Just doing a quick image test. I installed a new tool today called Light Box. If this works, when you click on the image below, it should open it up in a "light box".
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Image Test
Howdy Folks,
Just doing a quick image test. I installed a new tool today called Light Box. If this works, when you click on the image below, it should open it up in a "light box".
Just doing a quick image test. I installed a new tool today called Light Box. If this works, when you click on the image below, it should open it up in a "light box".
Friday, May 23, 2008
v18.2 - Let it Rain!
Morning folks,
{slurp}
It's FRIDAY!
The end of the week is upon us and the beginning of our weekend is about to start. Even though this was a short week for us here in Canada, it seems like it was a full week plus.
{slurp}
As my title suggests, it is raining today here. It was actually a really nice drive into work today with the rain beating on the roof of my vehicle and off the windshield. Even though traffic was a bit "messy", it was still a lot less stressful to have the rain there. I flipped on my "Great Big Sea" CD and sat back and enjoyed my drive into work. Enjoyed it so much, in fact, that I didn't want to stop at the office :)
{slurp}
... a few hours later...
{slurp}
Wow, all of a sudden things picked up and I just NOW was able to sit down and finish this musing. Of course for you, the wait was instant. Unfortunately I won't have the time to write all my thoughts down today as I have a fairly fun packed afternoon to run with. I'll make sure to login tomorrow and fill you all in on my warped reality :)
{slurp}
Until then...
Cheers,
Al
{slurp}
It's FRIDAY!
The end of the week is upon us and the beginning of our weekend is about to start. Even though this was a short week for us here in Canada, it seems like it was a full week plus.
{slurp}
As my title suggests, it is raining today here. It was actually a really nice drive into work today with the rain beating on the roof of my vehicle and off the windshield. Even though traffic was a bit "messy", it was still a lot less stressful to have the rain there. I flipped on my "Great Big Sea" CD and sat back and enjoyed my drive into work. Enjoyed it so much, in fact, that I didn't want to stop at the office :)
{slurp}
... a few hours later...
{slurp}
Wow, all of a sudden things picked up and I just NOW was able to sit down and finish this musing. Of course for you, the wait was instant. Unfortunately I won't have the time to write all my thoughts down today as I have a fairly fun packed afternoon to run with. I'll make sure to login tomorrow and fill you all in on my warped reality :)
{slurp}
Until then...
Cheers,
Al
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
v18.1 - E.T. Phone Home
Good Morning Folks,
{slurp}
Well it is Mond.. err.. Tuesday. I took Friday off last week and Monday was a Holiday here in Canada so I had a super nice long weekend.
{slurp}
This past weekend I did entirely too much gaming. So much, in fact, that I've decided to take a week off from gaming and doing other things around the house/yard. Since the weather is starting to get nice up here in the cold north, I've decided to get outside a bit more and do.... something. I also want to get some "spring cleaning" done around the house. I was cleaning up the entry-way closet yesterday and noticed a serious surplus of mittens, hats and various other Winter wear. Time to get that stuff put away along with the heavy jackets, snow suits and boots. That should hopefully clear out that closet a bit and open up space for our sandles, sneakers and light jackets. It's all about organization :)
{slurp}
Work has been going great since I changed teams. It is still hard to get up and come in every day, but the weather is getting nicer and the working environment has become a lot less stressful and more enjoyable. Now if I can find a way to make our cost of living cheaper.... :)
{slurp}
I was driving into work this morning and there was discussion going on (the radio) about energy costs and the rising cost to power and heat our homes. There is cost hikes everywhere from the fuel it takes to run your vehicle to the cheerios you put on your table. Everywhere I turn around I see prices going up and then I look at my paycheque going into my account and don't see any increase. It is a bit frustrating to see everything else going up and seeing your income stay the same. What are we (society) to do?
{slurp}
Well the quickest and easiest thing to do is start cutting back on the non-essentials. Do we need that digital cable box in our living room? Do we need the 5 movie channels and movies on demand? Probably not, but it sure is nice to have :) Do we need to always buy brand name merchandise or can we get away with buying the no-name brands? These are things we (as families and individuals) need to think about and decide on. Let's face the facts folks, when your parents were young, they paid 25 cents for a bag of chips and a bottle of pop with money left over. We'll be telling our kids we used to be able to buy a bag of chips and a bottle of pop for under a dollar when we were kids. Our kids can buy a bottle of pop and bag of chips for under $2 today and their kids will be able to buy a bag of chips and bottle of pop for under $5. The cost of living is NOT going to decrease.
{slurp}
I'm not sure who much gasoline is in other parts of Canada or the US, but right now we're paying $1.33/li (approx $5.04 gallon for my American friends). Driving to and from work every day is starting to really get expensive and on top of that some people have to pay monthly for parking. What are my alternatives? We could take public transit which, in my case, takes me almost 3 times as long to get to work in the morning. This isn't ideal for my situation because taking transit would disable me to take my kids to school everyday which in-turn will disable my wife to work in the mornings. For those who have no choice but to drive, they could find a cheaper parking spot. Right now I'm getting a discounted parking rate which is cheaper (per month) than anywhere else in the downtown core so as it stands now, I'm paying the least amount as I can to get to and from work.
{slurp}
Another thing to think about is selling that old or fuel inefficient vehicle and buy something cheaper. My vehicle isn't too old (2005) but it is a 6 cylinder which uses quite a bit of fuel. I should be able to get a decent price for it and then turn around and buy a smaller vehicle with a little less room but better fuel economy. I'm hesitant about doing anything right now as I also need to think about the new baby on the way and think about space.
{slurp}
The cost of living is a real concern here. There are people and families who couldn't afford to pay for heat this past winter. One man even perished in his home on a really cold night because the heating company shut off his heat due to payment. I hate to say it, but things are getting worse and with the current price of oil and the rising costs of energy, society is in desperate need for something cheap and efficient. We've seen massive earthquakes and flooding going on in Asia, cyclones and other natural disasters wiping out homes, schools, businesses and even entire towns. I can't help but think back on that passage in the Bible that talks about the last days... {shudder}.
{slurp}
Well folks, I must get back to work and earn that paycheque :) I'd like to hear your thoughts on the current cost of living and where you think society will go.
Until next time
Cheers,
Al
{slurp}
Well it is Mond.. err.. Tuesday. I took Friday off last week and Monday was a Holiday here in Canada so I had a super nice long weekend.
{slurp}
This past weekend I did entirely too much gaming. So much, in fact, that I've decided to take a week off from gaming and doing other things around the house/yard. Since the weather is starting to get nice up here in the cold north, I've decided to get outside a bit more and do.... something. I also want to get some "spring cleaning" done around the house. I was cleaning up the entry-way closet yesterday and noticed a serious surplus of mittens, hats and various other Winter wear. Time to get that stuff put away along with the heavy jackets, snow suits and boots. That should hopefully clear out that closet a bit and open up space for our sandles, sneakers and light jackets. It's all about organization :)
{slurp}
Work has been going great since I changed teams. It is still hard to get up and come in every day, but the weather is getting nicer and the working environment has become a lot less stressful and more enjoyable. Now if I can find a way to make our cost of living cheaper.... :)
{slurp}
I was driving into work this morning and there was discussion going on (the radio) about energy costs and the rising cost to power and heat our homes. There is cost hikes everywhere from the fuel it takes to run your vehicle to the cheerios you put on your table. Everywhere I turn around I see prices going up and then I look at my paycheque going into my account and don't see any increase. It is a bit frustrating to see everything else going up and seeing your income stay the same. What are we (society) to do?
{slurp}
Well the quickest and easiest thing to do is start cutting back on the non-essentials. Do we need that digital cable box in our living room? Do we need the 5 movie channels and movies on demand? Probably not, but it sure is nice to have :) Do we need to always buy brand name merchandise or can we get away with buying the no-name brands? These are things we (as families and individuals) need to think about and decide on. Let's face the facts folks, when your parents were young, they paid 25 cents for a bag of chips and a bottle of pop with money left over. We'll be telling our kids we used to be able to buy a bag of chips and a bottle of pop for under a dollar when we were kids. Our kids can buy a bottle of pop and bag of chips for under $2 today and their kids will be able to buy a bag of chips and bottle of pop for under $5. The cost of living is NOT going to decrease.
{slurp}
I'm not sure who much gasoline is in other parts of Canada or the US, but right now we're paying $1.33/li (approx $5.04 gallon for my American friends). Driving to and from work every day is starting to really get expensive and on top of that some people have to pay monthly for parking. What are my alternatives? We could take public transit which, in my case, takes me almost 3 times as long to get to work in the morning. This isn't ideal for my situation because taking transit would disable me to take my kids to school everyday which in-turn will disable my wife to work in the mornings. For those who have no choice but to drive, they could find a cheaper parking spot. Right now I'm getting a discounted parking rate which is cheaper (per month) than anywhere else in the downtown core so as it stands now, I'm paying the least amount as I can to get to and from work.
{slurp}
Another thing to think about is selling that old or fuel inefficient vehicle and buy something cheaper. My vehicle isn't too old (2005) but it is a 6 cylinder which uses quite a bit of fuel. I should be able to get a decent price for it and then turn around and buy a smaller vehicle with a little less room but better fuel economy. I'm hesitant about doing anything right now as I also need to think about the new baby on the way and think about space.
{slurp}
The cost of living is a real concern here. There are people and families who couldn't afford to pay for heat this past winter. One man even perished in his home on a really cold night because the heating company shut off his heat due to payment. I hate to say it, but things are getting worse and with the current price of oil and the rising costs of energy, society is in desperate need for something cheap and efficient. We've seen massive earthquakes and flooding going on in Asia, cyclones and other natural disasters wiping out homes, schools, businesses and even entire towns. I can't help but think back on that passage in the Bible that talks about the last days... {shudder}.
{slurp}
Well folks, I must get back to work and earn that paycheque :) I'd like to hear your thoughts on the current cost of living and where you think society will go.
Until next time
Cheers,
Al
Thursday, May 15, 2008
v18.0 - Weekly Update
Morning Folks,
{slurp}
I was looking at the site today (as I tend to do every morning before work) and noticed my last post was exactly a week ago. Today WASN'T garbage day haha.
{slurp}
Most of you know I am an avid gamer. I have been a gamer for as long as I can remember. My parents bought me my first computer (Commodore vic20) and my first console gaming system (Atari) and I have been gaming and using computers ever since. World of Warcraft is a long way from Pong, but when you think about it, games haven't really evolved much in the way of play, just in graphics and sound. In Pong you have two players (or one player vs computer). The goal of the game is to make your opponent miss the ball thus awarding you a point. The ball bounces back and forth, off walls, off obstacles and eventually a victor rises up. The same goes for any game created today. You have Player vs Player where the proverbial ball bounces between players. In this case, you're talking about split second mathematical calculations where various factors are calculated and the player either reflects the ball back or the ball goes by and the other player gets a point.
{slurp}
Of course it is a lot more complicated than that, but you get the point.
{slurp}
World of Warcraft (at last count) has over 10 million subscribers. Can you imagine playing a game with 10 million other people in the world? Luckily Blizzard has split these players up into little communities called Servers where there are approx 300 of. Each server will house a number of players who can all interact with each other and create their own community. Just like any community, players get to know other players and make friendships and aquatences.
{slurp}
I was playing World of Warcraft last night (and up way later than I should have been) and there were laughs had and memories created. After logging I took a few moments to reflect on the night's events and had a chuckle. Then I had a thought; what if, during the server selection phase, I had picked a different server? Or in my case, what if my father had picked a different server? Since the only reason I play on the server I do is because my father and step-brother play there. So what if they had picked a different server (or Blizzard had chosen a different server for them to play on) and we never met the people we know today? Would it be safe to assume we would have met other similar people and had similar adventures? Or would we even be playing World of Warcraft today because I can say with all certainty that there were times when the only thing keeping me in the game were the people.
{slurp}
It is quite amazing how life chooses you. When you look back on your life and see all the different paths you could have taken and all the paths you did take and where they led you. It is really quite a wonder any of us are alive today given the past mistakes and near-misses we've had. These are the things that make us who we are and have led us to this exact point in time. I believe all things happen for a reason and purpose even if we don't always know exactly what the reason or purpose is. I've seen too many strange coincidences to rule it out.
{slurp}
Anyway folks, what started off as a quick "Hey" turned into a full blown musing (horray for me). Now I'm 5 minutes late getting the kids to school so I need to RUN. Take care and we'll see you again soon (less than a week, I promise).
{slurp}
Cheers,
Al
{slurp}
I was looking at the site today (as I tend to do every morning before work) and noticed my last post was exactly a week ago. Today WASN'T garbage day haha.
{slurp}
Most of you know I am an avid gamer. I have been a gamer for as long as I can remember. My parents bought me my first computer (Commodore vic20) and my first console gaming system (Atari) and I have been gaming and using computers ever since. World of Warcraft is a long way from Pong, but when you think about it, games haven't really evolved much in the way of play, just in graphics and sound. In Pong you have two players (or one player vs computer). The goal of the game is to make your opponent miss the ball thus awarding you a point. The ball bounces back and forth, off walls, off obstacles and eventually a victor rises up. The same goes for any game created today. You have Player vs Player where the proverbial ball bounces between players. In this case, you're talking about split second mathematical calculations where various factors are calculated and the player either reflects the ball back or the ball goes by and the other player gets a point.
{slurp}
Of course it is a lot more complicated than that, but you get the point.
{slurp}
World of Warcraft (at last count) has over 10 million subscribers. Can you imagine playing a game with 10 million other people in the world? Luckily Blizzard has split these players up into little communities called Servers where there are approx 300 of. Each server will house a number of players who can all interact with each other and create their own community. Just like any community, players get to know other players and make friendships and aquatences.
{slurp}
I was playing World of Warcraft last night (and up way later than I should have been) and there were laughs had and memories created. After logging I took a few moments to reflect on the night's events and had a chuckle. Then I had a thought; what if, during the server selection phase, I had picked a different server? Or in my case, what if my father had picked a different server? Since the only reason I play on the server I do is because my father and step-brother play there. So what if they had picked a different server (or Blizzard had chosen a different server for them to play on) and we never met the people we know today? Would it be safe to assume we would have met other similar people and had similar adventures? Or would we even be playing World of Warcraft today because I can say with all certainty that there were times when the only thing keeping me in the game were the people.
{slurp}
It is quite amazing how life chooses you. When you look back on your life and see all the different paths you could have taken and all the paths you did take and where they led you. It is really quite a wonder any of us are alive today given the past mistakes and near-misses we've had. These are the things that make us who we are and have led us to this exact point in time. I believe all things happen for a reason and purpose even if we don't always know exactly what the reason or purpose is. I've seen too many strange coincidences to rule it out.
{slurp}
Anyway folks, what started off as a quick "Hey" turned into a full blown musing (horray for me). Now I'm 5 minutes late getting the kids to school so I need to RUN. Take care and we'll see you again soon (less than a week, I promise).
{slurp}
Cheers,
Al
Thursday, May 8, 2008
v17.9 - Garbage Day...
Morning Folks,
{slurp}
What a morning this has been. Hopefully things pick up, but so far it doesn't look like it :)
{slurp}
I started things off early (6:30am) today. I know that isn't early for some of you, but we typically don't get up until sometime shortly after 7am. I began by gathering as much garbage as I could. You see, in our area of town, they only do garbage collection every other Thursday and sometimes (when they don't show up before I wake) on Tuesdays. I ended up spending an hour gathering up all the garbage and ironing my clothes for work. Yes, I know how to iron and while it isn't one of my favorite things to do, it is necessary to look half presentable for work. For whatever reason, our dryer decides to take all our clothes and crumple them into tiny balls. Even my jeans are wrinkled beyond wear and I have to iron those as well.
{slurp}
{slurp}
What a morning this has been. Hopefully things pick up, but so far it doesn't look like it :)
{slurp}
I started things off early (6:30am) today. I know that isn't early for some of you, but we typically don't get up until sometime shortly after 7am. I began by gathering as much garbage as I could. You see, in our area of town, they only do garbage collection every other Thursday and sometimes (when they don't show up before I wake) on Tuesdays. I ended up spending an hour gathering up all the garbage and ironing my clothes for work. Yes, I know how to iron and while it isn't one of my favorite things to do, it is necessary to look half presentable for work. For whatever reason, our dryer decides to take all our clothes and crumple them into tiny balls. Even my jeans are wrinkled beyond wear and I have to iron those as well.
{slurp}
While all this was happening I also had to find time to get the kids up for school and get them breakfast. My son is really good for getting up and getting ready on his own (he is 8 years old after all) but I basically told my daughter that I didn't have time to sit there and dress her and get her ready and she would have to be a big girl and do it herself. She did, and it only took her 30mins to get out of bed and get dressed and get downstairs which is almost as long as it normally takes with me helping, so that was a good thing.
{slurp}
{slurp}
Things were going half good, we got the garbage out to the curb on time (6 bags, a kitchen table, and old lamp and and old lawn chair) but it was what I found after that set me off.
{slurp}
The weather has been getting nicer lately and as such we've started buying freezies for the kids. Well, finding a bunch (at least 5) freezie wrappers and a jello container in the corner by the TV COVERED in ants was the last straw. Needless to say, my kids are officially grounded from ALL snacks today and probably tomorrow too. There were literally hundreds of ants everywhere. If you remember last year, we had an ant problem as well and it was a bugger to get rid of them. In fact, I don't think there was ever a point last year where we truly got rid of all the ants, we just make sure we were careful with the food and such on the floor and keep things clean so they wouldn't come around as much.
{slurp}
{slurp}
The weather has been getting nicer lately and as such we've started buying freezies for the kids. Well, finding a bunch (at least 5) freezie wrappers and a jello container in the corner by the TV COVERED in ants was the last straw. Needless to say, my kids are officially grounded from ALL snacks today and probably tomorrow too. There were literally hundreds of ants everywhere. If you remember last year, we had an ant problem as well and it was a bugger to get rid of them. In fact, I don't think there was ever a point last year where we truly got rid of all the ants, we just make sure we were careful with the food and such on the floor and keep things clean so they wouldn't come around as much.
{slurp}
Also this morning I ended up driving 4 kids to school. This was the least amount of stress today, believe it or not. I also had to drop the car off at the garage this morning as it is time to get the winter tires off and to get the oil changed ($500 bucks). I was there on time and checked in. Then, to make my morning extra fun, they forgot about me and I had to wait an extra 30ish minutes for the shuttle van to come back so they could drive me to work.
{slurp}
{slurp}
All this before 9am and I still have 8 long hours ahead of me :)
{slurp}
Cheers,
Al
{slurp}
Cheers,
Al
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