Bad Luck In 3s
28 March 2008 - 10:53.
If it's true that bad luck comes in threes, does it count when it's more than one person?
Tanya had a hell of a time with her move,
Donna is sick, and my back went out again last night. That's three of us.
That counts, right?
Moving Fast
26 March 2008 - 06:06.
There's a lot of changes going on in my life right now. Some of them are related to my recent break-up, and others are work related. I feel almost like I've lost my brakes, and things are moving so fast and furiously for me that I'm finding it hard to keep up.
This is especially tough for me since, control freak that I am, I'm used to knowing exactly what is what, along with when, where, how and why. Right now I don't feel like I have that. I'm trying to work in bite-sized pieces to make everything more manageable, but even at that there are so many pieces that even that leaves me feeling somewhat overwhelmed.
I suppose the fact that I'm blogging and not working doesn't help me regain control of things, does it?
Apple Brouhaha
22 March 2008 - 10:36.
Got an iPod? Now you're getting Safari too.
Apple is joining the ranks of malware installers everywhere by installing software on your computer whether you want it or not. In this case, it's their Safari web browser.
The installer is piggy-backing along with an iTunes/ Quicktime update. It shows up in the list of available updates even if you don't have it installed already. If you let the Apple Software Update run without looking at what's going on... BAM! You have new software on your computer. If you de-select the Safari instal, it comes back after you install your iTunes update.
I haven't yet found a way to disable the installer other than just not running the Apple Software Updater. There are reports on
Slashdot that you can kill the installer by hitting 'Cancel' at some point during the Safari installation. Me? I'm not trying it. I just won't let it run in the first place.
Apple should know better.
Still Sore
20 March 2008 - 08:43.
I rarely work on my birthday. It's unethical in my view, so I just don't do it. I'll find something else to do, often something new that I've never tried before.
This year it was golf. I went to a driving range, grabbed a bucket of balls (does that sound perverted or is it just me?) and spent the next hour or so learning that hitting a golf ball 200 yards is MUCH harder than it seems. I can see the addictive quality to the game. I certainly wouldn't say it left me smitten, but I can see why for some it would be that way.
I also learned that if you're not used to it, it hurts the next day. A lot. Especially in the arms and ribs. Rowers (scullers, the ones with 2 oars per person) don't twist. Golfers do. Ow.
Apple Store Coming
15 March 2008 - 14:31.
I came across
this item on Craigslist. The link to apply leads to an Apple site - so does this mean that we'll soon have our own iStore in downtown Vancouver> I hope so...
Do you? Why, or why not?
New Nickname
11 March 2008 - 13:28.
After watching 'Hook' this last weekend, I'm told that I qualify as
one of the 'Lost Boys'.
I actually don't mind that.
Another Tattoo
08 March 2008 - 17:40.
I'm thinking about getting myself another tattoo for my birthday. For those keeping score, this would be number 6.
Few people have seen all my tattoos because they're hidden for the most part. No, I don't have a teddy bear on my ass or anything (a la Radar O'Reilly from M*A*S*H) but what I do have has meaning to me. And the one I'm considering is much the same.
For a few years I've been reading Buddhist teachings, specifically Zen. There is a concept known as 'kensho' which refers to the initial awakening, where the student begins to understand the deeper meaning and enlightenment that students of Zen are seeking. Kensho is a temporary thing, not unlike a runner who finds themselves "in the zone" while running a marathon. The mind stops asking and questioning, and you develop a sense of clarity. You "get it". To be precise, there is no 'it'. You just are.
I get this from rowing sometimes, when the body and the boat and the water stop being separate and start blending together. You don't really know where one ends and the other begins. It's like having an epiphany that lasts for half an hour.
I'm thinking of getting the Japanese kanji character for kensho tattooed at the base of my neck... symbolizing the place where the mind meets the body. The characters look like the image on
this page.
I'd be interested in the opinions of others though, on what you think of a near-40 year old guy getting yet more tattoos. Is it weird? Do you see it as a mid-life-crisis manifestation? (consider though that my last tattoo was inked about 5 years ago). Your opinions won't sway me (I don't think) but I'm curious to know the perceptions anyways.
Cute Joke
05 March 2008 - 16:35.
What's the difference between ignorance and apathy?
But wait! There's more!
More Manning
04 March 2008 - 15:40.
As I mentioned, I was at Manning Park over this last weekend. Besides getting away for a day or so, the main purpose was to ski, and fulfill
my earlier-stated intent to ski twice this season.
Love. Skiing. Manning.
It's not a big place. There are only 24 runs, although a good number of them are fairly wide. And even some of the black diamonds aren't too brutal. There's even some back country-type rns within the borders of the ski area, if you feel like swooshing between trees.
I think the part that got me though was how few people there were. You know how sometimes you see a commercial, where someone is skiing through untracked powder and kicking up swaths of snow? And it looks like a shot out of a Warren Miller movie? I got to ski in that kind of snow. Untracked powder about 10 inches deep, on a simple marked trail. At 1:30 in the afternoon.
It may sound pedantic, but for skiers it's sheer heaven.
Driving Advice
02 March 2008 - 07:48.
After coming back from a short trip to Manning Park (more on that later) I would like to offer the following to motorists in our fair city...
Dear Asshole
Please keep in mind the following when driving our lovely province's highways...
- Blinky orange lights will sometimes appear. There is often a large man with a shovel and excessive butt-crack picking something off the road. Nothing more. No need to slow down.
- Stalled cars on the side of the road with pylons next to them are precisely that. There is nothing and no one hiding behind the car trying to jump out and scare the living bejeezus out of you. No need to slow down here either.
- The law states that you must stay right unless passing. Parking yourself in the left lane at precisely the speed limit will cause others to tailgate you. Just move over, mkay? No need to slow down. Just move.
Thanks for your attention.