Absence makes the heart grow fonder?

Have you ever had one of those days? Well, it's like I've had one of those weeks or months. I am totally lost with a map that I think was from another planet. So yes...sorry for not posting on a regular basis. It would seem I have lost "my way". Albeit, I haven't completely lost all hope but I am desperately searching for that elusive Golden Compass. If you come across it...be sure to let me know. I could use a little help right now.

You Send It

I know I have mentioned this web site before but it truly is worth another mention. You Send It allows you to send files of up to 2gb's in size to your friends and family. They will receive a link in an email to download the file. Yesterday a friend used it to send me a 17mb file because of course it was just a little too big to send through email. I had the file downloaded in just a minute. This is one VERY useful utility and I highly recommend you bookmark it! One other good thing is that you don't have to sign up to use it. If you plan on emailing alot of people though it might be a good idea as you can save email addresses so you don't have to enter them in all the time. Go ahead, you know you wanna try it!!!

PS: Want to send all your vacation pictures in one shot? Zip the folder the pictures are stored in and send it! The person receiving them will have all your pics in their original size...just be careful that you REALLY want to send ALL of those vacation pic's. *s*

An Era Ends

Tonight the New York Yankee's will play their last home game at Yankee Stadium. The city of New York wants their land and plan on tearing down the 85 year old icon to develop...well who knows what. The new stadium is just an eye shot away. It is definitely a trend in North America to tear down older buildings and start from scratch. We are nothing like European countries...albeit we are much younger in nature. We don't give ourselves a chance to have that old time feeling because frankly, we don't really build structures to withstand the swift hands of time or should I say the swift hands of the guy with the most money. It goes right along with North American mentality really. The VCR breaks? Toss it and upgrade to the newest Blu-Ray disc player is what most say. Old buildings are the same. They don't get more beautiful with age...they become the back drop in low income neighborhoods. I may watch a bit of the ball game tonight. Just because maybe there is a part of me that is a bit nostalgic.

Note: For the first time in 13 years the Yankees have not made it to the playoffs. A sign of things to come? Perhaps.

Useless Information

It's been a fairly busy day in the On Call neighborhood. This is my first weekend On Call shift and I have to say it feels a bit too much like working for the most part. I did have a pretty good lull in the early evening but it started out busy this morning with some difficult calls. Where are those easy password resets anyway? Here's to hoping I get some sleep tonight but with Calgary having some major issues...I really doubt that's gonna happen. Oh ya, and I think far too many people are working from home on the weekends! Too many VPN (Virtual Private Network) issues to deal with. I'm sure I will be a fully qualified VPN expert in no time. *s*

The Morning Sun

I was up early this morning and got a chance to witness a breathtaking sunrise. Grabbed a few shots in my skivvies in the brisk morning air. Please don't picture that cause it really wasn't pretty. *s*

Things that make you go hmm...

So I'm walking to work this morning. Downtown Edmonton, Jasper Avenue to be exact. I see the usual hustle and bustle of tired looking people with various brands of coffee clutched in their hands. I see the regulars...homeless people looking for spare change. I see traffic zooming by...and of course I see a camel. Yup...a camel. The Bounce radio station looked like they were having an event. The music was blaring and I saw a hot dog machine. An interesting meal to be serving at that time of morning. And there amongst the crowd...one lonely camel looking about at all the chaos. Things that make you go hmm. *s*

Zune

I updated my Zune software yesterday. What a pain in the butt that turned out to be. When I got to work I realized my songs were showing up correctly but they wouldn't play. I just had to remove them and sync up again tonight. Everything is working fine now and the radio option was enough to keep me satisfied while working. I am so spoiled with having music playing now that it's pretty hard to be without it. The update is ok I guess. Got a couple of free games (Hexic and Texas Hold Em') and a little bit of a new look although not much. Mainly it gives you the opportunity to tag songs you listen to on the radio so you can connect to the Zune Marketplace (wirelessly) and make a purchase if you like. So, as painful as the update was I think overall it was worth it.

The Wizard of Oz

The real story behind the story about what's behind curtain number 3.

Auntie Em,
Hate you,
hate Kansas,
taking the dog.
Dorothy.

Note: Dorothy was recently spotted behind the counter at a local Tim Horton's. Sadly though, Toto has not been seen since.

The Price of Gas

I no like it.

Before you fill up be sure to check out the prices at the pump. It just might be worth a few extra blocks of driving.

On a final note. I find it interesting that the City of Edmonton encourages bus and LRT transportation and yet it can take 2hrs for someone to get to work from the "berbs" one way. And what about the sardine like feeling the LRT has been of late. It is very clear they don't have enough cars for the amount of people utilizing it. I think Edmonton gets a big phat "F" in their planning department. And don't even get me started on the state of our infrastructure around here.

The Electric Company

Ok ok, showing my age again. I saw Morgan Freeman on a movie last night and it reminded me of the time that I watched him on a kid's show growing up. There are a few familiar faces now that I look back at some of the videos they have on YouTube. This song sure brings back memories. My how times have changed though. This seems so cheesy now but I still absolutely love it! *s*

Where's the Beef?

This was one of my all time favorite commercials from my childhood. You gotta love YouTube for allowing us to smile at all things silly. *s*

Babylon A.D.

I knew this wasn't going to be a great movie when I went last night. It was even worse than I had anticipated. Having got to our seats with about 15 minutes to spare until showtime...well for a movie that was only on the start of it's 3rd week in theatre's...let's just say the 5 people that filled the seats at that time was a little more than surprising to me. It did however, fill up a bit...to maybe a quarter full. I couldn't help but wonder what show those stragglers were really trying to get into and it was sold out. The movie. Bad, ladies and gentlemen...really bad. The only parts that I thought were decent were the few fight scenes but the cameraman was so spastic that I swear they were shooting the scene while riding a mechanical bull. I actually laughed out loud in disbelief at one point. Right in the middle of this so called action flick I felt we were at "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (the tent scene). The scene was so out of context within the film that I just threw my arms up. There was one other notable. At different parts of the movie they would flash up coordinates of locations they were at. I had heard my hometown Kitimat made the big screen and yup...there it was...clear as this movie will go down in history like the sinking Titanic. I wonder how much Vin picked up for a paycheck on this puppy? Things that make you go hmm.

Do not go to this movie. Do not rent this movie. I am giving it two major thumbs down.

PS: The best line from the movie: "We're all gonna die in New York. Well, goodnight".

The Tao of Pooh

I have read this book numerous times and I recently picked it up again. Here is an excerpt from the Forward that made me smile.

What's this you're writing? asked Pooh, climbing onto the writing table.
The Tao of Pooh I replied.
The HOW of Pooh? Asked Pooh, smudging one of the words I had just written.
The TAO of Pooh, I replied, poking his paw away with my pencil.
It seems more like the OW! Of Pooh, said Pooh, rubbing his paw.
Well, it's not, I replied huffily.
What's it about? Asked Pooh, leaning forward and smearing another word.
It's about how to stay happy and calm under all circumstances! I yelled.
Have you read it? Asked Pooh.


Priceless *s*

September 11th. Remembering Again.

Today is the 7^th anniversary of a day many of us will never forget. Excluding the 19 hijackers, 2,974 people died in the attacks. Another 24 are missing and presumed dead. All just a senseless act to me. Today I said a little prayer for all the lost souls and for the friends and families that are still grieving so many years later.

Chores That Bore

I hate ironing. We should have never invented "crispness". That way I could be tripping off to work in a crumpled mess right now.

Flash Drive Update

I decided to wait 48hrs before plugging my usb flash drive in after pulling the sucker out of the washer. It worked with no issues whatsoever! Almost like the energizer bunny! So I'm pretty happy I don't have to invest in another one seeing as how this one isn't even a month old. Gotta love solid state drives! I'd have to say the only thing you have to worry about is letting it air dry enough. You don't want to chance frying it OR the computer you're plugging it in to!

My Brain Is Not Working Right

I had a total brain fart today. I always carry around my usb key in my pocket and I forgot to take it out before washing my jeans. Crap. There I was racing to the washing machine when I realized where it was. Can't you just picture me searching through a full tub of water??? Not fun...and yes...there it was at the bottom. I'm going to let it air dry for 24hrs before plugging it in. I'll let you know what happens. I've heard more expensive drives survive the wash but this one was a fairly cheap one. Dammit. My fingers are crossed but at this point...I'm checking out the electronics flyers again.

Seahawk Sunday

Today my season begins. Fifteen games (one bye) to see where the chips fall. The first official game without Shaun Alexander since he was released. Dion Branch out till the middle of the season and a slightly tweaked new roster with a few fresh faces. I am very excited. So for the upcoming months if I am MIA...check the schedule. If it's Seahawk time you can bet I'll have my ass planted somewhere in front of a TV with a "do not disturb" sign around my neck.

It's All About How You Wear It

Somedays...you just gotta wear a silly hat.

And so it begins...

It's time for my Seahawks to kick some ASS!!! The season has finally started and I can't wait for Sunday so I can plop myself in front of the tv. Our first game is against the Buffalo Bills. Couldn't be a better team to match up with...I have a hate on with them. It will be a tough game considering it's in their house. I have faith though...Seattle all the way!

Could War Be Invisible?

Cloaking technology has been around for a bit now...and I am completely fascinated by it. To have the ability to make something SEEM like it's not there is pretty incredible. There is an invisible cloak that you can wear and now the US Army is manipulating light to hide tanks from it's enemy. Pretty damn cool if you ask me. Manipulate light you say??? Looks like the Klingons aren't the only ones with "Stealth-Like" ability now. *s* Check out "How it Works".

Stairs vs. Elevators

So I was going to turn a new leaf over at work today. I was going to take the stairs instead of the elevator from here on out...or whenever I possibly could. So my quest began only to find the door to the stairwell locked on the lobby level. Doh! So much for my plan. I would need to take the elevator to the 2^nd floor and get out and access the stairs from there. Um, too much work considering I work on the 4^th floor. So anyway, I wouldn't be foiled in my quest to be the stairs queen! On my last break at work today I did 200 stairs and still had plenty of time to spare. Nice. I have a new routine added to my day.

Barack Obama: The next President of the United States?

I finally watched Barack Obama's Democratic acceptance speech yesterday. A very full 45 minutes once you get past all the thank you's. I found it nothing short of brilliant. I think the American people are truly ready for some change but I guess time will tell. Although I found his speech powerful and moving...it will be hard for him to implement alot of change in one term but it would at least be a start in the right direction for the hard working middle class America. It's going to be a tough race but I believe we might just witness something great happening. If you have some time to kill this really is worth watching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ0gxF869NE

Hinterland Who's Who Spoof

Thanks to my sis in-law Lori for sending me this video. Made me laugh. *s*