The long awaited moment has arrived. The mad sprint at work, where the amount of work and the time allocated had nothing in common has finally passed (without any loss of blood), and I have cleaned up my cubicle. That should keep those around me in a state of stunned disbelief for a few hours on Monday. I’ve started my annual leave.
posted in technology | Comments Off on Slowly deflating | 321 words
If you’ve watched any TV in the last five years, you’ve grasped that forensic science has made “great leaps and bounds” since the time of our old buddy Sherlock. Give the CSI gang a few cotton swabs, a microscope and an ultraviolet light source and any crime can be solved. Real life isn’t quite like that, though.
posted in media | Comments Off on Some things should not even be stated | 250 words
Three big announcements in the media today. Not equal, but the same; the consumer isn’t ready to play the game in the old ways, and it’s time for business to take notice. Yesterday, we learned that two of the larger players in the Canadian cellphone oligarchy (I know, it’s not le mot juste, but it’s really hot and I’m tired) have decided to charge their clients for incoming text messages. Pretty small apples in the larger salad of life, but still vexing. Paying for spam, disadvantage to young people who pay as they go, etc.
posted in economy | Comments Off on Keeping the consumer in sight | 344 words
Think smaller. Your silhouette is your identity in our new well-fed world. Tonight the dog and I went for the annual checkup – the one where the vet examines the animal and then blames the owner for everything. Well, not everything, because I didn’t growl with menace every time the white coated human approached the white coated canine. But in a world where big is not better, my dog now has some lifestyle changes on the calendar.
posted in pets | Comments Off on Do not blame the dog | 265 words
So, you spent time digging worms, and then you stood by a slow moving stream, watching some anonymous annelid wiggling on the end of small hook. In the list of intentions is catch a fish, clean and eat same. Even though you don’t like fresh fish, and you aren’t sure that THIS stream contains anything other than an old tire and some moss covered rocks that are slippery when wet. Life isn’t always simple.
posted in computing | Comments Off on At a loss over what to play | 308 words
How much does it cost to make a good cup of coffee? The calculation in my own kitchen is complicated enough, given the fluctuation in world bean markets from warfare or striking monkeys, but I can smooth out the equation by storing huge quantities of my favourite blend in the back of the freezer compartment. Similarly, although Timmys and Robins and Starbuck probably keep a whole team of economic wizards on retainer to assure that a cup generates profit, my cost is simple (I never shop there).
posted in economy | Comments Off on How much to heat some water? | 363 words
More and more often, I find myself booting up in Linux instead of Windows, and each time I come away a little more impressed with the efforts of the Mint team. After years of riding on the bicycle known as Slackware (biking is fun, but not always stable), I’ve found that the four-wheel comfort of the Mint distro works. This afternoon, I watched a bit from the DVD version of American Graffiti that I’d purchased from an eBay supplier. None of the problems with Linux not playing a movie I’d heard about. I just put in the disk and it worked. Like other things I’ve done recently. Wireless and printing and webcams and multiple language profiles. No kernel recompile, but some things aren’t necessary.
posted in computing, music, travel | Comments Off on Tents, music and Linux in the same day | 267 words
I can now claim to be the guy that welcomed the new copy machines into our corporate world. That’s a small deal for the rest of you, but it shows how understaffed we are come Friday afternoons; I was actually mandated to watch for the truck and make sure that the delivery guys placed the machines in the right sector of the building. Given how important the photocopy is to the public service, there should have been a team of people waiting with open arms, instead of plain old me. After all, I rarely even use the contraptions.
posted in technology, Wx | Comments Off on Ready to copy, over and over again | 437 words
Six long months have gone by since the city started lighting the candles on a virtual birthday cake. Back on the end of New Year’s Eve, we stood in a very cold parking lot to watch the shock and awe from the city centre. Tonight, some of the family are enroute for part two, bigger and better, the best ever according to all the media. Thirty minutes of fireworks from a set of barges anchored in the middle of the river. My ride fell through, with only minutes to go, so I’ll listen to the play by play on the radio and pretend that I see all the colours.
posted in history | Comments Off on The party continues | 369 words
I am part of the generation that stopped making and started buying food. My grandparents had no problem with a routine that involved baking bread, collecting milk and eggs, slaughtering the livestock for meals or laying up a supply of preserves. Then, about the time I was born, such things simply stopped. My mother made bread on occasion, and we did have a cow for a short time, but the rest of the routine that went with life in rural PEI was no longer necessary.
posted in food | Comments Off on Stir until the solids float free | 324 words
