. So, have a wonderful birthday, honey!

Fuck stress!

I'm under a lot of stress. I've been angry alot lately (lately being a relative term), and it's taking its toll. Being without work sucks big time. Not only do I lose my stream of income, but being a traditional male, the feeling is somewhat emasculating. There have been very few positions advertised in my field, and to make things worse, I'm seeing administrative job postings (with educational requirements of a highschool diploma) that are paying more than some IT positions.

Friday, I reached the breaking point, quite literally. I was sitting at my desk, working on something or other, when I forgot everything. I remembered my name and my wife's name, but that's about it. Kids names were gone, as were the names of our beloved dogs. I couldn't remember any telephone numbers - couldn't even remember where my wife puts the phone book. The episode lasted less than ten minutes, and recovery came slowly. I drove myself to emergency, and was surprised that the hospital staff considered my condition serious enough to see me within an hour of my arrival (waits of more than 3-5 hours are common in Canadian emergency rooms).

Long story short ... I was told I probably suffered a mini-stroke, and I've been given an appointment to see a neurologist this coming week.

Well, that's my life. How is everyone else doing?

What have we got here?

Exciting times

The other day, I mentioned how elated I was that my new venture was coming up #1 in Yahoo Search... Well, over the weekend, the same search came up #1 on Google as well (still #1 on Yahoo). A further search on more obscure search sites shows me on their radar as well, though nowhere near the top spot. This bodes well for future success. So, I'll keep plugging away.

Also today, I celebrated the (hebrew calendar) anniversary of my father's burial. Thankfully, enough men from the general community showed up at morning prayers to allow me to pay proper homeage to my dad's memory. Afterward, a small contingent visited the cemetery for further memorial services. Dad would have been proud.

Which six

When you're a senior, moving out of your home of 43 years to go to a new place is traumatic. Besides the horrors of unpacking untold numbers of boxes, there's the new place itself, with a different layout and different keys than those to which you've become accustomed. The new building has a secure entrance, where guests enter your apartment number, causing the phone in the apartment to ring. When I buzzed the apartment today, she answered the phone, then, thinking I was phoning from home, began to complain about all manner of things. After about a minute of talking non-stop, the security system cut off the call. I buzzed again.

"Why did you hang up on me?" came her immediate response to the ringing phone. When I explained that I was calling from the lobby, and asked to be let in, she couldn't remember how to do it.

I reminded her she needed to press the number "6" on her keypad. I waited perhaps 10 seconds, and when the door still didn't open, I asked her again to press the 6. Her response?.... [see title of post]

Woohoo

What a day! My mom's move is complete. I didn't kill her. And I got my first customer for my new service, less than a week after creating a website. I asked how they found me (I can't find the site using Google search). They told me my site came up as the #1 MATCH ON PAGE 1 of results using Yahoo Search!

I'll have more to say on that matter later, but first, I need to find me some "professional" graphics for the website and link exchanges. Anybody want to work on their portfolio by offering very inexpensive (a.k.a. "barter") artwork to enhance the site?

Coming soon to a screen near you

Over three years in the making, and soon to be released to the public. Read about it here.

Remembering

one year ago today

Ticked off

I've been reading ongoing news coverage of the London terrorist bombings. It ticks me off to see articles where the journalist says in effect: "these guys are really amateur. If they wanted to inflict the most damage, they should have exploded their device in the open, where shrapnel would affect the most people - not in the confined space of a subway car, where only a relatively few people absorb the entire effects of the blast".

So what comes next... probably a similarly inexperienced bomber will improve on the death toll by following the reporter's advice. Gee, thanks alot!

Shocked and dismayed

I often wonder whether I have false memories of my youth. There are events I remember vividly despite being assured they never happened. Some of these I know with my brain cannot be true - like being able to float across my living room from one couch to another without touching the floor... even if I had used one couch as a trampoline, I doubt it would have been possible to accomplish this feat. Yet even today, I have vivid memories of doing it. There have been other examples of this through the years. Today, I was confronted by disturbing evidence related to one such incident.

Forty years ago last June, I celebrated my Bar Mitzvah. It was a lavish affair, with a guest list that included more of my parents' friends and business associates than people I knew personally. Thankfully, my parents had hired photographers and a camera crew to take photographs and 8mm silent-movie footage of the event. Some years later, the 8mm film was transfered to VHS tape, with a dubbing of my Haftorah as background. That film contained staged sequences where I pretended to be drunk, losing the envelopes containing the monetary gifts - and then my younger sister appeared on the scene to scoop up the dropped envelopes, disappearing into the sunset as she counted her ill-gotten gains.

From that moment on, I have no recollection of ever seeing those envelopes again. I remember discussing it with my dad - and clearly remember being chastised for misplacing those envelopes. I never saw a penny of my Bar Mitzvah gelt.

Fast forward to this afternoon. My father died almost a year ago, and my mother is in the midst of preparing to move from her home. She's trying to get rid of as much stuff as she can, and today, she dropped off a box of Bar Mitzvah trinkets. Unused place cards, napkins, matchbooks, invitations, and reply cards had been lovingly preserved by my father, and were presented to me to do as I wish. And then I saw the envelopes. Those missing envelopes from forty years ago. Each one bore the name of the donor, and the amount of the enclosed gift - the notations made in my father's distinctive handwriting. There were also telegrams from those that could not attend, as well as the bills from the caterers, and the hand-written to-the-penny accounting of expenses that my father was famous for.

It is now painfully obvious to me that the envelopes were never actually lost. But I now have to wonder whether I received the money and just forgot (would you, as a thirteen year old forget receiving what amounted to 10-year's worth of allowance in a single day?) or whether my father chose to keep this money from me so that I wouldn't just fritter it away.

I guess I'll never know for sure.

Mourning is over

July 3rd would normally be celebrated as my parents' anniversary. Instead, by sheer coincidence of the Jewish calendar, today marks the end of the official mourning period for my father. By the Jewish calendar, the anniversary of his death will come on Tamuz 25 - which is one month from today. The official mourning period for a father/mother is one-month shy of a full year. Normally, that entails eleven months, but because of the Jewish leap year (which adds an entire month to the calendar), I've actually been mourning for twelve months on the Jewish calendar.

As a commemoration, I will be visiting the grave site this morning. Though the official mourning period ends today, my father will not soon be forgotten.

I've been really busy

Some may have noticed I'm not posting much lately. It's because I've been very busy finalizing my pet project, and have started negotiating with web-hosting and site design firms to get me online as soon as I give the final go-ahead for my new product. A number of factors have been conspiring lately to slow me down, not the least of which was a car accident that made sitting at my computer a very uncomfortable proposition. With my lower back pain more or less gone, I can once again put a full-day's work into this project without feeling like I need to get up and lie down for awhile. There have been other technical complications, but I have been steadily working through them one-by-one.

I'm finding that the data entry requirements associated with this project are far more time-consuming that I had imagined they would be. I am now working on some sort of mechanism that will allow potential "customers" to earn credits by helping with data entry.

Another blog

Anne's blog recently linked to a new one that I find fascinating. I'm taking the liberty to link to it as well. It's called Flight Level 390. Enjoy!

I can see the future

A lady in Pennsylvania probably has a great future in tarot card reading, after this.

What a shame

As the anniversary of my father's death approaches, I draw parallels to a story reported yesterday. Two weeks ago, Florence and Percy Arrowsmith celebrated their 80th wedding anniversary. They didn't marry particularly young, for the time... he being 25 and she 20. Yesterday, Percy decided to let go.

When my father became ill, he first thought he'd pull through and be around for his 85th birthday. Then, as things became more bleak, his only remaining goal was to make it to the day of his anniversary. He died less than two weeks later. At age 105, Percy must have sensed he didn't have that much time left. Still, for the love of his Florence, he hung on until his anniversary. I'm happy to report that at the time of his death, Florence was by his side.

Super-sensitive

I'm ultra-sensitive to cigarette smoke. I instantly get watery eyes when I come into contact with it, even if I can't see where it's coming from. I also have trouble with Indian food, having gotten food poisoning on three separate occasions shortly after dining in on Indian food (these attacks were serious enough to land me in the hospital). So I can understand how Elizabeth Hurley feels. Under the circumstances, I don't give this relationship much chance of working.

Toothless Tiger

During all of Tiger's bad times over the past couple of years, I never doubted that he was still the "best" golfer out there. His mental toughness was beyond anything I had ever witnessed. Today, I think he's lost his edge. Now playing his first tournament since having his consecutive tournaments without missing the cut string broken, he looks unsure - out of place.

After the second round of the current tournament (in which he is the defending champion), he was one stroke out of the lead. Yesterday, he shot a one-under par round. Not spectacular, but at least it was under par. In the process, thirteen other golfers shot well enough to either pass him, or tie him. He went from second place to a tie for tenth, and I believe he's now out of contention for a repeat title. When was the last time you can recall thirteen players catching up on Tiger while he played an under par round of golf?

Right now, Tiger is poised to add to his overall point score (with Vijay missing the cut). Still, he's not having what I would call a great tournament.

It's not that I have nothing to say...

It's just covered by the censorship guidelines I've recently adopted. You can bet I'm busting at the seams to let the details all hang out.

For those who are wondering, I did allow myself a few minutes to enjoy my birthday on Tuesday. Weird day though... was the sole eyewitness to a rear-ender car accident in the afternoon, then got rammed from behind while stopped at a red light that same evening. Karma!

Censorship is good

To anyone who saw my earlier post, consider yourself lucky. Several of my friends suggested I remove it. Upon reflection, I think they're right.

Gotcha!

I've wanted to post this entry for a long time. But to do so would have ruined the surprise. I think I was a part of the best Mother's Day celebration my wife has ever had. For a couple of weeks now, I've been scheming to secretly bring our daughter into town for Mother's Day without anyone finding out about it. I'll spare the details (which would take several paragraphs to explain), but just say the secret was well-kept, and my wife didn't know our daughter would be in town until she looked out of the car window and saw her at the curb at the train station.

The entire weekend went absolutely perfectly. I'm so grateful to my daughter for deciding to come down for the weekend, and for the secrecy we were able to maintain.

Happy Mother's Day, honey!

Birthday wishes

Happy Birthday, dad. Though I continue to go to twice-daily prayer sessions in your honour, I try as much as I can to get on with my life. Still, on what would have been your 85th birthday, it's the first time I haven't gotten you a card, or visited you at home for your special day. I don't cry about you very often - probably only twice since you passed away, because all the memories I have of you are happy, and I smile when others might cry. Today, though, I miss you alot, and hope you're happy.

Those three little words

At times like this, when I'm feeling a bit stressed about my job situation, it takes very little in the way of a positive message to raise my spirits. So it made me feel really good tonight, while I was wading through stacks of email to get one that made me smile. The message was short, sweet, and music to my ears. You've got cash! True to his word, the buyer of my second piece of eBay merchandise sent his payment tonight. The minute I know that it's cleared the international paypal bank and is safely in my local account, I'll begin preparations for sending the receiver on its way.

Finally - it's official

I'm unemployed (well, not quite yet, but I've received my termination notice). I've taken note for some time that the queue of pending assignments was shrinking. There were times when I had to beg for work to keep me busy. And then there were those assignments that looked like they'd be a piece of cake, only to turn into quagmires. The combination of inefficiencies and lack of work were my ultimate undoing. My boss still wants me to work on a piece-work basis (translation: work when we need you, with no benefits). I may keep that option alive, but only until I can find something more stable.

I'm not ruling out a more entrepreneurial direction, but right now, money's really tight - so I have to find a position with a regular paycheque. I think I was a lot more depressed on Tuesday and Wednesday. Having had some time for the shock to hit me, I'm a bit calmer. But only a bit.

Disillusioned

How quickly we fall. Buoyed by the success of my first foray into eBay, I had high expectations for the second sale. I suppose I should be happy that my item sold for more than any other identical model in the past few months (the results of past auctions are only available for a limited time). Still, the condition of the equipment had led me to believe the ultimate selling price would be higher. What I hadn't counted on was the fact that, throughout the one week auction, four other identical models of the equipment were put on sale.

With such a choice, I guess none of the buyers felt compelled to pay a premium for my particular one. But that's not even what bothers me the most. While the buyer of my first item was communicative and active in the process of closing our deal, the buyer of the latest item is worse than reclusive. He has avoided all attempts at contact, by email or phone. His posted information was "out of date" (some might claim purposely elusive), and I only managed to track him down by doing what I do best - using the power of the internet. He was not pleased that I managed to track him down. In fact, the only email he did answer was in response to a phone message that threatened to cancel the transaction.

Will I get paid? That remains to be seen. One thing is for sure... if the payment does arrive, it will be in my bank for a good long time before I ship any goods.

I'm hooked

After the success of my first ebay experience, I was encouraged to try selling another of my retired stereo components. It went on the block yesterday, with a minimum purchase price set higher than would normally be considered prudent. I was asking nearly three times what was being asked by others for the same model.

Before the night was out, I had a bidder (and therefore, a guaranteed sale). If other auctions are any indication, I could see bidding go up by as much as 250 - 300% before the auction ends next weekend.

I guess I'm going to keep on doing this until I run out of old stuff to sell!

April Fool?

In the town of Essex, a few miles from here, one romantic gentleman chose Friday night (April Fool's Day) to propose to his girlfriend. To his delight, she said yes. Good thing too! The very next morning, the newly-engaged girlfriend was awakened at 7:00AM. When she answered the door, she was greeted by the entire wedding party! They got married on April 2nd.

What I find amazing is that this man got the idea last December of proposing to his girlfriend, then marrying her the very next day. In order to do that, he had to plan an entire wedding, invite the guests, book the church, book the honeymoon, and buy a wedding dress, all without the knowledge of his girlfriend. The last element of the plan seemed like it would be the toughest.

To pull it off, this clever gentleman had a couple of his friends "pretend" that they were going to elope. When the friends went to buy their wedding attire, the "real" couple was invited to join them to offer advice. Just as the fake bride was to try on her wedding dress, she feigned illness, and the "real" bride (who is similarly sized) offered to try on the dress to help with the fitting.

By last week, the entire town knew what was going on, and the topic was discussed in gossip groups everywhere (without naming names). Fortunately, lover-boy managed to keep his girlfriend away from the main social hangouts, and the secret was preserved.

I've got to hand it to this guy. Not only does he become one of the few men to help with the planning of his wedding, he's probably the first to do it without the knowledge of his intended.

not much happening

It's been a pretty non-eventful week. Work is tolerable, but no longer enjoyable. There's just too much background stress for my liking. I'm looking forward to a time where I can perhaps be my own boss. My health has been slipping a bit, as I am not taking very good care of myself. I went on the treadmill a couple of days ago. First time in over two years, so I don't want to overdo it. Still, it was a bit of a workout, and I'm looking forward to my next session.

That's all for now.

ebay transaction complete

There were a few false starts along the way... having never done an ebay sale, I goofed the initial money transaction - accidentally refusing the payment from the buyer! But everything got straightened out... I got paid, and a few minutes ago, the buyer got his stuff. Everybody's happy!

I'm back

Just got back from Toronto a few minutes ago. Thought I'd catch up on email before unpacking. Well, I'm still employed, but the company is growing and things are changing. On the plus side, things like profit sharing and overtime. On the minus side, I don't qualify for either.

Off to Toronto

The meeting is tomorrow morning. Here's hoping for the best.

That was special

I tried selling something on ebay this week. The motivation for the sale is a story unto itself, but once I made the decision to place an ad, I did my homework. I had researched past sales of the same item and figured to get about $350US for it. Everything I had read about ebay said you should set a low starting price, and no reserved bid. Things like reserved bids tend to piss off people who would otherwise bid low, but continue to raise their bids as more interest developed.

It was a gamble. I set my initial price to half of what the average selling price should have been. I got an opening bid within a few hours. That meant I knew the sale was a done deal from the very earliest moments of the auction. During the course of the week, some serious bidders joined the fray, and by yesterday, bidding had surpassed $350US. Entering the last minutes of bidding, the high bid was over $400US. With under a minute, things seemed like they'd end at that number. All of a sudden, during the last 30 seconds, there was a great flurry of bidding; with the winning bid coming in a shade over $600US.

I think my wife has finally found a way to get me to clean out the garage!

Bad moon risin'

I'm thinkin' the 17th might not be a good day to get out of bed. A terse email, sent to all in the company, asks that we convene in the company boardroom for a morning meeting. A special invitation was directed at the three telecommuters among us. That's it. That's all I know. Kinda gets the head spinnin'.

I work from home. It's a 4-hour commute (1 way) to the office; so if it's bad news I'll be getting, it will sure be a long way to go just to get mugged. And that's all I'll be saying on that matter.

How do you please a geek

Yesterday, I had the most wonderful day. I was asked by two independent parties to provide advice on personal computer issues. Both parties accepted my recommendations and immediately put their money where my mouth was. It just seems so incredible that it would make me feel this happy!

Happy Birthday, Mom

It was my mom's birthday today. My wife and I took her out for dinner, then back to our place for a movie. We invited my mother-in-law too. By sheer coincidence, my brother-in-law and his wife showed up at the same restaurant, so they sat at the next table over. Seeing mom in horns was a real hoot!



Anyway, it was an interesting way to spend an evening...

What's the world coming to?

I mean, when something like this happens, can the end of the world be far off?

Bittersweet

The day I met the woman I would eventually marry, she was embarassed by the grandstanding of her three young children. The eldest of the girls was already 10 and quite precocious. The second daughter was 8 - cute as a button and very friendly. But on that first day, her 5-year old son was the clown and he melted my heart. The girls have long since left the nest, but our son has remained at home, save for a short stint exercising his "independence".

Tonight will be our last meal together before he, too, leaves home for what might be the last time.

Now 21, and eager to improve his lot in life, our son is heading off to Toronto to further his education in a skilled trade. To say we'll miss his acerbic wit, wry smile, and loving nature is an immense understatement. My wife has already cried many tears, as Jon, her "baby", prepares to make the journey tomorrow afternoon. I confess that I'll miss him terribly - not just because he's so helpful around the house, but because he's really a terrific human being; and I feel like our close relationship will suffer through the distance. As I try to type this entry, I'm more than a little misty-eyed.

Of course, I'm proud of his accomplishments, his desire to do better, and his commitment to the path he's chosen. I wish him the best of luck and success in his new endeavours, and hope he takes with him some fond memories of our years together.

Yeah, I'm still here

It's the obligatory post to prove to myself I'm still breathing. Except for a fabulous Valentine's Day with my unbelievably wonderful wife, I have nothing worth sharing at the moment. I wish winter was over.

Happy birthday, girls

In case I get too busy and forget to post later, happy birthday to my granddaughters, born on the same day, four years apart.

Strippers and Tigers and Accordion players, oh my!

This could only happen in Canada. Bless our souls!

I'm a great uncle

My niece had a baby girl on January 13th, the sixth month anniversary of my father's death. I didn't want to say anything until she had been named, and I thought I'd be posting pictures. At the request of the baby's grandmother, no pictures will be posted; however, I think I'm allowed to share her name. She will be called Sarit Atara (Hebrew name), which is somehow related to, or derived from the "S" in "Israel", my late-father's name; and Atara, which was her late-greatgrandmother's name.

I believe she will be known as Sari Kayla in English.

Thankfully, my father had been told of the pregnancy prior to his passing, so I'm sure he's upstairs somewhere looking after the welfare of his namesake.

Correction

An email received from my sister should make clearer the significance of the names. I suppose I should have asked someone who knows Hebrew to explain it in the first place.

The baby's name Sarit is taken from the Torah. In Genesis Chapter 32 Verse 29:

(The angel says) "What is thy name? And he said, Ya'aqov. And he
said, Thy name shall be called no more Ya'aqov, but Yisra'el (Israel): for
thou hast CONTENDED (Sarita) with G-d and with men, and hast prevailed."

The name Atara is the Hebrew version of the Yiddish "Kraindel" meaning "crown"
Aaron's grandmother (his father's mother) was named "Kraindel".

Busy...

I've been far too busy to post lately, swamped by paid and unpaid work. Hope everyone is doing well.

Random thoughts

So, I'm sitting at my desk, trying to log in to my office, and the Terminal Server connection is dog slow. After 35 minutes of trying to login, I've been able to do that only once, and I waited nearly 5 minutes for Outlook to open. I've logged out in frustration, and am blogging instead.

This past Christmas season, I went to the office party. Since I telecommute, it had been many months since I saw my coworkers and their spouses. One of my coworkers is called Joe, though his name is actually Joseph. His wife is Mary. And they had their son (not their firstborn, I think) on Christmas Eve.

We now return you to our regular stream of consciousness.

Climb every mountain

My sister's known for some time, although she didn't let the cat out of the bag until yesterday. Her son, the one with vocal political aspirations since his pre-teen years, has received yet another promotion. I still have the first business card he was issued when his party's leader won the last election. The official government crest was quite impressive, as was the heading on the card (in deference to my sister's request, I won't divulge any more). That first position "Special Assistant" was probably very important, but to me, it sounded almost like a patronage position. The next step, "Deputy Director" was the real thing as far as I was concerned. And now, he's the "Director" of the branch. There's only one guy above him on the entire government org-chart, the premier himself! And did I mention my nephew only just turned 26?

If I sound proud and boastful, it's because I am.

correction
Though I couldn't find it when I looked, my sister has informed me there is a "Chief of Staff" between my nephew and the premier. So, I guess I'll have to be happy thinking of him as Toby Ziegler instead of Leo McGarry C.J. Cregg.

News flash - secret project soon to go public

I'm spending most evenings glued to my computer, working on the program I started two years ago, then set aside when I started working full time. Previous attempts to complete this program met with failure - whenever I got the urge to spent effort on it, the timing and/or motivation just wasn't right. This time, I've left myself ample time, and I'm highly motivated.

I expect to be done final redesign this week (two years is a long time to go between design sessions, and some of my ideas have changed in the interim), with coding proceeding through the next three weeks. Beta testing should be ready to go by late January with full trials beginning in mid-February. I'm looking at this as a business opportunity, not just a programming exercise, and I really want it to be successful.

My programming strengths are business logic and back-end stuff. I'm a fairly novice web programmer, and will be seeking outside help once I'm ready to put a face on this baby. Hopefully, I won't get bogged down in those details until the time is right - no need to think about anything potentially distracting at this point.

I survived the holidays

It's been a good week. Lots of food, even more calories, lots of diabetic sweats - yup, my kind of holiday!

Tonight, there's just one more night of partying (a.k.a. eating what I shouldn't) and then (hopefully) sanity returns.

Merry Christmas!

The gifts have been opened. Each of us got at least one gift we weren't expecting. My wife's side of the family is here for lunch right now, but I had to sneak out for a few minutes because I have problems handling crowds. A ten minute break is all I need.

Revisiting Christmas Past

By sheer coincidence, my Daily Differential backup overflowed today. So what, you ask? Last Christmas, my wife bought me a DVD-Rewriter. As a computer professional, I'm keenly aware of the need for backups. And that meant that prior to last Christmas, I did DAILY differential backups that spanned many CD-RWs. Last Christmas day, I took a full system backup of my primary computer, and that took up three DVD discs. Since then, I've been able to do my Daily Differential backup on one DVD disc. This means it could run unattended. Well, this morning (or more precisely, yesterday morning), I was greeted by an unfamiliar dialog: "Please remove current disc and insert new disc to continue backup". Yup, I hadn't seen that message since last December 25th.

Tonight, I took a fresh backup of my system. This time, the backup required five DVD discs to store the 29 GB of stuff I manage. There's no music or movies included. It's all operating system, programming languages, source code, and databases. Now I'm ready to enter the new season with the knowledge that another full backup is again, about a year away.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

Jessie's home! Let it be proclaimed from the mountain tops, or maybe the tree tops ... or maybe the top of the staircase. Whatever. She's home, and we're all happy to see her. Too bad she won't be staying more than a few days. She's scheduled to work Christmas Day, so it's going to be a short visit. But a good visit nonetheless.

Keeping my promises

I promised pictures! If you're using Internet Explorer, captions will appear when you mouse-over the pictures. For the more enlightened among you, I've included the captions below the photos as well.




The kitchen was very dark, with cheezy paneling and cheezier faux brick. Hard to clean, and dreary, my wife had decided the day we bought the house that eventually, this would have to go...



This picture shows the faux brick as it encompasses the entire dining area and extends around the wall into the living room.



By far the dirtiest part of the job was the initial stripping. Though not visible from this shot, the archway between the dining area and living room had been curved. My wife decided to square it off to make the area appear more open. In the process of removing the faux brick, some of the drywall panels were damaged, so they were torn down completely.



Our son wants to be a drywaller. What better vote of confidence than to let him practice on our walls? Here, he's being supervised by my brother-in-law, an accomplished do-it-yourself-er in his own right.



Ready to go with the mudding, my wife sports her favourite painting moomoo. This dress has seen more action than most paintball warriors.



Mudding was hard work, and here, she stops to wipe her brow.




Fast forward a few weeks...

Sorry I didn't get any pictures of the painting that proceeded after the drywall was done. My wife had decided to apply stucco paint to give the walls some texture. It turned out to be a marvelous idea. Not only was it not as important to do sanding, but we were able to incorporate some of the imperfections of the brick applique into the finished product, giving that much-sought-after distressed look.




The dining area is much brighter. The phone has been placed on a side shelf (instead of being on the dining table), and the dreary brick and dark paneling has been replaced by a gleaming white surface throughout.



The transition from living room to dining room is much brighter, giving the impression of a larger space. The squared archway looks quite impressive.



The olive green front door was repainted a deep green, more in keeping with the colour scheme of the living room.



Partial view of the dining area, from the vantage point of the front door.



And finally, a view of the kitchen backsplash, formerly faux brick, taken through the archway to the dining area.


That's it! All done and ready for the holidays. Now, my wife can take a well-deserved rest, and I can go about reconnecting all the surround sound equipment. I sure have missed it lately.

Mission Accomplished

The painting is done. And I have to say, the dining area and kitchen look bright and inviting. Look out Debbie Travis, my wife is coming to town!

Pictures to follow tomorrow!

Home Improvement

Things continue to improve on the home front. Where once bricks lay strewn and walls were bare, there is now wallboard, primer and stucco paint. I am amazed at what my wife has been able to do, virtually on her own. She accepted some help from her brother and our son putting up the wallboard, but beyond that, all the preparation and finishing has been done solo - with advice from Home Depot and HGTV.

Not wishing to be one who my wife ridicules for not lending a hand, I can say I dutifully performed all tasks assigned to me. So far, that includes moving a china cabinet TWICE (so paint could be applied to adjacent walls); unscrewing two screws that held up a curtain rod; and opening TWO cans of paint. Yup, I've definitely done my fair share of the work!

Pictures of the finished room will follow, though it will be difficult to find pictures taken before the work was done.

Life's a bitch and so am I

Just a bit depressed lately, hence the lack of blogging. Don't really want to discuss it here.

Happy birthday, ya big lug!

I've been really tired today, probably the effects of a few late nights in a row of serious sleep deprivation. This evening, I finally crashed. Having just woken up, I pretty much mucked up my plan to call you on your birthday. I try to do it every year, and today, it was on my mind all day. Sorry I fell asleep, and I hope you had a fantastic birthday.

When I talk with you next time, let me know how you're liking the new job.

This weirded me out

I really understand the idea of people having a dog to protect them and their families. But I have a feeling that this person is taking things a bit too far.

My wife the home-wrecker

I never thought I'd agree with the characterization. But it's official... my wife is a home-wrecker. She has single-handedly brought down the wall dividing the kitchen from the dinette, and the dinette from the living room. First it started with the removal of some faux-brick decoration on the walls. Then, it escalated into removal of drywall, culminating in her unilateral decision to remove the archway between the dinette and living room. She had planned for the wall to be re-boarded, mudded, sanded and painted in a week's time. Not only has she under-estimated, but with her being set to start a new job this coming Monday, time will be more scarce to work on pet projects.

Ribbit

Know anyone who's croaked lately *evil grin*. Good riddance.

So, who is Ken Jennings, and does he know I'm his brother?

I've only watched him play one match, but aside from his uncanny ability to answer all questions trivial and a remarkable ability to buzz in very quickly, he's not much different than I. We're both software engineers. We're both married. OK, that's about the extent of our similarities. Fortunately, we have even fewer differences. He's rich, and I'm not so rich.

Ken, any time you want to visit me and drop a few loonies, be my guest.

Christmas is coming

It seems to me the ads have started earlier this year. Is it because the merchants fear we won't spend enough if they don't start their reminders? I'm not sure, but it certainly is a bit disconcerting that I'm going to have to put up with ads for the next seven weeks.

Gonna have to get my Scrooge outfit out of the closet soon.

Get off your asses and vote

I don't know how many Americans read this blog. But if you're reading this on voting day and haven't yet voted, what the hell are you waiting for? You have the privilege and right to take part in the election of democratically selected representatives. If you don't take the time to tell them which you would prefer to be your voice in government, you really can't complain that things in government aren't going the way you want them to.

Trust me... voting is important, and this blog will still be here when you get back.