Monkeys!

I was getting pictures off my camera and what did I find? Monkeys!
 

Time to start locking things up before these monkeys cause some real trouble.

Bushed

No, this is not a post bashing G.W. "Of course I know there is a Global Warming Problem!" Bush, but rather I'm feeling bushed, as in tired. Is it time to leave work yet? Drat, no.

Anyhow, long weekend coming up so expect light posting until Tuesday.

Turning Evil upon Itself

In the corporate world, engineers have a belief that the Marketing/Sales Department of any company is inherently evil. It may have something to do with engineers working in the real and the functional while Marketers deal with the dreams and possible (using the word loosely here). What engineer hasn't been in a situation where the "Sales Guys" have sold something to a customer when he hasn't even defined the specs yet?

(On the other side of the coin, Sales Guys often complain about Engineers delivering late and/or delivering software completely different from the original intent. But since I'm an Engineer I'm ignoring that side. Don't like it? Tough, its my blog, go get your own.)

Well today poor Andrew's website is reporting Bandwidth exceed despite being hosted on a Unlimited Bandwidth plan. He opened a trouble request but hasn't had a response yet or improvement in the state of his blog. So what does he do in this situation? He emails a complaint to the Sales Department. Turn the evil of the Sales Guys on the Engineer guys not solving Andrew's problem. If Engineers liked each other, it would almost be despicable.

The Importance of a Good Uke

Uke: In Japanese martial arts, the uke (pronounced oo-keh) is the person who "receives" a technique.

Last night in Jiu Jitsu class I was working with a new white belt and I was struck by how much good training requires not only yourself knowing what you are supposed to be doing, but the uke knowing what is going on too.

I was trying to practice sparring by throwing half speed back fists, reverse punches, and some kicks. My partner was unsure of where to move or how exactly to block and I often found myself too close or getting whack by elbows and forearms. You see, the uke is supposed to let some attacks through and they are supposed to withdraw to simulate actual fighting because in a real fight you don't always have time to block everything.

Another thing a good uke does is tell you when you are off in your technique, but I don't expect a new white belt student with no previous martial arts background to be able to do that.  I know that both traits of a good uke come with time and experiecne. Still, I was struck by the difference last night especially when compared to training with high belts at the lunch classes.

The Other White Meat

In my past life, Pepperettes figured heavily into the equation. Jumbo Hot Dogs too. I am a meat lover and these meaty foods hit the salt and beef spot perfectly. In my new life of calories and grams of fat, both hot dogs and pepperettes had to move to the "luxery" category, sadly displaced by healthier foods.

But no longer.

Schneiders, hearing the call for a healthy solution to that meat craving, started making Turkey Pepperettes that taste just as good if not better than the originals. And yesterday I discovered some delicious Turkey Grill'Em hot dogs. The Pepperettes are only 1 point each compared to 2 for the regular ones, and the Turkey Grill'Ems are only 3 points compared to 5.5 for the regular all beef wieners.

Sigh, I *heart* turkey.

The Unfunny Truth about Scientology

Never liked it, and now I like it less.

(Hat Tip Stupid Evil Bastard)

This and That / Weekend Report

This post is a combination of a Weekend Report and a This and That post. Enjoy!

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I did my annual garage to yard waste depot run Saturday morning, making three trips to get a year's worth of leaves and cardboard out of the garage. Since I cleaned it all up a few weeks ago it was fairly quick and painless. Now our garage is clean and empty (mostly).

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Saturday afternoon Kim went shopping with her mother, so I was free to do whatever I wanted. (It helped that I did a bunch of work in the morning.) Since Andrew was otherwise occupied, I headed out to the mall for a little gaming. I then met Kim and her mom at Moxies for some supper. Man, was the A/C on in the restaurant, I just about froze!

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Saturday night I had another episode with the esophageal spasm or esophageal hernia. This is the fifth time and follows the pattern of occuring after a large meal such as the Extreme Chicken burger I had at Moxies. I'm making a doctor's appointment to talk to him about it, but I suspect he'll tell me to eat less big meals.

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Sunday Kim and I were both sleepy so we didn't get up until around elevenish. We then checked out the Car Show in Carleton Place, drooling over Corvettes, Chevelles, GTOs, and the like. Afternoon saw some grocery shopping, gardening, and BBQing. Ah, the joys of summer.

---

All during the weekend Kim and I took the time to play our respective video games: Kim playing Super Mario Bros on the Nintendo DS, and me playing Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones on the Gamecube. I got the game for my birthday in February but it wasn't until the last couple weeks did I make any real progress. I was happily moving along in the game until late last week I had a boss fight I could not win. For the first ten tries, I didn't even know how to hurt the boss (actually, it was two bosses fighting together as one... doubly annoying) and finally I figured out the trick to hurting them. Then I needed another ten tries to find out how to win the battle. Then another ten tries to actually pull it off. To make all of this worse, every time I turned the game off I had to go back to my save point which involved going through a difficult chariot run to get to the boss battle. ARRRRGGGGGG! More than a few times I wanted to throw the controller and/or quit the game.

I persevered and late Sunday afternoon saw the death of the bosses. Relief and pride flooded through me as it meant I could continue the game I was up to that point enjoying very much. So here's my comment to any game designers out there: don't make a point in the game that requires skill or determination several magnitudes greater then the rest of the game up to that point required to get there. It is a sure way to frustrate the player and cause them to quit. I don't mind games that require some practice and skill to master, but a game that goes along smoothly and consistently and then presents an obstacle so much harder to get past, it pisses me off to no end.

Ok, rant over. Carry on.

 

One Down, Two to Go

Last night I had my first stripe test for yellow belt and passed easily. (Seriously though, I've seen some sloppy techniques on other people on their stripe tests and they still pass. I'd almost think you'd have to show up drunk or crippled before they would not award it to you for simply showing up, and even then I wouldn't bet money against the drunk cripple passing the test.)

First stripe on yellow was not too hard, but I got it before my schedule predicted so now there is 4 weeks before vacation starts and I'd like to get my second stripe before then. That means despite already attending three classes this week, I'm still going to today's noon class to get a jump up for my next stripe. At this rate, I'll have my orange by September.

Good Times

Good times were had by all yesterday. Kim made it to her concert without any navigational problems and then even made it back. I defeated Andrew in some wicked close tennis and then won my game in the evening. Once I got home I played some Prince of Persia: the Two Thrones and solved the puzzle I was stuck on. All in all, a good day.

Tonight I go for my first stripe for Yellow belt at Jui Jitsu.

While the Cat's Away...

Kim is off to her Madonna concert tonight (and there is some doubt as to whether or not she and Tamara will make it back or end up in Halifax on the way home) so I'm taking advantage of the guilt-free me time by induldging in my hobbies. Jui Jitsu class at lunch, tennis with Andrew in the afternoon, and some gaming in the evening.

Ah, I'm spoiled.

The Race to the Stanely Cup is Over...

And what does the Toronto media care about? Whether or not in 48 hours will the Toronto Maple Leafs buy out Tie Domi. Again. By a different writer.

That sound you heard was my brain breaking. Only so much idiocy can be understood before you enter crazytown never to return.

Morons.

Weekend of Adventure

You can't say that my life is boring.

After the work troubles earlier in the week, I fled the office at 4pm on the dot and didn't look back. I think there was footsteps behind me of people chasing me down the hall, but I deny any evidence I knew they were there. That garbage can jumped out behind me to trip them of its own accord, honest.

So Friday evening we packed up the car and headed down to Brockville. We planned to sleep in a tent in the backyard of Kim's parent's place and once we got there I began setting the tent up. Except.... there's no poles. Tent? Check. Pegs? Check. Poles? Uh oh. Ok, plan B. We pack up our tent and get her parent's tent from the basement. Open it up to set it up and what do we find? Two bags of tent poles. Well then, mystery solved.

The tent is setup along with Kim's sister Tammy's tent where her and her friend will be sleeping and we get ready for bed. Just one small detail... we didn't check the weather.

So anyways, did you hear about the tropical storm coming through the area Friday night? Neither did we until it started pouring. And man, did it pour. Kim and I were dry but the pattering of the rain and flashes of lightning kept us awake so we decided to move into the house where we couple steal the spare room. That was about 3am. Tammy and Keri on the other hand, didn't have that option due to the dogs they had with them and their smaller tent got soaked through.

Soggy Saturday morning dawned and despite being tired I had to get up to go to a breakfast thing at the Church with Kim's dad Mike. Everyone was pretty exhausted for the whole day due the effects of the storm the night before, so it was a quiet day of visiting and napping. As bedtime approached with good weather outside I thought we would try the tent again but Kim convinced me to sleep in the spare room again. Well, it was hot in there 'cause the window couldn't open and I tossed and turned all night. And I had to get up early again(!) so I could go play golf with my father. I was tired but fortunately there was not a deficit of caffinated drinks for me to choose from. *burp*

In the afternoon we had Kim's birthday party and she finally got her presents. She was very happy with the new Nintendo DS I bought for her with Tetris and Super Mario Bros games.

Tired, achey, but content, we drove home Sunday evening. Next weekend, we stay home to recuperate!

I Love Shrimp

But God doesn't.

(Hat Tip Pharyngula)

Happy Graduation Shannon!

My little sister graduates from Sir Sanford Flemming College in Peterborough today. I can't make it due to work pressures but I wish her all the best and hope my parent's get some pictures!

Way to go Shannon! Love Bill.

Happy Graduation Shannon!

My little sister graduates from Sir Sanford Flemming College in Peterborough today. I can't make it due to work pressures but I wish her all the best and hope my parent's get some pictures!

Way to go Shannon! Love Bill.

Work Stole My Life

The reason for light posting this past week has been due to work issues. I can't elaborate on the details, but suffice it to say disaster recovery procedures was involved and a few people were forced to wear Batman capes along with me. Shout out to R. and F. in particular.

The highlight of this effort was working from 10pm to 8am on Wednesday evening / Thursday morning and then sleeping all day Thursday. Around 4:30 am Thursday morning my body hit the "haven't slept for 24 hours" wall and I swear I could have fallen asleep on my feet. Fortunately, that's about the same time the Glacial Palace air conditioning at work kicks in and the temperature dropped about 3 degrees in 30 minutes. Holy frak, no wonder its freezing every morning when I get in. What's wrong with these people?

Funny Til You Realize Its Not A Joke

This has to be satire:

It all began during a charged vote Tuesday evening on imports of milk proteins.

The opposition had been heckling Quebec Conservative MP Jacques Gourde, parliamentary secretary to the agriculture minister, for voting against the motion that would have aided Quebec dairy farmers.

Gourde responded with a rude arm gesture toward the opposition.

That set the House into an uproar. The opposition parties began yelling, and the Conservatives - still in the middle of voting - began to tell each other what had just transpired. Even Justice Minister Vic Toews discreetly showed another MP the gesture in question.

But Tory MP Pierre Poilievre showed the gesture to a seatmate in full view, creating yet another outcry among the opposition, who interpreted it as another affront.

One after another, representatives from the Liberals, Bloc Quebecois and NDP demanded an apology.

"That's something totally unacceptable among MPs," said NDP whip Yvon Godin.

Gourde responded by saying he was trying to mimic an arm-wrestle.

"If it was misinterpreted, I apologize," Gourde said.

Sadly, its for real. Sigh. What's that saying about immates running the prision?

Get Your Head Out of Your...

Ah Toronto, the city of smog and stupid sports writers.

Cruising over to Canoe to read about my Carolina Hurricanes winning game four against Edmonton Oilers (Boo!), I see every columist and news article is about the action on the ice. Except one. Enter Steve Simmons from the Toronto Sun:

All his life, all Tie Domi wanted was to play for the Maple Leafs.

Woah, What? WHAT!? Tie Domi is a long time Leafs Goon-Wanna-Be? Big freaking news.

The real truth here: Keeping Tie Domi for the final year of his contract isn't the kind of move that will set the Leafs on the path to a parade. But conversely, it isn't a move that will set them back, either.

In other words, damned if you do, damned if NO OUTSIDE OF NAVEL-GAZING-HOGTOWN CARES!

Tie Domi no kid anymore. He knows the finish line is near. He just doesn't see it coming this soon, this week.

When Paul Maurice was hired to coach the Leafs, his friend and ex-teammate Gary Roberts told Domi that "this will be the best thing that ever happened to you."

He told him that assuming there still is a season left to play.

There is no assuming that anymore: Just an interminable wait for an uneasy blue and white answer.

The only interminable wait is waiting for you to finish this pointless and mind numbing column, Steve. Hey guess what? Toronto didn't even make the playoffs, and they are probably not going to make it next year you goob.

*grumbles*

Ain't That the Truth

Sadly, this cartoon hits a little too close to home for me.

"Why Is It So Freaking Cold?"

There we were, middle of June, sitting riverside in Kingston having a BBQ picnic. I was sitting in a folding chair, t-shirt, sweater, coat, and legs wrapped in a blanket with my hood over my head. All I could think was, "Why is it so freaking cold?"

Of course this means summer is gonna be a melter.

Beware Excessive Gaming!

No seriously. Read this article from Canoe:

Like other addicts, Bakker said, gamers are often trying to escape personal problems. When they play, their brains produce endorphins, giving them a high similar to that experienced by gamblers or drug addicts. Gamers' responses to questions even mirror those of alcoholics and gamblers when asked about use.

"Many of these kids believe that when they sit down, they're going to play two games and then do their homework," he said.

However, unlike other addicts, most gamers received their first game from their parents. "Because it's so new, parents don't see that this is something that can be dangerous," Bakker said.

You've been warned.

Thursday Thirteen Redux

Blogger crapped out on me and my posting software last night and I didn't get a chance to finish. So a day late, I present ThirteenToys I Had Growing Up, Redux:

1. Lego, Lego, Lego. I was imfamous for my Lego collection and the things I built with them. Our rec room in the basement was often strewn with the things. I still ask for and get Lego for Christmas.

2. He-Man Action Figures. They were dorky and overly muscle bound, but they were all the rage for a couple years with boys my age.

3. GI-Joe Action Figures. Even more popular than He-Man, they appealed to an older age group as well because of the weapons and military vehicles one could get.

4. Dinky Cars. Although they are not called that anymore. Hot Wheels, Matchbox, etc.

5. Vic 20 - First PC and man I had hours of fun on it.

6. Commodore 64 - Successor to the Vic, I had even more fun.

7. Super Soaker Mega - First water gun to come with a backpack tank. Jamie  and I were terrors with that thing.

8. More Lego. I don't think you understand how much of the stuff I had.

9. Pellet Gun. I Got it when I was 13.

10. Massey Fergason Tractors. I played in the sand box a lot pretending to be a farmer.

11. Star Wars Action Figures. I never had very many of them, and the only vehicle I had was an ATST walker. All my family joked about it being a headless chicken. Man I wanted the big stuff like the Death Star and Millennium Falcon.

12. Axis and Allies. Ok, a board game, but I loved it so much I played it by myself. Sad I know.

13. Lego. Seriously, I played with it a lot.

Thursday Thirteen

ThirteenToys I Had Growing Up

1. Lego, Lego, Lego. I was imfamous for my Lego collection and the things I built with them. Our rec room in the basement was often strewn with the things. I still ask for and get Lego for Christmas.

2. He-Man Action Figures. They were dorky and overly muscle bound, but they were all the rage for a couple years with boys my age.

3. GI-Joe Action Figures. Even more popular than He-Man, they appealed to an older age group as well because of the weapons and military vehicles one could get.

4. Dinky Cars. Although they are not called that anymore. Hot Wheels, Matchbox, etc.

5.

Calories-Burned Estimator

Looking for utilities to help me estimate the number of calories burned during exercise, I found this handy website where you enter your weight and number of minutes at an activity, and it returns the calories-burned estimate.

The list of activities is quiet extensive. Who knew that you burned only 23 calories during ten minutes of foreplay and 66 calories during ten minutes of intercourse?

Ebay really is Something

This past week I was cleaning out my workbench of a lot of items that just weren't getting enough attention from me and I decided to sell on EBay. Now I've sold stuff on EBay before so it wasn't a big deal. The auctions went smoothly and the payments in PayPal started rolling in soon after they finished yesterday. While I was packaging the items last night a thought struck me: EBay is amazing.

Consider this: in less than 10 days a person with no retail experience, sales contacts, anything resembling business acumen, managed to sell 20 different items to the highest bidder from around the world and recieve payment for those items. The ease of which I was able to do so, not just in one auction but in 20, without once needing help from EBay staff is a testament to the hard work their developers have put in to make sure it not only works, but is relatively straightforward. Choose categories, write description, add pictures, choose shipping options, post auction. Repeat.

Combine with the almost seemless integration with PayPal for internet payments and you have a winning formula of a successful internet business, charging miniscule fees per auction and transaction to pay for their services. Multiply it by the thousands of auctions each day and you can see how they make an easy profit.

And to think, ten years ago almost no one ever heard of EBay.

Update

Apparently Jan 6th, 2006 was the day of the Beast. Too bad we all missed it. :P (Or is it June 1st? Depends on your computer's date formatting I guess. Anywho, its passed. Whew!)

(Hat Tip all over the place.)

This And That

Last night in class I hurt my right butt cheek, strained it a bit. Don't worry, it feels fine today.
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Today is the 6th month, 6th day, of the 6th year of the millennium. Of course, nutjobs the world over think this means something in regards to the end of the world or rapture. Of course, to think this you would have to ignore the fact that everything continued on as normal after June 6 in 1906, 1806, 1706, ... all the way down to year 6. In fact, if anything satanic was going to happen, I would have put my money on June 6th of year 6.
* * * * * *
A co-worker sold me his electric weed whacker last week. I did have a battery powered one but I found I could barely do the back yard or front yard before the battery gave out and needed a recharge. It was ok for about 10 minutes and then it would become too slow to effectively get all the weeds. Very annoying.

So when I heard that G wanted to upgrade his cord-powered whacker to a gas powered one, synergy was born and ten dollars later I was upgraded. Let me tell you, I couldn't believe how much more power was in that sucker. I just about took my ankles out I was so surprised. There was weed guts and grass bits flying everywhere as I attacked the weeds like never before. Vengeance was mine you fast growing green vermin! MUHAHAHAHAHA! There was green moist bits of flora galore in my hair and on my clothes by the time I was done both the front and back yard.

I haven't had that much fun doing yard work since the first summer.

Anyone looking for a battery powered weed whacker?
* * * * * *

Anyone who foolishly picked Edmonton to win the series is looking foolish now. Not only did they lose the first game, their goalie got injured and is out for the rest of the series. Let's see how Edmonton does on their backup goalie (hint: I think they will fare as good as Ottawa did).

Bill's Totally Unqualified NHL Playoff Predictions: Stanley Cup Finals

Edmonton Versus Carolina: I like Edmonton for this, but suspect the long layoff may have taken off some of their edge. I'm going to go with the team that will not quit: Carolina in 7.

For Andrew.

Yellow Belt Acheived

I got my yellow belt at the end of today's class. Yay me. Now I start working towards orange aiming to get it around September.

All I Want For Christmas...

... is one of these.

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things I like about summer.

1) Kim in sandals so I can see her cute little toes.

2) Playing tennis with Andrew.

3) Long days with lots of sunshine.

4) Swimming with the kids.

5) Camping on my summer vacation.

6) Kim's birthday.

7) Work bonus money.

8) Not freezing in the car when leaving home or work.

9) Going for afternoon walks when I need a break from the tedium of work.

10) Ice cream cones.

11) Barbecues.

12) Complaining about the AC at work, a.k.a. the Glacial Palace.

13) Getting a slight sun tan and not being so darn pale.