Tuesday, May 31

I think Sting had it right

Yeah I know its my second musical metaphor this week. Deal with it. ;-)

Up early, bleary-eyed...pay through the nose for the privilege of living in the next area code. Confined by routine and the train schedule. God help those who can't get the Express train. Leave work early enough so you can even get a seat on the train. Ignorant, over-exuberant laughing morons on an otherwise silent car. Car? Drive to work? Are you nucking futz? Oh yes...remember to punch your ticket. The monthly lineups to pay for your pass because nobody can come forward with a better system, oh maybe like pre-payment and mailed-out passes. Nope...wouldn't want some lazy unionista ticket seller to lose a job. Not if it meants that they'd have to do any real work.....

Transfer from one system to another until the process is so routine that you can do it in your sleep, turning the remnants of your brain to mushy pulp, a process more corrosive than inter-office politics.

My brain needs stimulation. Is the commute causing atrophy? Am I getting stupid? Can your IQ diminish with each train-bound kilometer? Only my neurologist knows for sure.

Yep...suicidal lemmings we are. We're all going over the same intellectual cliff in some fuzzy-brained, single-minded torrent, just because everyone else did.

I have proof of this stupidity: I just missed my subway stop.

*sigh*
--------------------------
sent via wireless

Monday, May 30

I know how Jim Croce felt

I'm not sure how I've managed to avoid it all these years but I finally participated in a fund-raising car wash this weekend.

The Girl, as you no doubt remember, is in a youth choir and she will be heading to BC on a concert tour in June. Its an incredibly pricey proposition, so they've been busting their collective buns raising money to defray costs; mostly for the chaperones who are coming along. (Brave souls)

Yours truly was the master of the rinse hose for the event, since it was felt that if an adult was running it, that more water would actually end up on the cars than on the children. The whole event became a bit of a blur as Saturday afternoon wore on. We did have a pretty good system going, though. I'd hose off the car when it came in, the kid crew would madly attack the dirty with their soapy sponges, and then I'd rinse iff and the kid crew would come back and dry the car off.

As it turns out, we put nearly 50 cars through in the space of 2.5 hours.

Much beer was had afterwards. *grin*

Friday, May 27

What a day!

My boss came to me a couple of weeks ago, with a vague mention of some conference that has to do with some of our IT Best Practices. He said he was trying to see if he could send a couple of people - me and one of our senior Business Analysts. This conference is in San Francisco in August.

To be honest, I didn't think much of it at the time.

So, boss comes by today and said that he got the okay, so I'm off to San Fran for 5 days in late August!!

And then....just because my day wasn't already full of such joy...I got an email that had me literally shouting for joy.

In late April, I put a submission forth to present a brief at another conference on e-learning. I got wind of the conference from a colleague and when I asked my boss, he said, "if you present at the conference, you can go." So I put my proposal in, not really expecting to get selected.

I got the email today that the reviewers accepted my proposal and so now I'm off to Vancouver BC for a week in October!

Happy days!

Wednesday, May 25

Before I forget...

I need to thank a fellow commuter on the train from Whitby for my morning head-shake.

This woman was wearing, no word of a lie, bright safety green pants, a matching shorty jacket, a similarly-toned green and black giraffe pattern top, and a suitable pair of green pedal pushers. This was a very fashionably cut outfit and she was clearly proud of it...but it was GREEN!!

I can't do justice to this level of green. Imagine a highway safety cone in a suitable shade. Remember when neon colours and accents were in? Not quite as illuminating. It was that kind of green. Kentucky Fried Chicken cole slaw green. Kermit the Frog green.

I'd never seen anything like that before. God willing, I never will again.

Down, Set, HUT!!

Wha-HOO!!! CFL Training camps are opening soon...some of them open this weekend!

Some of my friends roll their eyes but I'm gearing up for another season of 3-down football, here on the big, frozen turf. Longer, Wider, Faster, and all that jazz.

I'm really heartened to see a genuine increase in presence, interest and overall exposure for my Argonauts. The new owners, the lack of NHL stuff and the Grey Cup win really helps to get them back into the eye of the TO sports fan. For years, they didn't bother to disclose their Season's ticket numbers because they really were abysmal. Indifferent or inept ownership didn't help, to say nothing of a serious lack of marketing. Now, they've come back to around 10 000 tickets sold which is a huge improvement. Granted, places like Calgary can do 15 000 20 000 in their sleep, but the competition for the sports entertainment dollar is significantly less out in Cow-town.

The biggest revenue adjustment for them is the new tenancy deal they struck with the stadium. (yeah I know it has a new name, but it's still the SkyDome to me...) They used to pay something like $750,000 a season for rent....a crippling amount for a league where gate revenues are so critical. The new deal gives them pretty much free rent and an immediate bottom-line impact. Add to that the refurbishments made to the Dome as a whole and it should be a pretty good game day experience.

Yeah, I know...there are people who have all sorts of negative things to say about the Dome, but my only beef is that there's not enough people in attendance to get the atmosphere really going. I've been there when there were 30,000+ for a playoff game and the energy is like electricity. However, get a snoozer of a game with a low attendance and those empty blue seats really tend to gnaw at the hearts and minds fo the loyal fans.

We even see a subtle uniform redesign, courtesy of Reebok, which adds a little bit of panache to the game-day gear.

My DW and I are headed out east for the pre-season game in Halifax, crazy people that we are so we'll get an advance look at the Double Blue.

Will Michael Bishop return as Damon Allen's back-up QB, or will he stay in the Arena League if x-NFL QB Scott Covington grasps the subtleties of the Canadian game? Will Damon actually be able to get through the season intact at age 41? Will John Avery finally put up the Running Back numbers he seems capable of? Can the Argos actually knock off the Alouettes as the perennial East Division leaders? Ah yes...so many questions, and so little time.

Bring on the season!!

AAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOS!!!!

An old friend died yesterday.

Wow....Thurl Ravenscroft's gone. At the ripe old age of 91, no less. Its safe to say he had a hell of a run.

Sure, the connection that he and I had was a little one-sided, and I don't think ol' Thurl would understand quite what his presence was in my life. Indeed, as a small child, the sound of his voice would make me smile and feel happy. Even as some people grew out of childish things, it would take only his voice cropping up somewhere. I even have very fond memories of the fierce yet smiling face I always associated with his smooth, deep voice. Ah yes, those were simple, honest, innocent times.

Unknown to many people, he was a guy who could really sing and managed to get backup gigs with some of the major bands of the day. He turned one, seemingly innocuous engagement into a career of sorts but even then, he kept himself busy with other tasks. Even more, he always seemed to "be there"; almost timeless, in fact. Lots of things changed over the course of the years he held that one small job. Now that he's gone, I'll never be able to look at the image of that face because the voice just won't be the same.

What's that, you say? Never heard of Thurl? Really? I bet you have and just didn't know it. Yep, I'd bet almost any money that if you heard him, you'd know exactly who he was. Even if you couldn't figure out what his little job was...that little job he got in the 1950's which turned into his career.

Well, for over 50 years Thurl Ravenscroft was the voice of Tony the Tiger.

Rest In Peace, Thurl. You'll be hard to replace.

(I think I'm gonna enjoy a bowl of Frosted Flakes for my Saturday breakfast.)

Tuesday, May 24

I have a decision to make...

One of my preferred reads, John Q. Public (formerly known as Average Joe) has been MIA since April 8. Given what I knew of some of the tumult in his personal and professional lives, I suppose that he might have just pulled his horns in and walked away for a while. He was, to a certain extent, a victim of his own popularity. There was no shortage of female viewers/readers (some of them not necessarily balanced and rational) who made it clear that they were more than willing to occupy his bed and he had only to give the word. Yeah, there's more context than that, but I'm going with the highlights here.

My dilemma is this: I already wrote an "obit" of sorts when the original Average Joe blog was taken down. Do I do one for John Q.? When his original blog was shut down (primarily under the weight of this misplaced admiration and obsession) I also wrote a lengthy missive on how people need to do a bit of a reality check when it comes to interpreting a blog. Short Version: it is NOT a definitive window into someone's life. It's a very, very small snapshot.

I've kept the link active in the hope that I won't have to pull it, but my gut tells me that John Q. might just be gone for good.

If so, it's a sad end to a favoured read and a disappointing outcome for a pretty cool guy.

Tagged? Ah, shit...okay...

I've been tagged. Oh dear.

1. Total Number of Books You’ve Owned: I'm a voracious reader, so I'm well into the thousands. I have pushing 400 hardcovers alone in the current library. I also usually have a couple of books on the go at any given time. I have gotten rid of some hardcovers and paperbacks over the years, too. Conservative estimate? 2,000.

2. Last Book You Bought: Freefall, by Juduth and Garfield Reeves-Steevens.

3. Last Book You Read: Frankenstein: Book 1, by Dean Koontz and Kevin J. Anderson (I finished Freefall while I picked up Frankie from my DW. I am also reading Jack Absolute by C.C. Hunphreys.

4. Five books that mean a lot to you: Tough calls here, but I'm not sure I could honestly narrow it down to only 5. These are, in no particular order

  • The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams (RIP)
  • Shake Hands with the Devil, LGen (ret'd) Romeo Dallaire
  • The Road to Sarajevo, MGen (ret'd) Lewis McKenzie
  • Everything I Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, Robert Fulghum
  • The First Man in Rome, Colleen McCullough

Now who do I tag? Hmm...Hmmm....Hmmm....can I get back to you?

(Long) Weekend Update

...as opposed to a Weekend Update (long) which would require extensive scrolling and reading.

For those who were unconcious, this past weekend was the "Victoria Day" weekend, historically, the celebration of the birth and reign of Queen Victoria. To those who simply refer to it was the "May Two-Four", it's the first weekend of the summer season. It usually involves some combination of BBQ, beer, fireworks, cottaging, yardwork in various permutations. For many of us, it's a welcome extra day off after an early Easter.

It was a good weekend (due in no small part to my Wife,) after a particularly disappointing work week.

Every so often I'm reminded of why I am a truly fortunate man. I arrived home on Friday (grateful, at that point, for my sanity) and discovered a small gift from my wife sitting out in the back yard. I should note that I didn't see it right away, as I got home, dropped my bag, grabbed a beer from the fridge and fell into a comfy chair, while DW and The Boy were engrossed in a board game. Only when I got up to get something from the kitchen did I notice something leaning against the picnic table. My DW, god love her, bought me a new mountain bike.

In Cricket's parlance, I had been jonesing for a new one for a while. My last velocipede was definitely a cheap model and hefty, but basically functional. However, I wanted something a little more capable and comfy (read: suspension, and high-tech seat) and my DW got one for me because, as she said, she knew I'd had a shitty week and wanted to do something nice for me. Kinda makes all the work bullshit evaporate when you know that someone cares about you that much and actually expresses it.

(Note to my DW: Baby, words can't express what that gesture means to me. You're a gem.)

We also got out with The Boy (the Girl was out with her Grandmother and then out on a sleepover) on Saturday and saw the final installment in The George Lucas Income Trust/Retirement Plan. While the basic storyline was pretty much predictable, it really did a great job as the ultimate prequel. In true Lucas fashion it was visually spectacular, and it did neatly tie up virtually all of the storylines (although it happened a bit fast at the end for my liking.)

Of major happiness to us, we FINALLY got rid of the belongings "temporarily" stored in our garage. (Temporarily was suppposed to be 2 weeks over Christmas, turned into 5 months.) So, we almost have our garage back. I tidied some thing up in there (so there's a big recycling load to go) and we'll relocate the firewood down to the basement, then we can reclaim the garage. Yay!

Yours truly created a minor culinary success with some throw-together stuff to whip up a couple of pizzas to feed one and all. It's amazing what you can do with chicken ;-)

To wrap it all up, I biked myself to the train this morning on my new wheels and made it in once piece. I'm gonna enjoy this summer fitness stuff. Hopefully it will result in there being a little less of me to love, ;-)

Friday, May 20

I *definitely* know it's a long weekend

I just saw my "get up and go" work motivation fizzle into nothingness.

it's just after 3PM and I definitely don't want to do anything else this afternoon. How sad is that?

Signs of a Long Weekend and other stuff

Traffic was actually flowing on the highways this morning, and there were very few people standing on the train.

Sure signs of the first long weekend to kick off the summer.

I didn't have the best of days yesterday. Just work stuff. I decided that it wasn't actually in my best interest to give my frustrations a voice, and I know this will come as a shock to those who know me. I was angry and I *will* get past it. Whether I'll get over it or not remains to be seen.

However, kudos to my DW and to others for listening and letting me vent and helping me to decompress. Prevention of spontaneous human combustion is always appreciated. ;-)

I'm looking forward to 3 non-work days, that's for sure.

Wednesday, May 18

Is your Leppard Def?

Mine will be, for on the evening of August 15, my Amazing, Awesome, Fantastic, Gorgeous, Spectacular DW got us tickets for the Def Leppard concert at the Molson Amphiteatre! The Tea Party opens for them, so it should be an awesome show.

Last show I saw there was Sarah McLachlan in 1997.

I think I'll have to save up now for my concert Tee...

Baby, you rock. *grin*

"Step inside, walk this way, you and me, babe, HEY, HEY!"

What do you call 1,000,000 consultants chained together at the bottom of Lake Ontario?

...an excellent start.

Here's an open letter to IT "process improvment" consultants anywhere:

Dear fuckwits:

If you're engaged by a client company, your mandate is NOT to tell us the stuff we already know. You are expected to help us find solutions to some of our challenges, and we expect (particularly after 4 months of engagement) that you actually understand our environment!You are also expected to show up on time for a meeting, especially if you are the meeting organizer. The client's staff bear no responsibility whatsoever for being highly pissed at your tardy arrival. You really are expected to follow your meeting agenda. The clients actually have stuff to do other than sit around a) waiting for you to show up, and b) meandering through a document that you apparently authored (even though you couldn't answer questions about it when asked.) If you have to schedule (yet) another meeting because of this lack of adherence to the agenda, you do it at YOUR expense, not ours.

In case nobody told you before, you are actually supposed to listen to the client when they say that "our environment doesn't necessarily fit the industry standard model." That doesn't mean that your solutions should be steering us back to said model (we're unique by necessity, not by whim) and actually exercise that fucking grey matter (for which we are paying some extortionate per diem) and FIND A FUCKING SOLUTION THAT FITS!!

Oh yeah, and when someone says "it would really be helpful if you could give us examples of how an organization implemented similar suggestions in a production environment" that you actually have examples.

Otherwise, what the fuck are we paying you for? You've been sniffing around offices racking up billable hours but you haven't. fucking. accomplished. one. god. damned. thing.

My cat could be a better consultant than you and she sleeps 18 hours a day. In that quaint army parlance, you people couldn't organize a blowjob at a cocksucker's convention.

I loathe you all.

Hugs & Kisses,

-Mossy Stone

Monday, May 16

Just like unvarnished wood

...I've got no finish whatsoever.

Every so often I'll come up with a great idea for a short story or something like that and I'll get writing. Then I get bogged down, and the story goes nowhere. Of course, I haven't figured out how to end most of them. As we speak, there are 4 potential short stories sitting in draft here on the ol' blog.

There are some scary parallels to my personality, too. Projects, hobbies, etc.

Does this make me nothing but a starter?

It's frustrating as all fuck. Maybe I should write a book of plot beginnings and publish it?

Weekend Update

Yikes, what a weekend.

We were kid-less for a good part of it, so we were able to acutally make some headway on a few things, but it was still a bit of a mad-house once we got going.

The weather hasn't really cooperated for little things like, oh say, "mowing the lawn" and other household niceities. However, we got a bit of a break, so I dragged the beast out, fired it up and got the lawn down to a manageable level.

Also on the list for the weekend were trips to one of the local IKEA stores just to hunt around for some odds & ends and to get some ideas for bedroom makeovers. We snagged some nice cushions for the living room couch, and some other odds & sods. We managed a fair amount of stuff for a pretty low cost. Nice deal!

Inspired by that success, my DW was keen on some yard improvement, so we went to take a look at some stuff at Home Despot. We'd really love a better hedge at the side of the house (the better to screen ourselves from our neighbours, Mr. & Mrs. Fuckwit) and she had a hankering for some small cedars for a couple of spots in the yard. That desire snowballed when we added some herbs, some small tomato plants, peppers, sunflowers, chicken wire (okay, so I like the idea of having my own tomatoes for making sauces, etc.) more soil, 3 small cedars, peat moss, fertilizer...

Of course, almost forgotten in that trip was the partition wall I needed to get done in the basement so we can re-locate the washer and dryer from the main floor. So we got some additional steel studs, channel track, concrete anchors and one of those .22 cal power drivers, steel stud fastener screws, plumb bob...

So this weekend, we managed the following:

  • Trip to IKEA
  • Trip to Home Despot
  • Mowed the lawn (front & back)
  • Trimmed the hedges
  • uprooted large plants
  • planted 3 cedars
  • planted additional flowers
  • created small veggie garden space
  • planted veggies in select space
  • Put up 16 ft partition wall, w doorway (drywall to follow)
  • Played hockey

All in all, kind of a typical weekend. I came to work to get some rest!

(Forgot about the return trip to get more powerful cartridges for the driver and the time spent upgrading DW's computer to WinXP - MS)

The New Kid

After last Sunday's administrative fiasco, I actually managed to get back out on the ice and play hockey last night. For those of you playing along at home, you may remember that I bid a wistful farewell to my team of 5+ years in order to play closer to home.

I really felt weird walking into a dressing room where I knew I wasn't going to know anyone. More accurately, it felt weird being in the dressing room first, knowing that strangers would be walking in. (Us goalies take a little longer to don the Tools of Ignorance, ya know?) I mean, I felt it at bit when I played in a different league on Mondays this winter, but I still had that familiar team to go back and play with on Sundays. Of course, I did all the admin, too, so I had a certain stake in the team. I enjoyed the Monday night gig, too. It was good hockey, a nice facility and a good bunch of guys to play with.

This Sunday was another story. I'm just the new guy; virtually anonymous. I'm so used to being known by my players. Whenever a goalie goes to a new team, they're pretty much anonymous. We sit back there in the crease, we stop the pucks (most of the time) but nobody really knows who we are. It feels so...transient...so "of no fixed address"...so....impersonal. I can't say I'm interested in taking on Team admin duties just so I can get to know my players (or is that maybe so my players can know me?) because I did it for 5 yrs and I don't miss not having the responsibility.

And just for fun, I get to repeat this experience on Tuesday evening when I play my first game with the league that the Town runs at the local 6-plex (where The Boy played hockey this year) so we get to see what that's like.

I'm happy to be back playing, but the unease and anonymity kinda take the edge off.

(Oh yeah...final score, 3-0 for the bad guys, but I can't say I was disappointed in how I played, particularly after my 6-week hiatus.)

Friday, May 13

"...and the adventure continues?"

Well, maybe not for a while.

After tonight, an 18 year TV icon will disappear from regular production. That icon is, of course, Star Trek. The Enterprise series ends its 4-season run tonight in a 2-hour finale.

I have some mixed feelings, but maybe it's time to give the franchise a rest. I'll be sad when the series is over, of course, but perhaps some time away will help. After all, when TOS was cancelled in the 60's, there were plans to bring it back sooner rather than later, but I think the arrival of TNG rode a nice wave of popularity after the first few movies had come out in the 80's.

Doesn't matter what happens, when you think about it. Gene Roddenberry created a fantastic vision for the future and it has become part of our popular culture.

I just have something else to add to my DVD collections Wish List. *grin*

Thursday, May 12

Catenatus Ergo Sum

Tr: "I link, therefore, I am."

However, someone has taken the time to document interesting stuff that doesn't even exist.

Q: If I didn't link to this list, then does that mean I'd disappear in a puff of logic?

Enjoy!

Orwell must be grinning

Recent news reports tell the tale of a scheduled flight where one Jennifer Aniston was a passenger. Apparently the flight had been delayed on the tarmac and she was getting antsy and decided that she didn't want to fly.

She asked to get off the flight and her request was granted.

Normally this wouldn't be a problem...except for the 2-hour delay that resulted from her request. The plane went back to the gate and her luggage had to be located and offloaded.

A more equal pig, as George would say? Or just a self-absorbed celebrity who doesn't give a shit about other people?

No wonder Brad dumped her whiny, high-maintenance ass.

You decide.

Wednesday, May 11

Oh, the Humanity!!

I think this person qualifies for Dtrini's 'Daily Idiot' file for this mindless act.

Such a waste....such a waste. I think there should be a law in Canada to punish those who would help destroy such a viable and important national symbol.

(regretfully, she doesn't qualify for a Darwin because she's still capable of contributing to the gene pool.)




Woman charged in major 401 crash
No serious injuries in clash between truck, car


CURTIS RUSH
STAFF REPORTER THESTAR.COM

A 19-year-old woman from Mississauga has been charged with careless driving following an accident this morning that dumped 2,184 cases of beer onto Highway 401, forcing its closure during the morning rush.

OPP Sgt. Cam Woolley said the woman, who is in hospital with minor injuries, was served with the papers this morning.

Police allege she swerved out of her lane and into the path of the Molson beer truck at 6:30 a.m., causing the rollover in the eastbound lanes. The woman's flipped over as a result.

Woolley credited the woman's seatbelt and the car's airbags with saving her life.

Molson spokesperson Nathalie Masse said the driver was hauling the load for delivery in Oshawa. He has a "stellar record" of more than 25 years, Masse said. The truck driver wasn't injured in the crash.

Police said the road would be cleared in time for the afternoon rush.

The remaining beer will be returned to Molson, for destruction, authorities said.

The accident happened in the eastbound express lanes of the 401 just east of Highway 400, in the area known as the “basket weave.”

The effects of the accident rippled out from the scene and caused major back-ups on a number of major roads and highways.

The entire load of beer was spilled, creating what one police officer described as a "sea of beer."

With files from Canadian Press

Looks like everyone wants their Mummy

Ancient history buff that I am, I was really excited to read this news about the latest technological effort in Egypt with respect to their antiquities.

My DW and I both enjoy this sort of thing and because she's a real Egypt nut, the news went over well.

It would really be interesting to see some of these ancient figures get a more modern face.

Tuesday, May 10

Tag...

Kristin tagged me for this monumental task...

You get to pick any five of these and then add your own occupations

If I could be a lion tamer (Mossy Stone)
If I could be a brothel owner (Mossy Stone)
If I could be a carpenter (Mossy Stone)
If I could be Dirk Pitt® (Mossy Stone)
If I could be a Monster Truck driver (Mossy Stone)
If I could be a courtesan (Penny)
If I could be a cruise director (Penny - c'mon, what did you expect?)
If I could be an automotive designer (Penny)
If I could be a UN representative (Penny)
If I could be a professional mudwrestler (Penny)
If I could be a psychic(Kristin)
If I could be a politician(Kristin)
If I could be an inventor(Kristin)
If I could be a quality control tech for M&Ms (Kristin)
if i could be a statistician (cricket)
if i could be a veterinarian (cricket)
if i could be a crash-test dummy (cricket)
if i could be a pilot (cricket)
if i could be a NASCAR driver(cricket)
If I could be a music executive (The Man In The Middle)
If I could be a grandparent(The Man In The Middle)
If I could be a computer hacker(The Man In The Middle)
If I could be a professional basketball player(The Man In The Middle)
If I could be a Customer Service Representative(The Man In The Middle)
If I could be an artist
If I could be a marketing director
If I could be a nanny
If I could be a psychic
If I could be an emergency medical technician
If I could be a firefighter
If I could be a designer
If I could be a policeman/woman
If I could be a teacher
If I could be a scientist
If I could be a farmer
If I could be a musician
If I could be a doctor
If I could be a painter
If I could be a gardener
If I could be a missionary
If I could be a chef
If I could be an architect
If I could be a linguist
If I could be a librarian
If I could be an athlete
I f I could be a lawyer
If I could be an innkeeper
If I could be a professor
If I could be a writer
If I could be a llama-rider(by Ogre)
If I could be a bonnie pirate(By Teach)
If I could be a servicemember(By Jeremy)
If I could be a business owner(By Blue 944)
If I could be an actor(By Blue 944)
If I could be an agent(By KelBel)
If I could be video game designer(By KelBel)
If I could be a comic book artist(By Stoli)
If I could be a hooker(By Pollo Loco)
If I could be a crack addict(by Elizabeth)
If I could be a porn star(by Elizabeth)
If I could be a mime(by Garrison)
If I could be a domestic engineer(by Rick)
If I could be a chimney sweep(by laine)
If I could be a masseuse(by laine)
If I could be a taxi driver(by Brian)
If I could be a priest(by Brian)
If I could be the Sherrif Of Nottingham(Karen)
If I could be a dancer(Karen)
If I could be Santa Claus(Karen)
If I could be on a reality TV show(Dawn)
If I could be a magician(Dawn)
If I could be a rich man
If I could be perfect
If I could be a comedian

If I could be perfect, hopefully I'd wonder what all the fuss was about if there was nothing left to achieve.

If I could be a pilot, I'd fly myself to all sorts of wonderful and interesting places to experience all the neat-o stuff that these places have to offer. I'd also learn to build and fly recreations of some of my favourite aircraft. (Hmm...I'd need a hangar and lots of land for an airstrip)

If I could be an automotive designer, I'd design replicas of some of the truly classic cars and update them with some modern technology to give people the best of both worlds. (Hmm....I'd need a really big garage)

If I could be a brothel owner, well....assuming it was legal and all....nah...let's not go there.

If I could be a carpenter, I'd take the time to learn all the time honoured techniques of hand craftsmanship and make some really beautiful projects for my DW (and I'd get to have a totally kick-ass workshop. Lee Valley tools would love me.)

I now tag Kat.

Monday, May 9

Back to the Salt Mines

I know it was only a week, but it sure seems like forever...the sign of a good vacation, I suppose.

But here I sit, bereft of work email because of a migration gone somewhat awry. I'm back. In my cubicle. The Veal-fattening pen. The Cube. The Cell. etc. etc., ad infinitum.

Of course, some things haven't changed. John Q. is still MIA.

I'm a week behind in blog reading but apparently I have the time now. *sigh*

Is it weird that I'd like to get back to my work? Is it wrong?

Friday, May 6

Is it "Koo-Bah" or "Kew-Bah"?

Well, we can't exactly see it but we're somewhere off the north coast of that lovely Marxist oasis on course for Miami.

One doesn't normally think of Haiti as a vacation spot, but I have to say that the island of Labadee (just off the main island of Hispaniola) was a fantastic spot to spend the day. It was brutally hot in the sun but we had a nice spot on one of the beaches and we enjoyed the day. I snorkeled for much of it and wandered around taking some pictures of the sights to use for sketch references later. I'm not quite fried to a crisp, but I'm definitely showing the effects of that lovely sunshine.

San Juan, Puerto Rico was a nice surprise. Granted, the waterfront isn't exactly "picturesque", but it was a short walk into the old town. Cobblestones, narrow streets, nice little shops, etc. DW and I didn't expect to even leave the ship during the short stay, but the urge to stretch our legs got us going.

We're on the final day at sea and we dock in Miami tomorrow. I'm sure there will be all sorts of chaos as we go through the madness to get disembarked, through customs (US), then off to the airport and fly home to hit customs (Cdn) again.

In the meantime, have a happy!

Tuesday, May 3

Yeah, Mon!

Ohh, 'tis goood to bee in dee Islands, mon. Sippy, sippy all de time, yeah.

(Warning...avoid the Rum Punch at ALL COSTS!!)

Awesome day here in the USVI. My DW and the Wondertwins and I wereintroduced to the world of "snuba". For the uninitiated, "snuba" is a shallow scuba dive where your tank stays at the surface and you are connected via a 20ft hose to the regulator. Absolutely incredible to be in warm, clear waters absolutely teeming with fish. We'll see how my underwater camera performed while I was 20 ft down. Pictures posted if they turn out nicely. *grin*

Nice to see all the comments from the gang...you guys rock.

Tomorrow, Puerto Rico. Then we're off to the private island of Labadee, just off Haiti.
A la prochaine...

Monday, May 2

Somehere...beyond the Sea...

Greetings from somewhere between Nassau and the US Virgin Islands!
 
Lovely day out here...although trying to blog while the ship pitches and rolls and there's no visual clues makes me feel a bit oogy.
 
Anyone miss me?