Mother's Day comes and goes
Mother's Day this year was pretty decent. We had a family lunch at my sister-in-law's home, and the company was pleasant. Perhaps the only sour note to the weekend (though not the actual day itself) came when I discovered that I had lost my hard-to-replace sunglasses.
I've begun to retrace my steps from the weekend, though I don't hold out much hope of finding them. It's a real bummer, because they were manufactured as a matched pair for my glasses and I really have a difficult time driving in daylight without them.
On another front, we're nearly completed with renovations to our home. This set of renovations was my big "mother's day gift" to my wife. She's been wanting to do it for quite some time, but I had resisted until this month. By the end of this coming week, the renovations should be completed.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Hardy Heron is hardly worth it
I've become quite partial to Ubuntu over the past year or so, having initially installed a copy of 6.06 LTS that had been in my possession for a dog's age. When 7.04 (Feisty Fawn) arrived, I waited a while to upgrade, but eventually took the plunge.
I liked what I saw, and eagerly upgraded to 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) very soon after its release.
So this week, when I heard the call of the Heron, I dove in head first. It took a while to do the upgrade, what with the swarm of early adopters hogging the download bandwidth. Two nights ago, I was finally able to make a good connection with an authorized mirror, and let the installation process proceed overnight.
Boy, was I sorry!
The first clue that I was in trouble was when my system got stuck on a plain background screen (the cream coloured screen that shows up when you're logging in). I thought the install was just slow, but nope; it was definitely a crash.
The message I got was that the video driver firmware was not capable of dealing with the new version. But I at least thought I'd be able to proceed to a stable operating system. No such luck.
After much fussing, I abandoned any hope of being able to recover my 7.10 installation. Since I didn't have any important files saved on the Ubuntu box, I decided I'd just do a clean install. So, with much reluctance, I did a clean install of Ubuntu 8.04.
Nothing went wrong during the installation; and it completed with no troubles or error messages at all. Then upon rebooting after the installation, that's when the trouble started.
I again received a message that my video drivers were not acceptable, and Ubuntu threw me into limited support mode. Maximum screen resolution was a miserable 800x600, and Ubuntu was unable to identify my graphic hardware or my monitor.
What's worse, is that when I booted from the 7.10 Live CD, Ubuntu was able to start up in 1280x768 resolution - which is the resolution I used when Ubuntu 7.10 was still on my computer. Why a newer version of Ubuntu would be unable to recognize my video hardware and monitor when a prior version had been able to do so is completely beyond me.
You'd think I had learned my lesson, but it gets much worse from there. I'll wait until tomorrow to post that story.
I've become quite partial to Ubuntu over the past year or so, having initially installed a copy of 6.06 LTS that had been in my possession for a dog's age. When 7.04 (Feisty Fawn) arrived, I waited a while to upgrade, but eventually took the plunge.
I liked what I saw, and eagerly upgraded to 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) very soon after its release.
So this week, when I heard the call of the Heron, I dove in head first. It took a while to do the upgrade, what with the swarm of early adopters hogging the download bandwidth. Two nights ago, I was finally able to make a good connection with an authorized mirror, and let the installation process proceed overnight.
Boy, was I sorry!
The first clue that I was in trouble was when my system got stuck on a plain background screen (the cream coloured screen that shows up when you're logging in). I thought the install was just slow, but nope; it was definitely a crash.
The message I got was that the video driver firmware was not capable of dealing with the new version. But I at least thought I'd be able to proceed to a stable operating system. No such luck.
After much fussing, I abandoned any hope of being able to recover my 7.10 installation. Since I didn't have any important files saved on the Ubuntu box, I decided I'd just do a clean install. So, with much reluctance, I did a clean install of Ubuntu 8.04.
Nothing went wrong during the installation; and it completed with no troubles or error messages at all. Then upon rebooting after the installation, that's when the trouble started.
I again received a message that my video drivers were not acceptable, and Ubuntu threw me into limited support mode. Maximum screen resolution was a miserable 800x600, and Ubuntu was unable to identify my graphic hardware or my monitor.
What's worse, is that when I booted from the 7.10 Live CD, Ubuntu was able to start up in 1280x768 resolution - which is the resolution I used when Ubuntu 7.10 was still on my computer. Why a newer version of Ubuntu would be unable to recognize my video hardware and monitor when a prior version had been able to do so is completely beyond me.
You'd think I had learned my lesson, but it gets much worse from there. I'll wait until tomorrow to post that story.
Monday, March 10, 2008
This is MY KIND of news!
Sharon Kirkey, Canwest News Service
Published: Monday, March 10, 2008
Fat people have a survival edge over skinnier people in the face of critical illness, new research shows.
In the latest example of the phenomenon known as the "obesity survival paradox," American researchers found that while critically ill obese patients spend more days on mechanical ventilators and in intensive care units than thinner ICU patients, they're more likely to survive.
And there are several theories as to why: One holds that an abundant supply of fat tissue acts like a factory, churning out chemicals called adipokines that help fight inflammation and infections such as sepsis -- overwhelming bloodstream infections that are the leading cause of death in an ICU.
In addition, during severe illnesses, the body breaks down muscle protein and glycogen, the body's primary source of stored energy. Obese people may be better able to cope because of greater nutritional reserves.
"With the increased rates of obesity, we're seeing more and more morbidly obese patients in the intensive care unit," says lead author Dr. Folu Akinnusi, of the University of Buffalo's division of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine.
"We thought, if they were at increased risk and likely to die, we needed to do something, we needed a different kind of intervention to try and reduce or stem that wave of increased mortality."
Instead, they found the opposite to be true. Akinnusi hopes the findings will make doctors think twice about "subconsciously writing off the obese."
"A lot of times, people have less of an expectation" that they will survive, he says. "If we know they're not at greater risk then you're very likely to give them as much of a chance as everyone else and do the most you can for them."
The study is the latest to show how the very condition that causes multiple health problems -- including high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and diabetes -- may protect people during serious illness or injury.
Other researchers have found that obese people with kidney failure, heart failure and chronic obstructive lung disease do better than skinnier patients.
No one is suggesting obesity is a good thing, Akinnusi says.
Obesity aids in illness survival
Sharon Kirkey, Canwest News Service
Published: Monday, March 10, 2008
Fat people have a survival edge over skinnier people in the face of critical illness, new research shows.
In the latest example of the phenomenon known as the "obesity survival paradox," American researchers found that while critically ill obese patients spend more days on mechanical ventilators and in intensive care units than thinner ICU patients, they're more likely to survive.
And there are several theories as to why: One holds that an abundant supply of fat tissue acts like a factory, churning out chemicals called adipokines that help fight inflammation and infections such as sepsis -- overwhelming bloodstream infections that are the leading cause of death in an ICU.
In addition, during severe illnesses, the body breaks down muscle protein and glycogen, the body's primary source of stored energy. Obese people may be better able to cope because of greater nutritional reserves.
"With the increased rates of obesity, we're seeing more and more morbidly obese patients in the intensive care unit," says lead author Dr. Folu Akinnusi, of the University of Buffalo's division of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine.
"We thought, if they were at increased risk and likely to die, we needed to do something, we needed a different kind of intervention to try and reduce or stem that wave of increased mortality."
Instead, they found the opposite to be true. Akinnusi hopes the findings will make doctors think twice about "subconsciously writing off the obese."
"A lot of times, people have less of an expectation" that they will survive, he says. "If we know they're not at greater risk then you're very likely to give them as much of a chance as everyone else and do the most you can for them."
The study is the latest to show how the very condition that causes multiple health problems -- including high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and diabetes -- may protect people during serious illness or injury.
Other researchers have found that obese people with kidney failure, heart failure and chronic obstructive lung disease do better than skinnier patients.
No one is suggesting obesity is a good thing, Akinnusi says.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
It's been a bad winter
I don't get sick very often. But when I do, it's usually a doozy! This winter, I've been seriously ill twice with flu-like symptoms. I say "flu-like" because like every year, I got the flu vaccine before the bad weather started. In January, I had a period of nearly three weeks when I was either completely incapacitated, or in various stages of recovery.
Now, this past week, I visited a client who was sick, and three days later, I've come down with it myself. Yet another bout of serious congestion, vomiting, inability to sleep, and inability to enjoy food.
In three days, I've dropped nearly 8 pounds of weight (water weight, most likely) and feel like hell. I've missed a day of work, and those days when I did bother to work, it was a substandard effort.
Finally, I was planning to have my mom over this weekend to celebrate her birthday, but the way I'm feeling (and the likelihood that I'll be passing it on to my wife and son), I don't think I'm going to follow through on that plan.
I don't get sick very often. But when I do, it's usually a doozy! This winter, I've been seriously ill twice with flu-like symptoms. I say "flu-like" because like every year, I got the flu vaccine before the bad weather started. In January, I had a period of nearly three weeks when I was either completely incapacitated, or in various stages of recovery.
Now, this past week, I visited a client who was sick, and three days later, I've come down with it myself. Yet another bout of serious congestion, vomiting, inability to sleep, and inability to enjoy food.
In three days, I've dropped nearly 8 pounds of weight (water weight, most likely) and feel like hell. I've missed a day of work, and those days when I did bother to work, it was a substandard effort.
Finally, I was planning to have my mom over this weekend to celebrate her birthday, but the way I'm feeling (and the likelihood that I'll be passing it on to my wife and son), I don't think I'm going to follow through on that plan.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Happy New Year
January is nearly over, and I'm just getting around to my first post of the new year. In my last post, I mentioned that I had taken on a new challenge in designing a new feature into my synagogue's website.
That project has been successfully completed, and it runs flawlessly without any human intervention. In fact, some people have been so impressed by it that they've suggested the idea be commercialized. A new domain has already been registered in anticipation of this, and a partnership of sorts has been formed between me and someone who is better at the marketing end of things. Commercializing the product and some initial concepts about how it could be done was actually his idea, so it seems fair that he be included in any potential gain.
On other fronts, my son has completed his first semester at University, and his marks were promising. Also promising was that his portfolio of work earned him a spot in the university major of his choice. We're very proud of him.
Our daughter in Hamilton has been accepted in a college program designed to upgrade her current professional designation, and she started classes this month. She has shown a great deal of initiative getting into this program, and we wish her success in her quest.
Switching focus yet again, we've had significant changes in the family dynamic, vis-a-vis pets. For the past year, we have been living in sin, having made a conscious decision to defy the local bylaws by keeping more than two dogs. Around Christmas time, we took a trip across the border and saw a beautiful little dog that we wanted to adopt.
But, I opened my big mouth about having more than the legal number of dogs, and our adoption request was denied. For more than a year, we had anticipated the imminent death of our oldest and frailest dog. In fact, when we got our "third" dog, it was in anticipation that the oldest dog was near death. Anyway, about three weeks ago, she came down with another serious ailment, and that was the last straw. She was euthanized earlier this month. Immediately afterward, we visited a local breeder and put a deposit on a cocker spaniel puppy.
This would have brought us back to the three dog level, and one of those dogs, our beautiful purebred Black Lab, was deemed too large to be retained. We tried to sell her, but there were no serious offers, so we ended up surrendering her to the same no-kill shelter from which we had gotten our third dog last January.
So now, we're down to the legal two dog limit. We are left with smaller dogs than we've had in a while - the cocker/lab mix that we got last year, and the cocker puppy that we've had for the last two weeks.
Well, that brings us up to date. Any bets on when I'll post next?
January is nearly over, and I'm just getting around to my first post of the new year. In my last post, I mentioned that I had taken on a new challenge in designing a new feature into my synagogue's website.
That project has been successfully completed, and it runs flawlessly without any human intervention. In fact, some people have been so impressed by it that they've suggested the idea be commercialized. A new domain has already been registered in anticipation of this, and a partnership of sorts has been formed between me and someone who is better at the marketing end of things. Commercializing the product and some initial concepts about how it could be done was actually his idea, so it seems fair that he be included in any potential gain.
On other fronts, my son has completed his first semester at University, and his marks were promising. Also promising was that his portfolio of work earned him a spot in the university major of his choice. We're very proud of him.
Our daughter in Hamilton has been accepted in a college program designed to upgrade her current professional designation, and she started classes this month. She has shown a great deal of initiative getting into this program, and we wish her success in her quest.
Switching focus yet again, we've had significant changes in the family dynamic, vis-a-vis pets. For the past year, we have been living in sin, having made a conscious decision to defy the local bylaws by keeping more than two dogs. Around Christmas time, we took a trip across the border and saw a beautiful little dog that we wanted to adopt.
But, I opened my big mouth about having more than the legal number of dogs, and our adoption request was denied. For more than a year, we had anticipated the imminent death of our oldest and frailest dog. In fact, when we got our "third" dog, it was in anticipation that the oldest dog was near death. Anyway, about three weeks ago, she came down with another serious ailment, and that was the last straw. She was euthanized earlier this month. Immediately afterward, we visited a local breeder and put a deposit on a cocker spaniel puppy.
This would have brought us back to the three dog level, and one of those dogs, our beautiful purebred Black Lab, was deemed too large to be retained. We tried to sell her, but there were no serious offers, so we ended up surrendering her to the same no-kill shelter from which we had gotten our third dog last January.
So now, we're down to the legal two dog limit. We are left with smaller dogs than we've had in a while - the cocker/lab mix that we got last year, and the cocker puppy that we've had for the last two weeks.
Well, that brings us up to date. Any bets on when I'll post next?
Monday, December 03, 2007
Where to begin
It's been a while since I blogged. I guess when you wake up, do the same stuff, and go to bed, every single day; there really isn't much to talk about.
Since my last post, the most significant happenings are that our daughter visited from Hamilton (twice, actually -- once on the way over to the U.S. for the Thanksgiving holiday, and once on the way back), and our son has delighted us with his amazing progress as an adult-student at the local university.
Also related to our son, he decided to sell the car he's almost never driven, to help finance his computer and textbook acquisitions. The car sold over the weekend, and has yet to be delivered to the new owner, although it has been paid for.
On the personal business front, I continue to make progress. Revenues are consistently ahead of expenses (which wasn't always true during my previous year in business), but it's nowhere near the critical mass level yet.
I'm making an effort to get back on better terms with some people in my life. Life is too short to be angry all the time. It's difficult for me to make this effort, so it's too early to say how well it will turn out.
I own a few web domains, as well as owning and managing the one used by my place of worship. They've asked me to take their website to the next level, by not only providing a public service for our members, but also to try to actively recruit additional members and create a revenue stream. This should be a challenge, but I'm looking forward to it.
Well, that's about it. Nothing much to tell, but just enough to prove to the two readers who noticed not much was happening, that I'm still alive!
It's been a while since I blogged. I guess when you wake up, do the same stuff, and go to bed, every single day; there really isn't much to talk about.
Since my last post, the most significant happenings are that our daughter visited from Hamilton (twice, actually -- once on the way over to the U.S. for the Thanksgiving holiday, and once on the way back), and our son has delighted us with his amazing progress as an adult-student at the local university.
Also related to our son, he decided to sell the car he's almost never driven, to help finance his computer and textbook acquisitions. The car sold over the weekend, and has yet to be delivered to the new owner, although it has been paid for.
On the personal business front, I continue to make progress. Revenues are consistently ahead of expenses (which wasn't always true during my previous year in business), but it's nowhere near the critical mass level yet.
I'm making an effort to get back on better terms with some people in my life. Life is too short to be angry all the time. It's difficult for me to make this effort, so it's too early to say how well it will turn out.
I own a few web domains, as well as owning and managing the one used by my place of worship. They've asked me to take their website to the next level, by not only providing a public service for our members, but also to try to actively recruit additional members and create a revenue stream. This should be a challenge, but I'm looking forward to it.
Well, that's about it. Nothing much to tell, but just enough to prove to the two readers who noticed not much was happening, that I'm still alive!
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Bat Mitzvah day
My cousin's daughter is celebrating her Bat Mitzvah today. We were invited, but decided not to attend the actual ceremony. I attend a very small synagogue, and it's always touch-and-go whether we have enough men to do the entire service. Today, I'm glad I chose to stay local, because we didn't have any extra men show up.
The party is tonight, and we will be going to that. It's taking place somewhere I've never been before, and normally, I would be "mapquesting" in preparation. Tonight, I'll be relying on my GPS. Hopefully, it won't let me down.
My cousin's daughter is celebrating her Bat Mitzvah today. We were invited, but decided not to attend the actual ceremony. I attend a very small synagogue, and it's always touch-and-go whether we have enough men to do the entire service. Today, I'm glad I chose to stay local, because we didn't have any extra men show up.
The party is tonight, and we will be going to that. It's taking place somewhere I've never been before, and normally, I would be "mapquesting" in preparation. Tonight, I'll be relying on my GPS. Hopefully, it won't let me down.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Moving day
I didn't tell anyone I was moving, because until yesterday, I didn't know it myself. I had been living at the same home for two years now (26 months actually) and thought I was happy.
Then, I had a problem and had to ask the landlord for assistance. He totally ignored my problem and basically accused me of being a bad tenant! What's up with that? I'd never broken the rules, never asked him a question until yesterday... I thought I was the perfect tenant.
Then he had to nerve to imply I could be thrown out at any time, so I did what any self-respecting person would do. I moved out in the middle of the night.
So it's official. One of my websites has a new home today. And as soon as I can figure out how to redirect the mail from my old place, I'll be able to start getting that again too (along with all that lovely spam!).
Stay tuned for more details.
I didn't tell anyone I was moving, because until yesterday, I didn't know it myself. I had been living at the same home for two years now (26 months actually) and thought I was happy.
Then, I had a problem and had to ask the landlord for assistance. He totally ignored my problem and basically accused me of being a bad tenant! What's up with that? I'd never broken the rules, never asked him a question until yesterday... I thought I was the perfect tenant.
Then he had to nerve to imply I could be thrown out at any time, so I did what any self-respecting person would do. I moved out in the middle of the night.
So it's official. One of my websites has a new home today. And as soon as I can figure out how to redirect the mail from my old place, I'll be able to start getting that again too (along with all that lovely spam!).
Stay tuned for more details.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
September has almost passed me by!
It's been a good month, with very few glitches of any kind. Things on the business front are going well, and mostly good things are happening on the personal front. Last week, we celebrated my wife's birthday. That's about the only occasion for the month.
Fall has begun, so of course, the weather started to improve after we closed the pool for the season. This week (and the next) are pretty much taken up with various Jewish holidays, and then we'll head into what I hope will be a nice October.
Time flies when you're having fun!
It's been a good month, with very few glitches of any kind. Things on the business front are going well, and mostly good things are happening on the personal front. Last week, we celebrated my wife's birthday. That's about the only occasion for the month.
Fall has begun, so of course, the weather started to improve after we closed the pool for the season. This week (and the next) are pretty much taken up with various Jewish holidays, and then we'll head into what I hope will be a nice October.
Time flies when you're having fun!
Saturday, September 08, 2007
School's back in session
It's the end of the first week back at school. It's an exciting time at my daughter's house, with her youngest starting Junior Kindergarten this year. And my wife is facing her first fall semester registration crunch at the local university. I don't think she's ever been as swamped in her life, although she confesses to feeling somewhat like a mother figure to the young students. She's enjoying herself at this position more than she ever has at any previous employer.
There's nothing that makes me happier than seeing her beaming face each night when she returns home from work. It's a far cry from the days when she'd get home weeping and despondent over goings-on at the office. I'm so glad she's found herself a wonderful place to call "home".
With school back in session, I'm expecting my business call volume to increase after a somewhat slow summer. Although this summer was much busier than last year's, it still wasn't what I would call "great".
That's it for now.
It's the end of the first week back at school. It's an exciting time at my daughter's house, with her youngest starting Junior Kindergarten this year. And my wife is facing her first fall semester registration crunch at the local university. I don't think she's ever been as swamped in her life, although she confesses to feeling somewhat like a mother figure to the young students. She's enjoying herself at this position more than she ever has at any previous employer.
There's nothing that makes me happier than seeing her beaming face each night when she returns home from work. It's a far cry from the days when she'd get home weeping and despondent over goings-on at the office. I'm so glad she's found herself a wonderful place to call "home".
With school back in session, I'm expecting my business call volume to increase after a somewhat slow summer. Although this summer was much busier than last year's, it still wasn't what I would call "great".
That's it for now.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Jesse Imeson caught, and other important news!
International news
A high profile killer (I don't have to say alleged killer, because I'm not a reporter) who fled the Windsor area almost two weeks ago has been caught and will now be returned to Ontario to be put on trial.
It's a shame he didn't get caught earlier, before he had the opportunity to kill two more people while on the run. There were missed opportunities -- a witness that didn't come forward in a timely manner. Thankfully, that was not the case with the latest person to spot Imeson, and he was caught shortly after the report.
This isn't the type of story I normally write about. In fact, I rarely write about anything of real substance. I suppose I'm mentioning it because I was one of many people who came forward to police with information about Imeson. I don't think it had any effect in helping track him down, but it was important enough to have merited mention in the local press.
It will be interesting to see if the planned feature on America's Most Wanted will still be aired this weekend. The producers of the show had been in the area filming background material for this weekend's program. Since I normally don't watch the program, I have no idea whether their policy is to shelf footage if the crime has already been solved prior to air date.
Click the picture for a larger image
Family matters
With July over, there's only one more month of summer vacation. My son will be starting university come September. He's always wanted to go, and now, at age 23, he'll finally get his chance. He's really excited, and so am I! And I'm very proud of him for taking this step.
International news
A high profile killer (I don't have to say alleged killer, because I'm not a reporter) who fled the Windsor area almost two weeks ago has been caught and will now be returned to Ontario to be put on trial.
It's a shame he didn't get caught earlier, before he had the opportunity to kill two more people while on the run. There were missed opportunities -- a witness that didn't come forward in a timely manner. Thankfully, that was not the case with the latest person to spot Imeson, and he was caught shortly after the report.
This isn't the type of story I normally write about. In fact, I rarely write about anything of real substance. I suppose I'm mentioning it because I was one of many people who came forward to police with information about Imeson. I don't think it had any effect in helping track him down, but it was important enough to have merited mention in the local press.
It will be interesting to see if the planned feature on America's Most Wanted will still be aired this weekend. The producers of the show had been in the area filming background material for this weekend's program. Since I normally don't watch the program, I have no idea whether their policy is to shelf footage if the crime has already been solved prior to air date.
Family matters
With July over, there's only one more month of summer vacation. My son will be starting university come September. He's always wanted to go, and now, at age 23, he'll finally get his chance. He's really excited, and so am I! And I'm very proud of him for taking this step.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Where has the time gone?
It's amazing how quickly time passes. My birthday has come and gone, as has Father's Day. For the most part, things are as they've been - progressing at a snail's pace, but progressing nevertheless.
I took part in a bit of a dog-and-pony show this past week, electing to sponsor a table at the annual Convention and Visitor's Bureau annual meeting. This is my first year as a member of the Bureau, and the opportunity to network and present my "message" to a table of potential clients was a lure I could not resist.
It was billed as an opportunity to present for up to an hour (one half hour scheduled, and another half hour flexible). The half hour of "flexible" time was a ruse - it didn't even appear on the official schedule sheet. And the half hour of scheduled time (which did appear on the official schedule) was cut dramatically short when the business of the day went far beyond the alloted schedule. Rather than extend the event, the original break-up time was observed. This left me with a grand total of seven minutes to present a half hour presentation.
As if that wasn't bad enough, most of the people in the room (thankfully not just those at my table) decided to leave immediately after the keynote addresses, not even affording the courtesy of an audience to those of us who sponsored their SWAG.
Was I pissed? You bet! Did I make a shortened presentation anyway? Absolutely. And of the three people who heard my presentation, one has already become a new client. I won't recoup my investment in time and money, but I did meet some new people.
And I was able to reinforce some impressions I have about people in general. More on that when I have more time.
It's amazing how quickly time passes. My birthday has come and gone, as has Father's Day. For the most part, things are as they've been - progressing at a snail's pace, but progressing nevertheless.
I took part in a bit of a dog-and-pony show this past week, electing to sponsor a table at the annual Convention and Visitor's Bureau annual meeting. This is my first year as a member of the Bureau, and the opportunity to network and present my "message" to a table of potential clients was a lure I could not resist.
It was billed as an opportunity to present for up to an hour (one half hour scheduled, and another half hour flexible). The half hour of "flexible" time was a ruse - it didn't even appear on the official schedule sheet. And the half hour of scheduled time (which did appear on the official schedule) was cut dramatically short when the business of the day went far beyond the alloted schedule. Rather than extend the event, the original break-up time was observed. This left me with a grand total of seven minutes to present a half hour presentation.
As if that wasn't bad enough, most of the people in the room (thankfully not just those at my table) decided to leave immediately after the keynote addresses, not even affording the courtesy of an audience to those of us who sponsored their SWAG.
Was I pissed? You bet! Did I make a shortened presentation anyway? Absolutely. And of the three people who heard my presentation, one has already become a new client. I won't recoup my investment in time and money, but I did meet some new people.
And I was able to reinforce some impressions I have about people in general. More on that when I have more time.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
It's been a good May
May is nearly over. My birthday is tomorrow, and I've already received my gifts. From a business perspective, this has been my most productive month since I began the business, and I'm anxious to see whether this was a blip or a trend. Regardless, I will take things in stride.
I've reached a balance in my life. I'm happy with who I am, what I have, and what is ultimately in store for me. Overall, my relationships are the best they've ever been. While nothing is ever perfect, I am comfortable with the state of things.
For the past few months, I've been trying out various combinations of devices to combat my obstructive sleep apnea. I think I've found a combination that works effectively. Next week, I'll be purchasing the equipment I need. I believe this equipment has helped me achieve a more restful sleep, and in the process has helped me lower my overall level of stress.
That's it for now.
May is nearly over. My birthday is tomorrow, and I've already received my gifts. From a business perspective, this has been my most productive month since I began the business, and I'm anxious to see whether this was a blip or a trend. Regardless, I will take things in stride.
I've reached a balance in my life. I'm happy with who I am, what I have, and what is ultimately in store for me. Overall, my relationships are the best they've ever been. While nothing is ever perfect, I am comfortable with the state of things.
For the past few months, I've been trying out various combinations of devices to combat my obstructive sleep apnea. I think I've found a combination that works effectively. Next week, I'll be purchasing the equipment I need. I believe this equipment has helped me achieve a more restful sleep, and in the process has helped me lower my overall level of stress.
That's it for now.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
It worked great!
I was off at work during the first "scheduled" run on the Roomba. I came back too late to see whether it had actually gone to work (it was docked and recharged by the time I saw it). But the proof was in the dustbin. Full of dirt and dog hair, I'd say the run was a success.
And, compared to the results from the original brush, I'd have to say the pet brush did a better job holding on to the hair. Transitions from linoleum to carpeted areas were not showing traces of dropped dog hair.
I was off at work during the first "scheduled" run on the Roomba. I came back too late to see whether it had actually gone to work (it was docked and recharged by the time I saw it). But the proof was in the dustbin. Full of dirt and dog hair, I'd say the run was a success.
And, compared to the results from the original brush, I'd have to say the pet brush did a better job holding on to the hair. Transitions from linoleum to carpeted areas were not showing traces of dropped dog hair.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Pets beware
My new pet attachment has arrived from Roomba. I've already tried the enhanced brush cleaner (it's AWESOME!!!), and I'm looking forward to tomorrow, when my first "hands off" cleaning session will take place.
By "hands off", I mean that the Roomba will turn itself on tomorrow, while I'm not at home, and hopefully do a good job before returning to its charging base. Until now, I've been manually starting the Roomba, and monitoring it to make sure it doesn't get itself into any tight spaces (so far, it has managed to stay pretty much clear of obstacles).
My new pet attachment has arrived from Roomba. I've already tried the enhanced brush cleaner (it's AWESOME!!!), and I'm looking forward to tomorrow, when my first "hands off" cleaning session will take place.
By "hands off", I mean that the Roomba will turn itself on tomorrow, while I'm not at home, and hopefully do a good job before returning to its charging base. Until now, I've been manually starting the Roomba, and monitoring it to make sure it doesn't get itself into any tight spaces (so far, it has managed to stay pretty much clear of obstacles).
Tax season's over
I dreaded filing this year's return. Having "officially" started a new business in 2006, there were extra forms and procedures that needed to be completed, and the bill from my accountant was higher than usual.
After all was said and done, I owned the government more than I expected, and had to dig into savings just to pay them!
Luckily, things are beginning to show improvement on the business front, so I'm hoping that next year at this time, I'll have better things to report.
I dreaded filing this year's return. Having "officially" started a new business in 2006, there were extra forms and procedures that needed to be completed, and the bill from my accountant was higher than usual.
After all was said and done, I owned the government more than I expected, and had to dig into savings just to pay them!
Luckily, things are beginning to show improvement on the business front, so I'm hoping that next year at this time, I'll have better things to report.
Monday, April 23, 2007
w.bloggar - RIP
I have been using the w.bloggar tool to create my blogspot entries for about five years. The interface was clean, advanced, and a real pleasure to work with. The work of the author was good enough that I sent a donation shortly after I began using w.bloggar.
Now, however, with Google finally forcing me to convert my blog to the new format, I found that the w.bloggar tool no longer works. I have no choice but to abandon it, since moving to a different journaling system is definitely not a viable option.
I have been using the w.bloggar tool to create my blogspot entries for about five years. The interface was clean, advanced, and a real pleasure to work with. The work of the author was good enough that I sent a donation shortly after I began using w.bloggar.
Now, however, with Google finally forcing me to convert my blog to the new format, I found that the w.bloggar tool no longer works. I have no choice but to abandon it, since moving to a different journaling system is definitely not a viable option.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Part of the family - please help us name him/her
Our Roomba is part of the family now. While it prefers to hunt in seclusion during lazy afternoons, feasting on dust bunnies and dog hair, it has been known to occasionally hunt during evenings when other members of the household are out and about. I've become convinced that its voracious appetite for dog hair can only be adequately satisfied by equipping it with the specialized pet brushes available from iRobot. Said brushes have already been ordered.
Having joined the user community forum for Roomba owners, I've discovered that many in the community have chosen to name their cleanliness-obsessed companions. Not yet having named ours, and having no idea what to name a robot (except for names heard on movies and TV shows - like 2001, Lost in Space, and the Jetsons), I've decided to invite public comments. If you'd like to suggest a name, please leave a comment. And if we choose to use it, you'll receive a personal email, photograph, and credit for your submission.
Our Roomba is part of the family now. While it prefers to hunt in seclusion during lazy afternoons, feasting on dust bunnies and dog hair, it has been known to occasionally hunt during evenings when other members of the household are out and about. I've become convinced that its voracious appetite for dog hair can only be adequately satisfied by equipping it with the specialized pet brushes available from iRobot. Said brushes have already been ordered.
Having joined the user community forum for Roomba owners, I've discovered that many in the community have chosen to name their cleanliness-obsessed companions. Not yet having named ours, and having no idea what to name a robot (except for names heard on movies and TV shows - like 2001, Lost in Space, and the Jetsons), I've decided to invite public comments. If you'd like to suggest a name, please leave a comment. And if we choose to use it, you'll receive a personal email, photograph, and credit for your submission.