Just my luck - a layoff notice
When I got my layoff notice a few years ago, I saw the writing on the wall. Knowing it was just a matter of time until I lost my job, I started my own business.
Maybe what I should have done is buy a lottery ticket!
Thursday, August 11, 2011
22 months and counting
Today's newspaper flaunted it. Superstitious me thinks it was a big mistake talking about it. But it's hard to deny that my home town, just one mile away from one of the most notorious cities in the United States, has been murder-free for 22 months and counting.
I credit this to several factors...
1) A tighter international border and the requirement for passports or enhanced licenses has drastically reduced traffic from the U.S. into our Canadian border city. And with Canada having a lower drinking/gambling age than the U.S., that's a lot of younger adults that are being kept away from our downtown.
2) Our downtown area is pretty much a dead zone in the evening, save for a few hot night spots. The weakened economy has the side effect of reducing the number of drinking holes around the city. Fewer places to misbehave translates into more police presence per capita at the remaining locations.
3) The tough economy has lowered disposable income for people in this area (both in Canada and the U.S.). Even the people who still come downtown to blow off steam don't have the funds to drink as much. Less drink means less rowdiness. Less rowdiness means fewer fights.
It was announced this week that our city became the "all-time hottest city in Canada" with an official average temperature of more than 77 degrees farenheit for July. I was pleased that the very hot summer didn't result in any frustration-related deaths, although there were a couple of fairly serious assaults.
The last murder in this city occurred in September 2009, and was the result of a fight between two gangs outside a bar. Fights still occur, but not as frequently, and not as often with a gun.
Of course, this streak won't last forever, but I'll be happy and grateful for each day it goes on.
Today's newspaper flaunted it. Superstitious me thinks it was a big mistake talking about it. But it's hard to deny that my home town, just one mile away from one of the most notorious cities in the United States, has been murder-free for 22 months and counting.
I credit this to several factors...
1) A tighter international border and the requirement for passports or enhanced licenses has drastically reduced traffic from the U.S. into our Canadian border city. And with Canada having a lower drinking/gambling age than the U.S., that's a lot of younger adults that are being kept away from our downtown.
2) Our downtown area is pretty much a dead zone in the evening, save for a few hot night spots. The weakened economy has the side effect of reducing the number of drinking holes around the city. Fewer places to misbehave translates into more police presence per capita at the remaining locations.
3) The tough economy has lowered disposable income for people in this area (both in Canada and the U.S.). Even the people who still come downtown to blow off steam don't have the funds to drink as much. Less drink means less rowdiness. Less rowdiness means fewer fights.
It was announced this week that our city became the "all-time hottest city in Canada" with an official average temperature of more than 77 degrees farenheit for July. I was pleased that the very hot summer didn't result in any frustration-related deaths, although there were a couple of fairly serious assaults.
The last murder in this city occurred in September 2009, and was the result of a fight between two gangs outside a bar. Fights still occur, but not as frequently, and not as often with a gun.
Of course, this streak won't last forever, but I'll be happy and grateful for each day it goes on.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
A new trend in child labour practices
We've all heard about famous sportswear being manufactured by children who work in third world country sweatshops.
Well, could this be the new trend in child labour practices?
We've all heard about famous sportswear being manufactured by children who work in third world country sweatshops.
Well, could this be the new trend in child labour practices?
Sunday, August 07, 2011
Saturday, August 06, 2011
I'll sleep so much better tonight
Reality can be so much more "unreal" than fantasy. Researchers at McAfee announced they had been monitoring successful attempts by foreign agents to infiltrate government, military, technological and other sources of sensitive information in fourteen different countries, going back five years.
Here's the story. And here's a slide showing a partial list of companies and countries targeted just in 2008. Click on the slide to make things large enough to read the details.
Sweet dreams!
Reality can be so much more "unreal" than fantasy. Researchers at McAfee announced they had been monitoring successful attempts by foreign agents to infiltrate government, military, technological and other sources of sensitive information in fourteen different countries, going back five years.
Here's the story. And here's a slide showing a partial list of companies and countries targeted just in 2008. Click on the slide to make things large enough to read the details.
Sweet dreams!
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Timing is everything
Ask anyone... they'll always say timing is everything. Here's a video from the scene of a fire that happened this weekend in my home town.
The tenant, who has been living in the home for about seven months, suspects the fire was caused by faulty wiring in the attic. She said there had been other problems with the unit, and that complaints to the owner had been ignored.
The previous tenant was my daughter.
Ask anyone... they'll always say timing is everything. Here's a video from the scene of a fire that happened this weekend in my home town.
The tenant, who has been living in the home for about seven months, suspects the fire was caused by faulty wiring in the attic. She said there had been other problems with the unit, and that complaints to the owner had been ignored.
The previous tenant was my daughter.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Speechless
I just can't add anything to the pictures and story that appeared in today's news. Because I'm afraid the story will eventually disappear from the internet, I decided to cut/paste it here.
For now, however, here is the story as found on Sympatico.ca.
I traced the story back to the original article in the Daily Mail, where, of course, British humour made the story all the more readable.
I just can't add anything to the pictures and story that appeared in today's news. Because I'm afraid the story will eventually disappear from the internet, I decided to cut/paste it here.
For now, however, here is the story as found on Sympatico.ca.
Inspired, perhaps, by the fad of Worst Driver shows on television, a Bentley driver decided July 27 to turn the lane in front of Monte Carlo's Place du Casino into a game of bumper cars.
The female driver, allegedly at parking lot speeds, accidentally ran her $380,000 Bentley Azure convertible into the side of a $100,000 Mercedes S-Class, ricocheting and ramming a $215,000 Ferrari F430 and pushing a $70,000 Porsche 911 into a $200,000 Aston Martin Rapide, reports the Daily Mail.
A crowd of tourists quickly swarmed the scene to ogle the carnage (estimated damage: $60,000 total) and presumably point and laugh at the driver, who during the collision managed to block her car's doors. Almost all of the cars require new fenders and bumpers.
Photos of the event have induced cringes on the faces of auto enthusiasts worldwide. Please view with caution.
I traced the story back to the original article in the Daily Mail, where, of course, British humour made the story all the more readable.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
What was he thinking?
Israel gets a bum rap everywhere in the world. There are probably not many countries that would just want to be "left alone" more than Israel. Despite propaganda from many quarters, most reasonable people realize that Israeli's in particular, and Jews in general, are not out to start trouble.
So, why would some psychologically disturbed hothead like Anders Behring Breivik go and do something so STUPID AND EVIL in the name of anti-Islamic and pro-Zionist causes? Did this person believe his actions would bring positive attention to the plight of Jews?
When terrorists go around doing bad things in the name of Islam, the press is quick to point out that the majority of Muslims are peace-loving. I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, because, strictly speaking, the number of terrorists numbers in the thousands, not the millions.
However, journalists are not likely to make the same argument for terrorists who support Israel (and I'm not even sure that Breivik is even Jewish). No, in the case of pro-Israeli terrorists, you can be sure that one or two bad apples (I have a hard time coming up with more than a dozen or so incidents of willful mayhem by people claiming to support the Zionist cause) won't be labeled as being the exception rather than the rule.
I fear that this incident will do much to spoil things for Israeli public relations.
Amy Winehouse is dead - is anyone really surprised by this?
I didn't know her music. I did know her reputation. I also knew (from YouTube) what a sorry state she was in when she attempted to open her European tour in Serbia. Just how bad do you have to be to be booed off the stage by your own fans?
So am I surprised that she died young? Not really. Although it won't be made official until after an autopsy, does anyone have any doubt that this death was self-inflicted (by drug or alcohol overdose, or something else)?
The last death of a star that took me by surprise was that of Karen Carpenter. I wept openly at her death - unaware that she even had an eating disorder. Her talent was real and unique.
There are other current stars whose deaths wouldn't come as a shock. But I'll leave those thoughts on the back burner - until the proper time to pull them out.
If it ain't broke, don't break it!
I went into my Windows Live Mail account today and saw a whole bunch of useful emails (no, really) that were sent by a company that I use for some of my domain registrations. I decided it would be a good idea to create an email filter, so that emails coming from this company wouldn't get overlooked in my general inbox and could be placed into their own folder.
I've created email filtering rules lots of times, so it's not like I don't know how to do it. Yet, when I tried to create a "New" filtering rule, nothing happened.
I lock my browser down pretty tightly, requiring permission to run scripts, display popups, etc. So naturally, I thought there might be a problem with that. Well, no matter what I allowed, the darn filtering rule screen would not appear.
So, I switched to Internet Explorer, a browser I avoid like the plague. Still, with this being a Microsoft product, I expected it would work with their own email program. NOT!!
I then searched to see if I was the only person having this problem, and thankfully, came across a post from someone who had not only experienced the problem, but had found a way around it. It seems that Microsoft, having made some change to Windows Live Mail, broke the filtering mechanism.
Click here for his excellent solution. I should say that, in order for his solution to work, I had to access my hotmail account using Internet Explorer, since the described solution did not apply to Firefox.
I went into my Windows Live Mail account today and saw a whole bunch of useful emails (no, really) that were sent by a company that I use for some of my domain registrations. I decided it would be a good idea to create an email filter, so that emails coming from this company wouldn't get overlooked in my general inbox and could be placed into their own folder.
I've created email filtering rules lots of times, so it's not like I don't know how to do it. Yet, when I tried to create a "New" filtering rule, nothing happened.
I lock my browser down pretty tightly, requiring permission to run scripts, display popups, etc. So naturally, I thought there might be a problem with that. Well, no matter what I allowed, the darn filtering rule screen would not appear.
So, I switched to Internet Explorer, a browser I avoid like the plague. Still, with this being a Microsoft product, I expected it would work with their own email program. NOT!!
I then searched to see if I was the only person having this problem, and thankfully, came across a post from someone who had not only experienced the problem, but had found a way around it. It seems that Microsoft, having made some change to Windows Live Mail, broke the filtering mechanism.
Click here for his excellent solution. I should say that, in order for his solution to work, I had to access my hotmail account using Internet Explorer, since the described solution did not apply to Firefox.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Elton John is coming to town
Tickets went on sale Friday morning for an Elton John concert scheduled for September 10th. Ever since I heard about the concert, I had been waiting for Friday morning so I could be early in line.
I forgot... and now, the show is sold out. At least, I think it's sold out, because every time I tried to buy a ticket, the box-office website told me there were none in that price bracket! But, I guess I shouldn't feel too badly. According to the newspaper, the lineup for tickets started more than 24 hours in advance of the box office opening; and I had many more important things to do and places to be during that period. Still, I had hoped to snag a couple of tickets to surprise my wife.
Tickets went on sale Friday morning for an Elton John concert scheduled for September 10th. Ever since I heard about the concert, I had been waiting for Friday morning so I could be early in line.
I forgot... and now, the show is sold out. At least, I think it's sold out, because every time I tried to buy a ticket, the box-office website told me there were none in that price bracket! But, I guess I shouldn't feel too badly. According to the newspaper, the lineup for tickets started more than 24 hours in advance of the box office opening; and I had many more important things to do and places to be during that period. Still, I had hoped to snag a couple of tickets to surprise my wife.
Monday, July 18, 2011
And the winner is...
David Byrne, from Essex, Ontario! Essex is just outside Windsor, my hometown. And in tonight's online press (and probably tomorrow's front page), news that David Byrne beat fellow Canadian Kent Eger of Regina was a bit unexpected.
After all, Kent Eger had been at or near the top of the money leader list during the main competition. Heading into tonight's finale, he would have probably been the odds-on favourite to win the competition.
But things got rough for Kent almost from the very beginning. Going into "Stage 2" of the competition, David had a commanding money lead. Kent would have to beat David on three straight holes to win the competition.
Kent managed to win the first hole of the second stage. But a poor drive put him behind the eight ball on the second hole, and he ended up losing to the younger, less experienced David.
What I really enjoyed about this final was the demeanour of the competitors. Maybe it's because they're Canadians; but there was no trash talk, no taunting, no haughtiness; just an engrossing competition between two gentlemen golfers. Kent was gracious in defeat, David humble and surprised in victory.
I wish all the best to both golfers, and hope to follow David's progress when he takes part in his PGA appearance next year.
David Byrne, from Essex, Ontario! Essex is just outside Windsor, my hometown. And in tonight's online press (and probably tomorrow's front page), news that David Byrne beat fellow Canadian Kent Eger of Regina was a bit unexpected.
After all, Kent Eger had been at or near the top of the money leader list during the main competition. Heading into tonight's finale, he would have probably been the odds-on favourite to win the competition.
But things got rough for Kent almost from the very beginning. Going into "Stage 2" of the competition, David had a commanding money lead. Kent would have to beat David on three straight holes to win the competition.
Kent managed to win the first hole of the second stage. But a poor drive put him behind the eight ball on the second hole, and he ended up losing to the younger, less experienced David.
What I really enjoyed about this final was the demeanour of the competitors. Maybe it's because they're Canadians; but there was no trash talk, no taunting, no haughtiness; just an engrossing competition between two gentlemen golfers. Kent was gracious in defeat, David humble and surprised in victory.
I wish all the best to both golfers, and hope to follow David's progress when he takes part in his PGA appearance next year.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Gimme a break!
Can you believe it? Going into its final week, the "Big Break - Indian Wells" golf challenge has only two contestants left standing - both Canadians!
I've only watched this show for the last four or five seasons, so I can't say whether there has been a Canadian winner prior to when I began watching. I can say that in seasons I've watched, there has almost always been at least one Canadian in the field, but none ever made it this far.
Whether the winner turns out to be David Byrne, from neighboring Essex, Ontario, or Kent Eger from Regina, Saskatchewan; the real winner will be Canadians who will feel a bit of pride at being guaranteed a one-two finish in the game.
Heck, after tonight's episode, the online version of our local newspaper featured a story and picture featuring David. Tomorrow, no doubt, he'll be front page news.
Can you believe it? Going into its final week, the "Big Break - Indian Wells" golf challenge has only two contestants left standing - both Canadians!
I've only watched this show for the last four or five seasons, so I can't say whether there has been a Canadian winner prior to when I began watching. I can say that in seasons I've watched, there has almost always been at least one Canadian in the field, but none ever made it this far.
Whether the winner turns out to be David Byrne, from neighboring Essex, Ontario, or Kent Eger from Regina, Saskatchewan; the real winner will be Canadians who will feel a bit of pride at being guaranteed a one-two finish in the game.
Heck, after tonight's episode, the online version of our local newspaper featured a story and picture featuring David. Tomorrow, no doubt, he'll be front page news.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Dog Flees Stoning Order
This is one of those stories that boggles the imagination. In a country that is not backward, and is considered the birth of monotheism, it pains me to believe that sane men can have such insane thoughts.
Here is a story that appeared in several newspapers across the globe, including the paper in my home town:
This is one of those stories that boggles the imagination. In a country that is not backward, and is considered the birth of monotheism, it pains me to believe that sane men can have such insane thoughts.
Here is a story that appeared in several newspapers across the globe, including the paper in my home town:
June 19, 2011
A Jerusalem rabbinical court condemned to death by stoning a dog it suspects is the reincarnation of a secular lawyer who insulted the court's judges 20 years ago, Ynet website reported Friday.
According to Ynet, the large dog made its way into the Monetary Affairs Court in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighbourhood of Mea Shearim in Jerusalem, frightening judges and plaintiffs.
Despite attempts to drive the dog out of the court, the hound refused to leave the premises.
One of the sitting judges then recalled a curse the court had passed down upon a secular lawyer who had insulted the judges two decades previously.
Their preferred divine retribution was for the lawyer's spirit to move into the body of a dog, an animal considered impure by traditional Judaism.
Clearly still offended, one of the judges sentenced the animal to death by stoning by local children. The canine target, however, managed to escape.
Let the Animals Live, an animal-welfare organization, filed a complaint with the police against the head of the court, Rabbi Avraham Dov Levin.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Followup appointment goes well - I'm back on the road!
I took the train to London on Thursday, June 23rd to see my surgeon for a followup appointment. My vision is good, though apparently my muscle memory is so strong, my body is actually fighting to retain my lazy eye condition, rather than allowing the corrected condition to become stable. The doctor has prescribed some eye exercises that should speed up my recovery and help ensure an optimal result.
Basically, the doctor wants me to take a pen and focus on the nib. She then wants me to draw the pen progressively closer to my nose, so that my eyes have to go "cross-eyed" to keep focused. This tendency to force the eyes "inward" should help me retain better instinctive focus. She wants me to do this exercise for a full FIVE MINUTES every morning right after waking up. Frankly, I can think of a couple of things I'd rather be doing immediately after waking up, so I'll have to work on that.
As far as vision goes, my eyes are both working acceptably well. While the left eye is still a bit blurry, it's well within the allowable parameters for post-surgical expectations. I have been cleared to drive my car. My next followup in London will be in late August.
Today, I wanted to try to get to my optometrist to pick up my new prescription (which was written in February, a few months before the surgery was even scheduled), but it looks like it will have to wait for a few more days. My schedule is just too busy.
I took the train to London on Thursday, June 23rd to see my surgeon for a followup appointment. My vision is good, though apparently my muscle memory is so strong, my body is actually fighting to retain my lazy eye condition, rather than allowing the corrected condition to become stable. The doctor has prescribed some eye exercises that should speed up my recovery and help ensure an optimal result.
Basically, the doctor wants me to take a pen and focus on the nib. She then wants me to draw the pen progressively closer to my nose, so that my eyes have to go "cross-eyed" to keep focused. This tendency to force the eyes "inward" should help me retain better instinctive focus. She wants me to do this exercise for a full FIVE MINUTES every morning right after waking up. Frankly, I can think of a couple of things I'd rather be doing immediately after waking up, so I'll have to work on that.
As far as vision goes, my eyes are both working acceptably well. While the left eye is still a bit blurry, it's well within the allowable parameters for post-surgical expectations. I have been cleared to drive my car. My next followup in London will be in late August.
Today, I wanted to try to get to my optometrist to pick up my new prescription (which was written in February, a few months before the surgery was even scheduled), but it looks like it will have to wait for a few more days. My schedule is just too busy.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Can't wait for the followup appointment...
News flash - going without a car really sucks! Although my concerns about not being able to service my clients during my recovery seemed to have been a non-issue (the clients who know me and want me have been willing to provide transportation), there is, nevertheless, a feeling of powerlessness when you can't just hop in your car and take off!
Over the past couple of days, I've been having concerns that my post-op recovery is not going as well as it should. The doctors don't seem to think that my current condition is anything to worry about, but when it comes to a person's vision, I think worrying is not that bad.
I took (gruesome) pictures of my eyeball that lead me to believe I'm not doing well, but I will bide my time until Thursday and hope that when my surgeon does the followup appointment, she won't say something like "why didn't you call us earlier?"
News flash - going without a car really sucks! Although my concerns about not being able to service my clients during my recovery seemed to have been a non-issue (the clients who know me and want me have been willing to provide transportation), there is, nevertheless, a feeling of powerlessness when you can't just hop in your car and take off!
Over the past couple of days, I've been having concerns that my post-op recovery is not going as well as it should. The doctors don't seem to think that my current condition is anything to worry about, but when it comes to a person's vision, I think worrying is not that bad.
I took (gruesome) pictures of my eyeball that lead me to believe I'm not doing well, but I will bide my time until Thursday and hope that when my surgeon does the followup appointment, she won't say something like "why didn't you call us earlier?"
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Surgery was a complete success!
While I have been told it will take between 4-6 weeks for my corrected vision to be completely free of blurriness, I can say with certainty that only hours after the surgery, I already have more control over my lazy eye than I have had for as long as I can remember.
Before the surgery, if I closed my eyes and relaxed, then opened them, my left eye would be completely to the left of the eye socket; and the two different images were BOTH being processed by my brain. It made for some confusing (and amusing) effects - like being able to see things happening to my left without moving my head or particularly concentrating on them. Unfortunately, it also meant that while driving, traffic in my adjacent lane sometimes appeared to be coming directly at me.
All that is gone now - history. Since the operation, when I look at something, I see it with both eyes - the way it was always meant to be. I now have much improved depth perception, and I can't wait until I get official clearance to drive again.
While I have been told it will take between 4-6 weeks for my corrected vision to be completely free of blurriness, I can say with certainty that only hours after the surgery, I already have more control over my lazy eye than I have had for as long as I can remember.
Before the surgery, if I closed my eyes and relaxed, then opened them, my left eye would be completely to the left of the eye socket; and the two different images were BOTH being processed by my brain. It made for some confusing (and amusing) effects - like being able to see things happening to my left without moving my head or particularly concentrating on them. Unfortunately, it also meant that while driving, traffic in my adjacent lane sometimes appeared to be coming directly at me.
All that is gone now - history. Since the operation, when I look at something, I see it with both eyes - the way it was always meant to be. I now have much improved depth perception, and I can't wait until I get official clearance to drive again.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
Happy Birthday to me!
Yesterday was my birthday. I got lovely and thoughtful gifts from my wife and son, phone calls and cards from various family and friends, and a day much to myself, with only a single service call to detract from total relaxation.
Today, I received more "gifts". First, for those familiar with my geek status, you'll know I have several robotic vacuum cleaners (Roombas) in various areas of the house. For the past few months, I've had my eye on a competitor's model - one that promises to do a better job in a fraction of the time. A few days ago, I broke down and ordered it (they even took one of my old Roombas in partial trade), and today it arrived!
I'm trying to exercise patience as it sits on its charging base, but I'm really anxious to use it myself.
The other "gift" I received today is news from the surgeon who broke her arm a month ago. It seems she's up and around, and I received a call today to reschedule my surgery. It should take place two weeks from today! I'm a bit nervous, but otherwise looking forward to the results.
That's it for now. I've got to run and watch my Neato charge...
Yesterday was my birthday. I got lovely and thoughtful gifts from my wife and son, phone calls and cards from various family and friends, and a day much to myself, with only a single service call to detract from total relaxation.
Today, I received more "gifts". First, for those familiar with my geek status, you'll know I have several robotic vacuum cleaners (Roombas) in various areas of the house. For the past few months, I've had my eye on a competitor's model - one that promises to do a better job in a fraction of the time. A few days ago, I broke down and ordered it (they even took one of my old Roombas in partial trade), and today it arrived!
I'm trying to exercise patience as it sits on its charging base, but I'm really anxious to use it myself.
The other "gift" I received today is news from the surgeon who broke her arm a month ago. It seems she's up and around, and I received a call today to reschedule my surgery. It should take place two weeks from today! I'm a bit nervous, but otherwise looking forward to the results.
That's it for now. I've got to run and watch my Neato charge...