Musical Pause

:: Without going into details, it appears that my three-month foray back into the world of rock music has come to an end. Perhaps at a later date I will explain. Suffice it to say that circumstances leading to this event were beyond my control and had nothing to do with me. However, it is a great disappointment, as I was very much enjoying the creative process, and playing loud and angry electric music again after a 14-year break. Damn it.

| TrackBack (0) | Comments (7)

show comments right here »

Nearby

:: I am around, just really busy and really tired from work and other stuff. I'll be back soon. One thing I am working on is consolidating as many sites in my Bloglines account as possible, and that is taking some time to make happen.

| TrackBack (0) | Comments (3)

show comments right here »

Ice Rain - I Wanna Be Sedated

:: A week ago we were living through -35C temperatures in Edmonton. Currently it is -2C, and there is a light rain falling, turning to ice as it hits the ground, making driving a hazardous affair. The east coast is getting hammered with another major winter blizzard. While the temperature never gets that hot in Edmonton in the summer, and while I do wish winter was a bit shorter here, overall it's tough to complain about the weather in this part of the world. We don't seem to get the extremes that other regions do. The 1987 tornado that ripped through the east half of Edmonton took 27 lives, but was considered a rarity, an disaster not expected to happen all that often.

I am continuing to rehearse with Hardy Drew and the Nancy Boys. The band knows 10 songs, and is learning two covers. There is much more to learn. I am enjoying it, the challenge of learning original tunes, most of which are very unconventional, featuring mixed time signatures coupled with jamming intervals. A song's framework is sidestepped for 30-60 seconds while the my guitar, the drums and the bass play, well, whatever. Each time a song with such a component is played, it will sound different as a result. There is much more work to do. It's a new experience, playing in a three-piece rock band.

I played boggle on Sunday night with Marissa, Melissa, and Sarah. Melissa is a Boggle Queen, and Marissa and Sarah are no slouches. Needless to say, the girls cleaned my clock in every round. Saturday night Marissa and I saw End of the Century, the movie about the seminal 70s NYC punk band, The Ramones. The film is a real eye-opener, highly recommended.

It's January, and I'm restless for any number of reasons. The year is barely two weeks old, and planning for activities in the summer and fall has already begun. I am also about to agree to do to something that could result in a three-year professional time commitment, to June 2008. More on that at a later date.

| TrackBack (0)

Landing on Titan

:: The Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn and Titan will be covered live tomorrow on NASA-TV, on the web, very early in the morning. The European Space Agency's Huygen Probe will begin its descent to Titan on Friday. More info is available on the ESA Cassini-Huygens site. The detailed Huygens descent timeline provides details to the minute, including parachute deployment, data transmission to Cassini, atmosphere sampling, and surface touchdown.

:: This is the time of year that can be called The Cold and The Dark. Late sunrises and early sunsets, coupled with sub-sub-zero temperatures. The forecast is calling for -34C tonight. It is nights like these that give us character. Next Thursday, the high is predicted to be +5C.

:: From Google Groups, access to 800,000,000 Usenet messages back to 1981. Very scary. Thank God all I did in the 80s was discuss music and movies in those damn newsgroups.

Google has fully integrated the past 20 years of Usenet archives into Google Groups, which now offers access to more than 800 million messages dating back to 1981. This is by far the most complete collection of Usenet articles ever assembled and a fascinating first-hand historical account.

Google has fully integrated the past 20 years of Usenet archives into Google Groups, which now offers access to more than 800 million messages dating back to 1981. This is by far the most complete collection of Usenet articles ever assembled and a fascinating first-hand historical account.

We compiled some especially memorable articles and threads in the timeline below. For example, read Tim Berners-Lee's announcement of what became the World Wide Web or Linus Torvalds' post about his "pet project". You can find more in-depth information about the archive here.

| TrackBack (0)

Blogomania Update - Back To Normal and Getting Better All The Time

:: Special thanks to Christina of BlogMoxie and Christine of Blogomania for responding quickly to my last post. Important points to note:

• Blogomania is going nowhere but up - the company is growing and expanding. Blogomania has extended its hosting service to Blogmoxie clients, and vice versa: Moxie Design services are being offered to Blogomania clients.
  
• Christina corrected my impression that BlogMoxie had suspended new hosting applications. In fact, by partnering with Blogomania, BlogMoxie is accepting new applications for hosting

So why was I having so many problems? Christine responded with the following critical information that explained what happened:

1. On Friday night, Blogomania and BlogMoxie experienced a DDOS attack, followed by a second one. This ended around 4:00 am CST. It took staff members a few hours to resolve this, working through the night.
   
2. On Saturday, the server on which Blogomania resides had a primary hard drive failure. A new drive was installed, and the backup was restored.

It's important for me to emphasize that since switching to Blogomania in the fall of 2003, the service has been excellent. Christine and her team respond to Help Desk tickets quickly, and provide rock solid customer support. (My thanks also to Keith, who read my post and called to say he had no problems getting to the Blogomania site.)

What happened today was an anomaly. My father said many times, "Mechanical things break down." Such is life. If you need a host, or need to switch, consider Blogomania.

| TrackBack (0) | Comments (1)

show comments right here »

What's Up With Blogomania?

:: Weird things are happening, if at all, with Blogomania, the service that hosts my web sites, and Geoff's and Tony's, among many others. If you're reading this, then something is working, but not everything is kosher, and I'm worried. I cannot reach the Blogomania site, the Blogmania Helpdesk, my website's Control Panel, nor my e-mail.

A websearch revealed this post, advising that Christine, the Blogomania girl, has joined forces with Blogmoxie. The girls of Blogmoxie are here, including Christine. The thing is, I haven't heard boo from Blogomania that this was in the works, and if so, what the implications were for BM customers. Are we being transferred to Blogmoxie? If so, check this out: Blogmoxie has suspended new hosting applications. Say what?

The Blogmania site isn't working, as of 1631 hrs, MST. This is what you see when you try to reach the site, or Christina's BigPinkCookie.com - not reassuring at all.

For the time being, i.e., the weekend, I've giving Blogomania the benefit of the doubt. I hope Christine resolves this within a day. Blogomania's reputation, solid until now, doesn't need a hit like this.

| TrackBack (0) | Comments (2)

show comments right here »

Chill Out and Call Me

:: According to the Weather Network, this is life in Edmonton late next week.

:: Is there anyone out there who wants to Skype with me? Please?

| TrackBack (0) | Comments (3)

show comments right here »

Purging

:: Over the Christmas break, I had planned to begin purging my house of excessive "stuff": papers, curios, objects, junk, magazines, clothes, utinsels, tools, whatever. I made minor progress in one of the three rooms upstairs in my house, albeit the one requiring the most work, my office. What I learned is that such projects take a long, long time to complete. I'd be sorting through said stuff, and inevitably take too much time to examine every single item, wondering "Do I want to keep this, or is it ok to get rid of it? Wait, what if I want to read it again in 13 years?" And on it went. A 1980 issue of Rolling Stone was in my filing cabinet, kept this long because it had a review of Gaucho, and an accompanying article on Steely Dan. Did I need to keep it another 25 years? I reread the two pieces, and passed it on to a friend, advising him not to return it.

I shredded enough paper to fill three blue bags, and boxed some magazines and papers, which I moved to the basement. I know, that's not purging (it's shifting, I suppose) but the room is getting spacious again.

What is hardest to admit is that there is much, much more to be eliminated. My plan is to try to finish the first sweep of this room, and then get to the other two upstairs bedrooms, which will not require as much work. In those rooms, the material to be purged will be mostly clothing, which will be recycled to Goodwill.

There is always too much to do. I have music to rehearse for an acoustic concert in February, a new tune to work on for the rock band, and I haven't been to the Y in six days. My favorite TV shows are back on the air, and 24 begins 24 straight episodes starting this Sunday. Ack.

| TrackBack (0) | Comments (5)

show comments right here »

Night Vision

The very foggy view from Wayne Gretzky Drive in Edmonton, Monday, 3 January 2005, 2145 hrs, driving on the Capilano Bridge over the North Saskatchewan River.

| TrackBack (0) | Comments (1)

show comments right here »

Guide For Fighting Comment Spam

:: Sick and tired of comment spam like everyone else? Jay Allen, creator of MT-Blacklist and Six Apart, have released tbe Six Apart Guide For Fighting Comment Spam, also available in PDF format

:The guide covers many of the concepts and tools available to fight comment spam and explains the strengths and weaknesses that we've seen of each. We also included our "best practices" recommendations for not only keeping spam off of your site, but making sure that you and your readers have the best possible experience. The document is intended to be a fairly comprehensive, living document which will change and grow over time to reflect the changing nature of the topic.

Jay's brilliant creation, MT-Blacklist, is now embedded in the latest version(s) of Moveable Type. Since downloading and installing the newest versions in mid-November, 2004, MT-Blacklist has blocked 12,811 comment spam. We love Jay Allen.

:: Martha Stewart's team fails to claim victory in prison decorating contest. Armageddon is near.

| TrackBack (0) | Comments (3)

show comments right here »

Gotta Get My Stuff Done

:: I have been off work since December 18th, with the exception of December 20th. I had planned to do some major house cleaning and purging, but have made it through part of one room only. I was back at work today, in the sub-zero, bone-numbing city in which I live.

Derryl sent a link to this short animation, Gotta Get My Stuff Done, which while funny, also illustrates in the simplest of presentations, how we can rationalize not doing the stuff that needs to be done.

| TrackBack (0) | Comments (2)

show comments right here »

Tsunami 2

:: A week ago, we were first hearing of the tsunami. I recall the first time I heard something on the news, that 4,000 people were presumed dead. Seven days later, I find it very difficult to process what has happened.

Three weeks after September 11th, 2001, The Onion published its second issue since that fateful day. The cover story featured a composite picture of various pop culture icons and newsmakers of the moment, with the headline, "A Shattered Nation Longs To Care About Stupid Bullshit Again." My tolerance for stoopid bullshit continues to decline on a daily basis, and in the past week, has hit an all-time low. I watch no so-called reality shows, and when I see an ad for one, I reach for the mute and/or channel buttons as fast as humanly possible. Who can give a rat's ass about the next Survivor, Insert-Name-of-Country-Here Idol, or The Apprentice? Perhaps for some, shows like these are a diversion. But what they represent is so infinitely distant from anything that really matters.

What is critical right now is contributing to help those in need. In Canada, the Canadian Government will match donations by citizens until mid-January:

Until the UN donor conference in mid-January, when needs will be reassessed, the Government of Canada through the Canadian International Development Agency is matching dollar for dollar contributions that individuals make to recognized Canadian non-government organizations already involved in responding to the disaster in South and Southeast Asia. Some of these organizations include:

* Canadian Red Cross
* World Vision Canada
* Doctors Without Borders
* Oxfam Canada
* Oxfam Quebec (French only)
* CARE Canada
* UNICEF Canada
* Development and Peace
* Save the Children

Please donate if you haven't already.

| TrackBack (0)

Whatever

:: "Blog" and all its derivations have made the list of the Lake Superior State University 2005 List of Banished Words. If one is to follow the list, and no longer use "blog", what are the alternatives? How about:

1) Ruws: Regularly Updated Web Site
2) Utbab: Used To Be A Blog
3) Wesilog: Web Site Log
4) Ocab: Once Called A Blog
5) Nolocab: No Longer Called A Blog
6) Rudilwes: Regularly Updated Diary-Like Web Site

I doubt any of these will catch on. Any other suggestions?

Other names deservedly on the list include webinar, erectile dysfunction, "You're fired", and carbs. Webinar reflects the pathetic movement of combining two words into one, like docudrama, infomercial, but for what reason? To save time? Can't we say "web seminar?" I remember watching a comedian on the old Letterman show, who noted, "Do you know what the abbreviation for July is? J-u-l. You gotta be in a hurry."

:: How bizarre is this: because of the number of tourists missing or already dead, the tsumasi tragedy could become the worst natural disaster in the history of Sweden.

:: Today on CNN, Jeanne Moos showed clips of the year's worst/best quotes and phrases. My favorite, included in the list, was Jon Stewart calling Tucker Carlson a dick on Crossfire. Oddly enough, when CNN showed the clip, Stewart's utterance of the word "dick" was bleeped. This from a network in a country which has a Vice-President named Dick.

| TrackBack (0) | Comments (4)

show comments right here »

Politically Correct to the Nth Degree Holiday Wishes

:: As received in a recent e-mail, illustrating how far we've gone (backwards) in ensuring that no one is ever offended, again, in late December (for those who recognize the calendar with the month "December" in it):

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.... and a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2005, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make Canada great (not to imply that Canada is necessarily greater that any other country), and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith, choice of computer platform, or sexual preference of the wishee.

By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.

In other words, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

| TrackBack (0) | Comments (5)

show comments right here »

2005

:: Happy New Year to everyone, as we begin the second half of this yet-to-be-named decade. In Edmonton we are experiencing -20 to -25C temperatures for the next few days, a deep freeze. I saw The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou yesterday, bringing my Films Viewed in 2004 total to 112 - this figure includes a number of short films as well, not 112 full-length features.

Regarding resolutions, the one I want to seriously tackle this year is losing a few pounds, and getting into better shape. Beyond that, enjoying life to its fullest is a good challenge.

| TrackBack (0)