Well 2003 has been an interesting year. I've had no less than three jobs and uprooted the family and planted the crew in Central Alberta. 2004 is looking good so far - I start a good paying position on the 2nd - and the prospect of coming up with a solution to 'dial-up hell' looks promising. It's going to be 'Wireless' but I haven't figured out if I'm going to do it myself or if I work with some others and make it a 'group' effort.

These few days between Christmas and New Years are a bit of a pain as it's just about impossible to get anything accomplished because those in charge tend to disappear until after the New Year. It's always a relief when the new calendar gets hung - like a fresh start or something. The first thing you have to remember is to put the correct date on your rent cheque. After that you just sit back and wait for the Christmas bills to roll in.

The part I like about New Years is that it sort of feels like winter is half over. By March though you know that January First being 'Mid-Winter' was a tad optimistic. At least the days start getting longer and I always look at that as a good sign.

Anyhow..., I'm going to cut this one a bit short as I would like to do a decent 'Blog Entry' for January First and that's going to take a bit of thought.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego y Un Prospero Año Nuevo

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

erry Christmas and a Happy New Year to my loyal visitors. There have been many changes since this time last year and things look like they're going to be good for the coming year. My family and I made a huge move - huge when there's six of us - to Rimbey, Alberta for a job that did not pan out. The nice thing is that Will and Phil at Rimbey TV and Electronics were kind enough to offer me a job to keep my head above water until something better came along and something a whole lot better did come along.

I am extremely pleased and honoured to be offered a good paying position with the Parkland Regional Library. I'm really looking forward to a long, and mutually beneficial association and can't wait to get started - I start on January 2nd which isn't that far off but I can't wait just the same. I think January 2nd is a perfect day to start fresh - can you think of a better day? I'm excited because it's a career move I've been trying to position myself into for the last five years or more. I've busted my rear-end to achieve some industry accepted certification and I've busted my rear-end to learn as much as I can about 'Open Source Software' in parallel to that. There's been some frustrating 'moments' I can assure you but I think my 'game plan' has finally started to pay off. I'm passionate about 'Open Source Software' to the point that it has probably cost me the odd position up to this point. What pleases me to no end is my belief that the Parkland Regional Library appears to have an equally passionate view about 'Open Source Software' and it's role in the grand scheme of things.

When it get's right down to it I suppose the one thing that makes 'Open Source Software' so appealing to me is the fact that I've dished out some pretty serious coin over the years for 'shrink wrapped' software that wasn't worth it's weight in 'shrink wrapped' horse nuggets. Have you ever tried to return 'shrink wrapped' software? If you haven't then you really should try it some day. You too will someday be passionate about 'Open Source Software'. Don't ever let anyone tell you that there isn't any possible way for you to make money from 'free' software. Who ever would have thought anybody could make serious money selling 'bottled water'? Folks..., we have seen nothing yet!

Take the 'Phone Company' we all take for granted. For longer than I've been on this planet the 'Phone Company' has called the shots when it comes to communicating with neighbors and loved ones - for some that could be the same people or persons - but just this month there have been some 'Earth Moving' (Terremoto en español) announcements. Cable companies are now offering telephone service! If you don't think this is big news read this article in the New York Times and let me know what you think. We are about to see some huge changes in the way we communicate but they will, for the most part, be transparent to the everyday 'phone user'. We Canadians are BIG phone users so this should be important to us. 'Open Source Software' has played a HUGE role in getting VoIP to the point it is today and we should be thankful that it wasn't some monopolistic behemoth that developed the concept and slapped some 'proprietory' licensing scheme on the whole shebang.

Anyhow..., I hope everybody out there gets more stuffed than the turkey on the table and puts friends and family before business and money even if it's just for a few hours - make the sacrifice for the good of humanity! Seasons Greetings to All.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego y Feliz Navidad

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Only a few more days until Christmas - actually it's a couple of days before a couple of days before Christmas. I have no intention of deviating from my usual 'wait for the '24th' to pick up a few things'. I pretty much eye up the things I think I'll need and then scoop them up at the last minute - if there's none left then you get what you get. I kind of like to make it a surprise, even for myself - like, "I'm surprised that's what I got you!".

I've been working retail for the last couple of months and I had forgotten what that's all about. I should have remembered as that's what I did for the last half of the '80s' - back when I was a goldsmith trying to manage a jewellery store at the same time. You always looked forward to 'Christmas Rush' from a 'retailers' point of view but you sure hated it from the 'goldsmiths' point of view. I would go on little sleep for weeks leading up to Christmas trying to accommodate folks that 'knew' or 'had heard' that I could perform miracles without any kind of notice at all. I also did one Christmas working retail at Cottage Computers in Leduc.

Working retail at Rimbey TV and Electronics - Radio Shack has been an experience. First off, they have a lot of different products and a lot of those products do a lot of different things. A lot of those products require add-on products just to function - the most common being batteries. The POS - Point of Sale Software - does a decent job of letting you know what needs to be added on or what accessories might add function but you can rely on it too much to the point that it can be a nightmare when the hardware running the software decides to head south for the winter. That's what happened a couple of days ago and 'Plan B' was hurriedly put into production. 'Plan B' being handwritten invoices and calculators for figuring in the GST - Gouge and Screw Tax.

For anybody that doesn't know, Rimbey TV and Electronics is run by a couple of great guys - Will and Phil. They are a good match and really give, what would ordinarily be, 'just another Radio Shack' a unique quality that city folks would just never understand. They are a lot of fun to work with. Will gets the award for selling the 'Gutsiest Gift of the Year', a classic Radio Shack gadget, "The Body Fat Analyser". Some guy really thought his wife might like one for Christmas. I'll bet the guy 'takes one between the pockets' for that 'thoughtful' gift!

Anyhow..., I'm going to sign off for the evening.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego y Feliz Navidad

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Well folks..., I'm pleased to announce that I have been offered a position as a computer technician with the Parkland Regional Library and that makes me one happy d00d. I have no idea what the details are but I'm thrilled none the less.

One of the best parts is 'We don't have to move'. That was something I just wasn't looking forward to. We have a nice place that we really like so a move would have been just a pain in the posterior and one I could do without. I suppose it's kind of ironic that a book nut like myself would end up being employed with a library. I just might learn how to put my 'library' in order.

It will be a half hour drive to work every morning through the rolling hillsides of Central Alberta. The last place I worked in the city it was a half hour drive to work through rush hour traffic. I won't miss that much!

Anyhow...,

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Well..., I've successfully wasted a whole day working on a logo for my eBay ads. I want the ads to look good so this is what I've come up with. My eBay ID is 'jaguar-trading' so I wanted the logo to tie in with the name. Here's what I came up with:

It loads reasonably quick on dial-up so it should be good. We'll see how it flies once it's in production. There's one thing about going back to dial-up, it sure makes you optimize your graphics files before you post them.

I'm going to keep this post a tad on the short side as I need to prepare another post with some HUGE news - no, I don't have a broadband connection yet.

In the meantime...,

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

I have come to the conclusion that I need to somehow get myself a broadband connection. Dial-up really has it's shortcomings, not the least of which is the fact that it ties up the phone line. When kids need a ride then it becomes a bit of a nuisance. If I could just get them to e-mail me then it wouldn't be that much of an issue I suppose.

Another thing is when you need to download some picture or some big file or some upgrade. That's where 'Broadband' really shines. And that's what's so frustrating. The technology is out there to provide it at a decent price and the demand is good as well. If I knew for sure how long it was before it was available I would likely just wait but the thing is that no one wants to make the commitment to say yes to the 'Rural' population here. I somehow believe it will be some sort of 'Wireless' solution that will ultimately prevail. It only makes sense. The telephone company has had wires running to the ranch for years as has the power company. I can't see anybody else stringing more more wire as that would be just too costly. The telephone company doesn't see interested and so far the power company hasn't done anything and even if they did it would likely include a 'Wireless' component.

In any event, I've been doing some reading on the 'Wireless' angle and would really like to pursue it further except that there has been a bunch of discussion lately about new wireless standards, protocols, and RFC's - Request for Comments. I guess I'll just wait a bit to see what happens and curse the dial-up connection I have now until I burst into action after getting thoroughly frustrated. After all it's only about six kilometers, as the crow flies, from a choice between cable and ADSL.

Anyhow..., readers here will be the first to know when I finally get adequately connected once more.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Still getting ramped up to do eBay. After seeing how Maxus Technology - my former employer - screwed up their eBay division so horribly I have made the decision that I will do everything I can to avoid the mistakes they made. (That shouldn't be too difficult as Maxus was greedy and stupid and I'm not.) In the short while I was there I saw them go from US$40,000 a month in sales to getting themselves suspended from eBay. I have a near perfect 'Feedback Rating' - one 'Neutral' - on eBay right now and I know that 'Negative Feedback' will prevent you from ever being successful on eBay. To that end I've been busting my butt getting everything set up to do this right. If there is one thing I learned working at Maxus Technology it's that you can make a lot of money on eBay but you can screw it up 'Big Time' if you don't have a workable system and you don't look after your customers.

I will be using Shooting Star to keep track of my eBay auctions and the Poster Toaster to handle the eBay advertisements and bulk listings. The two programs integrate nicely and will allow me to present my listings and look after my customers in a professional manner. I have used Shooting Star in the past and recommend it highly if you ever decide to generate a little revenue through eBay. The software is well thought out, reasonably priced and technical support is second to none. If they ever offered me a job I would swim to Hawaii for the interview!

In addition to the software I've set up for all of this, I picked up the book eBay the Smart Way by Joseph Sinclair. It's well written, and reasonably priced although it's geared a bit more to the novice. In saying that though, I would recommend it as well even for someone that has some eBay under their belt. I've already picked up a couple of pointers that are easily worth the price of the book at US$17.95. Most books that thick - 512 pages - would cost two or three times that much.

I guess you know now why the postings have been a day or three apart lately. Between working and mould control and setting up an eBay operation it's left precious little time for much else. Not to mention the fact that Christmas is sneaking up on us real fast and I'm lucky I get any sleep all.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

When I was just a kid I used to sneak into my parents bathroom and adjust the medicine chest door - it was a mirror - so that the reflections would bounce down what seemed like an endless tunnel. I suppose that was when I first pondered the concept of 'Infinity'.

Some folks just don't get the idea of 'Infinity' and I have to wonder what it is they think is on the other side of the 'wall' you run into when you run out of time or miles or money or whatever it is you're supposed to run out of when you get to the 'edge'. Like is there supposed to be nothing on the other side? What if you looked over the 'wall', would you see the back of your head? Possibly, who's to know? Maybe you would see yourself looking back at yourself giving yourselves the fright of your lives.

For me it's just easier to imagine that the road never ends. It just goes on and on and on. Maybe the odd twist and bump, but no end. If it did end would you just fall off the end of the road and cease to exist? Would you hit a wall and vaporize and would there be 'nothing' on the other side of the wall? I have more trouble with that concept than I do with the road never ending. It's just easier to explain wouldn't you say?

I'm sure these things have been pondered before and will be for some time to come. Any creature that has stared into the night sky has had to wonder about these things I would think. Some will see the beauty of the night sky and others will see an infinite quantity of unanswered questions just begging for an explanation. It's what I would say keeps things interesting and is the reason for being.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Well it's new for me. I used to use Homesite on Windows but I lost my unlock code. On Linux / Unix I use Blue Fish and of course you don't need an unlock code for it. I needed an 'editor' for the Win2K Box so that's how I ended up with AceHTML which happens to be 'FreeWare'. That's why I picked it, that and the fact that it wasn't too large of a file - after all, I'm on dial-up.

The reason I'm rounding up a few things like this is that I'm getting geared up to do some serious eBaying once more. Yes folks, I was cleaning my office - the porch - a couple of nights ago and decided that I needed to get rid of some of the clutter. What better way than to get a buck or two on eBay. I also need to get the accumulation of books under control as well so I just might investigate setting up a virtual bookstore on the Advanced Book Exchange to get that straightened out. They offer free software to inventory your books and upload the list to their site so that literally millions of potential customers can see what you have to offer. I would like to work for Advanced Book Exchange as they are located in Victoria on Vancouver Island - a real nice place to escape from a Canadian Prairie Winter.

I may as well get these things rolling while the days are short so that I have it streamlined by the time the days start getting long again. Not to mention I could use a little income generated from a little online e-commerce. I've been talking about this for a while but have finally decided that it's time to put up or shut up. Of course I will be providing links to all of my 'Items for Sale' and 'eBay Auctions'.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

For those of you that are unaware of 'black mould' let me bring you up to speed on my 'black mould' experience. I have some 'black mould' in my office - the porch - that looks as though it may have been behind a deep freeze or something. Anyhow, there's a black patch on the wall behind me. I just try not to look at it. I guess the 'Treasury Branch' in Rimbey had a similar problem. There solution was to move across the alley into a converted construction trailer while they wait to tear down and incinerate the building they were in. That's pretty 'final' wouldn't you say?

Well I'm thinking that this 'black mold' thing sounds kind of scary if they're going to that extreme. Now I don't know if they called in Mould Dog or if they ordered the Do It Yourself Mould Testing Kit. I checked with the Center for Disease Control, the Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation and the US Environmental Protection Agency and decided that maybe the Treasury Branch was being a tad alarmist. I'm not about to pack up and move anytime soon just because we have a little mould problem that looks a bit like a science project gone haywire. Not me, I'm going to do battle with the mould.

So if you don't see anything new here after a bit then I guess it would be safe to assume the 'black mould' fungusized my soul.

In the meantime...,

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

I recently installed Firebird as it's nice and lean for a browser and you can tailor it to your needs. One of the first things you do after you install Firebird is go into the options and add some 'Extensions'. This adds some functionality to your bare bones browser. what I found was NewsMonster, a news, weblog, and RSS aggregator. Until now the only aggregator I could find was a standalone affair that was clumsy when it came to browser integration. Not so with NewsMonster.

I set mine to go out and fetch the RSS feeds every hour. Seeing as I'm on a dial-up connection I guess it will check my subscription every hour as long as I'm connected to the cloud. It's only been active for an hour so I haven't had a chance to really stress test it. What I see so far I like though. For one thing, it just makes nothing but total sense to have it integrated into a web browser and the way it integrates with Firebird is pretty smooth. I never really understood the standalone aggregators.

The real advantage of an aggregator that I can see is that you don't have to visit all of your favourite sites in order to check for recent content additions. That's what the aggregator does. I'm going to be playing around with this for a spell so I'll keep you posted on surprises or quirks that pop up. I'm sure there'll be some.

In the meantime...,

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Out here in Western Canada we sometimes experience a weather phenomena known as a 'Chinook'. The temperature rises rapidly and the snow starts melting. For a brief moment you would almost think spring is arriving but no sooner do you get used to the warm weather when the mercury plunges once again snapping you back to the reality that winter still has four or five more months to go.

Chinooks are a real nice way to break up the winter. It's sort of like the economy version of 'heading south'. If they last too long though you start ending up with a 'mud' problem. Mud in Alberta is different than mud I've experienced anywhere else in the Western Hemisphere. Alberta mud can suck the boots right off your feet and I'm not exaggerating that in the least. Alberta mud has no equal.

Enough of mud talk. There is going to be a lot more snow and ice before we have to worry about the mud. Actually..., I think I can put up with snow more than mud except that snow means cold for the most part and it's cold that I really don't like.

Anyhow..., I'm going to enjoy the 'Chinook' and hope that it doesn't dissipate too soon. In the meantime...

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Here's something that's been tossed around a bit and I'm not too certain why it's never taken off. After all, power lines enter pretty much every residence in North America except for a few that prefer to stay off the 'grid'.

Amperion, a provider of BPL (Broadband over Power Line) equipment has published some significant press releases over the last few months. I suppose the reason I find this so interesting is that at the same time cable companies have started offering telephone service in the form of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) with the potential to cut deep into the traditional telephone company revenue stream. Just imagine for a second if you had the choice of using your power company as your telephone and data communication provider. Not to mention the capability to offer entertainment content, that until now has been provided by cable or satellite. All of a sudden you have a choice and the phone company has some serious competition.

I know now why Darren Entwistle has been making such a big push to sign up ADSL customers. It's also the same reason he has bet the farm on converting Telus from a traditional circuit switched telephone network to a VoIP network. He has to because he sees what's coming. Those with the biggest Broadband Internet Customer base will ultimately be the company you choose to provide your telephone service and your viewing content. Having the Power Company added to the mix really makes things interesting.

If the power companies can deliver Broadband Internet service to rural North America cheaply they will do so to the detriment of the Telephone Company. The Cable Companies have never really ventured much beyond the 'small town' so they really have little chance of losing customers to the Power Company, providing they treat their customers right, but the Telephone Companies could easily lose their rural customers to the Power Company and have their infrastructure lay dormant and possibly sold to the scrap dealer in the not so distant future. The Power Company now has the capability, and most definitely the capacity, to deliver streaming audio/video as well as telephone service but the Telephone Companies have little chance of providing 'electricity' to those same customers. I think we're finally seeing the sun rise on the 'convergence' that has been hyped for the last few years.

I'm thinking this is likely a good thing as the consumer is going to have a choice. The Power Companies have the option of providing the service themselves or auctioning off the communications capacity of their power lines to smaller entities. First you need to offer Broadband IP then you can offer VoIP. Multiple revenue streams just have to make the shareholders a tad happier wouldn't you think? Whether or not the government will allow the Utility Company to have that much 'power' (no pun intended) will remain to be seen. Things are really starting to look interesting.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Was talking with a good friend last night and I asked him if he was using my website for job hunting. He said that he was but thought I may want to consider a way to search through the links. You know what? I think maybe he's right about that. The desktop clutter works reasonably well for those familiar with the contents but it doesn't scale well and can be downright meaningless to anyone unfamiliar with the contents. Bear in mind that when I speak of the 'desktop' I'm referring to the 'plank' that keeps my monitor off the floor and holds all the paper fragments, unopened mail, pens, pencils, and whatever everybody else leaves there as it looks like 'This must be where this belongs'. My desktop is a catchall but I know where everything is - usually. I have been known to lose the odd thing there which usually amounts to an afternoon of 'straightening up' until I locate what I'm looking for.

I know that isn't the most efficient way to handle 'clutter' but it works so far. I'm also pretty sure it won't scale much past what the height of the 'clutter' is now. I also know that my friend Chad is right, I do need some way of searching my site. Now that I have a decent webhosting company I can incorporate the MySQL database I've talked about for months. It's likely going to take a bit to make it all work properly but I think that I'm up to the task and ready for the challenge. Please contact me if you notice any goofiness on my site as I really want to make it accessible to as many as possible.

With the MySQL database tied in there should be more features and functionality I can add to ramp up the benefits to those in 'userland'. The benefits to me will be a broadening of my knowledge and the dose of therapy it provides when it works like I want it to.

Anyhow..., it will take a bit of time as researching the topics on dial-up is agonizingly slow. I'm still researching the alternatives to dial-up but they all require more loot than I have at the moment or that I would care to fork over every month.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Something I've wondered since I was a wee lad was how the hell do animals keep their feet warm in the winter. I suppose it comes from the fact that my feet have been perpetually cold pretty much my whole life. Thing is that I can go out and buy a pair of electric socks but the stray cat we feed and the deer that hang around just don't have that option. When my feet are cold it makes me miserable - does this mean that our animals are miserable when their feet are cold? I would like to think not but I don't think the rest of the crew here would want me to do any research that meant bringing critters from outdoors indoors. Fact of the matter is, we already have way to many critters indoors - ones that would never survive a Canadian winter.

I guess they just adapt but you sure have to wonder how they do. We've all heard that burning calories, fueled by food intake, is a big part of what keeps us warm. Canadian winters don't make the task of finding food any easier what with the frozen ground and all that. Some, like our bears, adapt by sleeping through the winter. That's a somewhat unique approach and would likely be mine given the choice. I would have to say that probably the two best approaches to winter are sleeping through it or hopping on a plane, heading to the Tropics, and avoiding it entirely. For those with mobility as an option that is probably the best approach of all. It would most definitely be the best of both worlds. We're not there yet but we're getting ready to be there.

Anyhow..., I need to tidy up a bit before all the company arrives. That's the lead-in to another story so we'll leave it right there for now.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Rimbey is an interesting place for a small town. I've seen things here that I just wouldn't think you'd see in rural Alberta. A few weeks ago I saw a one armed guy at the post office wearing a kilt. Now I suspect this wasn't a regular occurrence as he just about caused a four car wreck at the four way stop. There was a bit of a breeze blowing his blonde hair and the empty arm of his sweater. I'm sure if the breeze would have caught his kilt it would have been a four vehicle wreck.

A couple of weeks later we were in the Rimbey Co-op Hardware store buying chicken coop parts when I heard what I thought was a horse walking through the store. The clomping was getting louder and I was getting more puzzled until I noticed a big fellow bending over to check out a mig-welder that was on sale. Yes folks, right out of the 'Tulip Fields of the Netherlands' and into the Rimbey Co-op Hardware store was a guy wearing wooden shoes. Now there's something else you don't see often even in the city.

OK..., I figured a couple of odd sights was just a plain and simple fluke until I saw Elvis in the Radio Shack store today. He was looking pretty good with his duck tail hair and side burns the likes of which I haven't seen since maybe the late sixties. Said he was from Rocky Mountain House and was looking for something portable to put all his 'stuff' on when he was 'on tour' doing his 'act'. Figured it would mean a lot less equipment to lug in and out of the 'venues' where he performed. His wife was 'no Priscilla' but looked pretty supportive none-the-less.

Now I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that just a few days ago I was talking about carrying my digital camera around to catch a few pictures I could post so how come there’s no picture of Elvis. Well you know what? I would have given anything to have that picture posted along with this story.

Anyhow..., you'll read it here first if there's any other odd or unusual sightings in Rimbey and I will certainly try and get some photo's for back-up next time.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Oh boy..., I'm really thinking Tropical now! This is the coldest weather my family has ever experienced since their arrival in Canada. None of them have stuck their noses out the door yet this morning so I'm not real sure what the reaction is going to be. Neither they nor I are designed or configured for that kind of temperature.

Maybe that's why Canadians are reasonably productive. When it gets this cold all you can think about is making enough money to get away for a couple of weeks in the middle of January and secretly hope that winter will let loose with a vengence while you're away. With all this talk of 'Global Warming' you just wouldn't think you would have to put up with minus 30 in November. Where are all those fear mongering 'Global Warming Experts' now?

Anyhow..., some of us actually have to get up on cold Saturday mornings and nurse a frozen vehicle to life so we can get to work and make enough money to escape for a couple of weeks in the middle of January, even if it's only to Vancouver Island.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Whew..., minus 20 is almost breathtaking. The words fall from your mouth and tinkle when they land. It's days just like today when I really wonder why I ever left the Tropics. I guess it was winter that pushed me to the West Coast to begin with, and eventually to the Tropics years ago. I'm thinking that it's also the reason the bulk of the human race lives in temperate or tropical climates. It just plain takes less resources to survive where winter isn't an issue.

There's likely some reason a bunch of the human race lives where winter dominates but I have yet to figure out what it is. It seems though, that the zone between the Tropics and the Arctics is generally the most productive. I find that when the Arctic climate pushes south it makes me less productive. I just don't want to go anywhere or do anything when the temperature plunges.

If anybody out there in 'Userland' would like to contribute to a research project that would send me back to the Tropics to answer some of these questions you are welcome to get a hold of me and I will forward all the information you need to make a contribution through PayPal. It's easy and painless and you will be a huge part of a very worthwhile research project.

Anyhow..., we Northerners keep warm by thinking hard.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

It's been snowing pretty hard all day here so I had to find out if it affected the broadband satellite connection they have set up for demonstration purposes at work. Well guess what? It's kind of iffy during a snow storm. Looks like I'm going to have to pursue the wireless approach to jumping from dial-up.

Apparently Telus, yuk, has a wireless plan through their cellular system. I just can't imagine that being very cost effective but I'll do some research on that to see if it's viable for a penniless internet junkie. I somehow doubt it is.

Along with the snow comes lousy road conditions. Snow can be enjoyable but not when it makes driving treacherous. I suppose with a few thousand dollars worth of winter recreational toys winter could be a pleasure but that few thousand dollars could also take you away from it all once a winter. Two weeks of tropics in January does wonders for the sole. Only thing is, we're not there yet.

Well…, now there’s a deep subject. Just about as deep as the snow that's piling up.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

I ran across this today – purely by accident – but I thought it was very interesting although it may be overkill for most people. It looked ideal for me though and I really like the idea of re-purposing whatever comes off the keyboard so that it can be used for whatever the situation calls for. That is the beauty that is XML. No need to do it all over or cut and paste or repeat the keystrokes – just use XSL stylesheets to format and filter your résumé to the industry or employer you’re targeting. This makes huge sense to me as my work experience is, how would you say, eclectic. Can’t think of any better word for it than that.

I think this has some huge possibilities actually. I’m sure there are others out there that have a variety of experience that could use a way of documenting everything but filtering it for a potential industry or employer. Check my résumé right now and if it looks different in a few days then you’ll know I’ve figured out how to do it in XML and present it in HTML, Adobe Acrobat PDF, or good old fashioned plain text. It will likely take me more than a few days though as I try and do other things besides plant myself in front of a couple of Viewsonic PF790’s. One of these days it will be a couple of flat panels or better yet, four 19” flat panels. We’re not there yet though.

I looked for something like this a while back but never had any luck. It’s kind of interesting that I ran into it now as I can really use it. Nothing like having a decent résumé up on the site, done with XML, when you’re applying for a technical job. It just doesn’t make any sense to do it any other way. Unless, like me, you didn’t know how to do it in XML so you did it the hard way, just like me. But, I plan on learning how to do it in XML as I believe that’s the future for handling data. I’m not the only one that believes that either. There are far greater minds than mine that have said the exact same thing.

Well…, now there’s a deep subject. Guess that’s it for now.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

I need a few pictures here to liven up the site so I have the digital camera batteries on the charger. I’ll pack the camera around with me and hopefully find something decent to shoot. We have a lot of deer around but they are quite skittish when they hear the door open so I haven’t managed to get a decent picture. We have enough of our own livestock around here though so I should just shoot some pictures of the ‘critters’. I noticed this morning that one of the stray cats we’ve been feeding seems to be fairly wide lately which means one of two things – we’re feeding her too much or she’s about to present us with a litter of kittens. I sure hope it’s not the latter.

For the benefit of friends and family in Belize and El Salvador I will of course need some snowy pictures. To see pictures of snow doesn’t really give you the ‘feel’ of what winter is all about though. It’s something you have to experience to appreciate. It’s a novelty at first but it sure wears thin in a hurry. Snow always looks better in pictures than it does up close.

I guess that’s true of tropical beach pictures as well. Pictures really don’t get across the reality of sand flies, sunburn, mosquitoes, poisonous plants or deadly reptiles. To get a feeling for that you really have to be there. But you know what? I prefer that to winter! After having experienced both I would have to say that winter would be my second choice. It’s the price you pay for living in Canada I guess. When the temperature gets below minus ten I really start missing the tropics though.

So…, while you’re waiting for the pictures to go with the postings use this site to get yourself a better job or to learn something new or whatever you want. There’s some decent links to all sorts of interesting content and I’m really hoping you find the content I provide interesting as well.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Just in case you’re wondering why there are so many posts for November the 16th it’s because the Perl script that runs the blog pulls off the time stamp to sort the postings. By dumping everything on to a new server I managed, in one fell swoop, to rewrite the time stamp on every file I uploaded. To get that straightened out I’m going to need to ‘shell’ into the account and ‘touch’ every file to get them sorted properly. A huge task that will likely take a day or two.

By rearranging the directory structure of my newly configured website/blog I’ve also managed to nullify all the paths to pictures that went with the postings. I guess when I’m shelled in and touching all the postings I will have to make the necessary adjustments there as well. The kicker there is that it will be slow loading for those, like myself, on dial-up accounts. Sorry folks, but I am working on a solution so hang in there.

In the meantime…

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Sure is good to be back with a web presence once again but I sure do miss my cable modem. Dial-up is a step in the wrong direction but the alternate solutions for 'country folks' are a tad on the expensive side. There's satellite for those that have money to burn or there's wireless if you can find someone that's interested in providing it. I see a huge potential here but still haven't worked out all the details of capitalizing on it.

Wireless seems to be the route to take for providing broadband to country folks but there’s a few hurdles there as well. For instance, licensing for a radio frequency. I need to do a little more research into all of this but I’m trying to do it from a dial-up connection. It’s a vicious circle!

So…, if any of you out there in ‘Userland’ would care to ‘invest’ in a worthy cause get a hold of me and I’ll explain, in detail, how to make that investment to my PayPal account.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Whew..., these last few months have been a story worthy of a few chapters. Anyhow, I've been busting my brain trying to figure out how to get my site back up and running but I'm now in the country and saddled with 'Dial-Up' and that's not fun. I sure do like living in the country though! We've been here since August 1st and now feed two stray cats, a couple of cockatoos, a tarantula, twelve hens and two roosters. And just in case you're wondering those chickens aren't just ordinary chickens.

But back to the site. When I first got to town - Rimbey that is - I tried setting up my web-server at a store downtown. Never could get that to work so I finally gave up on that. Then I ran into a couple of guys with a computer shop in Sylvan Lake who offered to set it up on their Linux/Apache webserver but it never did run right - couldn't convince them I needed Apache reconfigured so that I could run a script - so it ran kind of crippled like that for a couple of months. Then I saw an ad in a trade publication about a web hosting company that was offering a one time, free for three years, professional plan so I jumped through the hoops and finally managed to get my site running the way it should. Still have a couple of issues to iron out but they're relatively minor so I'll deal with them over the next couple of days. In the meantime, I'm going to be doing a lot of posting because I believe I have a story to tell. Need to consult a lawyer first though.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Well I've finally made a definitive decision to learn a new programming language.  This 'Weblog', 'Portal' or whatever you want to call it is a result of my desire to have a website with dynamic content and maybe learn a little something about Application Servers as well.  It's for these reasons that I've decided to learn PHP.  By it's nature this will mean that I will have to learn Linux, MySQL, and Apache as well.  Some acronym happy - must be American - has labeled it LAMP - Linux, Apache, MySQL, and Perl, PHP, or Python.  The beauty of attacking 'Dynamic' content this way is that I already have everything I need with the latest Linux Distros or BSD Releases.  Nothing more to contribute except time.

The above project should keep me out of trouble for a bit longer.  Not to mention getting full value for the Pentium 233 OpenBSD and Apache2 Webserver sitting under the desk with the green light on.  The Pentium 233 was compensation for a bunch of IT work I did for the Salvation Army Grace Manor Seniors Lodge.  The Salvation Army does good things and not just because they hired my wife.  Last Christmas I received a 'Domain Name' from my wife Marilin and I have to say that it's one of the best presents I've ever received.

Back to the learning thing.  I guess I'm still in learning mode after doing the five and a half month 'Certified Networking Professional' program at Network Learning Masters last year.  A really good program with excellent instructors even if it is a bit Microsoft Centric.  I think they should dispense with the WindowsNT part of the program and maybe do an 'Intro to Linux' type thing but there are still a lot of people out there that still don't understand the whole 'Open Source Movement'.  One of the things that big business just doesn't get is the concept of making money from 'Code' that anybody can download freely off the Internet.  All I have to say is "Who would have ever thought that there would be money to be made selling 'Water' in plastic bottles?"  An interesting answer when you factor in all elements of the equation.  There is one thing that I know I'm good at and that's predicting the next 'Big Thing'.  Still haven't managed to get around to capitalizing on this 'gift' but that doesn't take away from the fact that I'm good at it even though I'm not monetarily rewarded for it - yet.  I'm going to stick my neck out here and predict that a couple of things that are going to have a major impact on the way we do things will be XML and other Open Source Projects.

To understand XML and Open Source Software is to understand where the Computer Industry is heading.

Guess that's all for tonight.  I need to try and get some sleep and then prepare for the twelve hour day shift starting Friday at 7:00 AM.

Hasta Luego

Dan W. Armeneau - Independent Thinker

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Whew...!  Didn't find out today what the schedule is but I sure hope it's a couple of days off after tomorrow morning.  I'm going to sleep in a big way.  I'm not real sure the human body was designed for these kind of hours.  Pretty sure mine isn't anyhow.

Going to try and hook up a couple of more computers around the house.  Need another for the kids so that they will be quiet when I'm trying to sleep.  This would be a good thing as far as I'm concerned  Trouble is it isn't just as straight forward as it sounds.  Due to space limitations it will mean that I have to box a bunch of books to make room for another computer.  If it was up to me I would just set them back up in the kids room but I'm the only one that thinks this idea has any merit.  Others of influence around here have completely vetoed that plan.  This will likely turn into an 'Easter Project'.

Started to read an interesting article on using an 8 megabyte 'Disk on a Chip' to run a Linux Kernel for the BIOS.  This has some real possibilities and I may just have to try it out.  It will be nice to get moved into larger dwellings where a guy can get some 'Projects' under way.  There's 'Bots' to build and a couple of 'Rocket' experiments that need attention.  Due to time constraints I may have to combine a couple or three of these projects.  I'll bet there are some real decent 'Bot' parts a guy could salvage from an ATM.  Properly configured it could be a self-financing project.

Well I guess that's it for now.  I need to get somewhat organized for the twelve hour marathon.  Hasta Luego!

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

In about ten minutes I'm going to try and fall asleep so that I can be fresh for the next three days of twelve hour shifts.  Friday will mean the whole office staff will be around but Saturday and Sunday should be relatively slack - I hope.  Lots to learn on this new job and the pace can be a bit challenging.  I will stick with it as long as I'm able though.

Been trying to get through an O'Reilly PHP book I have signed out from work but I keep falling asleep.  It takes at least a couple of days to get the old tired body to accept a new routine.  Actually the next couple of days should be interesting as someone has been compromising a couple of the Cobalt RaQ Servers we have set up for Virtual Hosting.  A couple of the 'brainiacs' at work seem to have it under control for the most part though.

Didn't manage to get any books boxed up today - kept falling asleep.  I guess I'm going to have to do it a bit at a time over the weekend.  Another project that's getting real pressing is the Income Tax thing.  I always tend to leave that to the last minute as the whole concept of the government wasting my money irks me.  It would be much easier to accept if there were some accountability in place but there doesn't seem to be any.  Government waste seems to be a daily topic in the news.  I try not to read any of it as it just puts me in a bad mood.

Not too sure when I'm going to get the next posting up but I would like to keep it fairly regular - can't get rich and famous if you only give it a half-hearted attempt.

Hasta Luego

Dan W. Armeneau - Independent Thinker

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

It's so nice to see the days get warmer and the snow disappear.  Then the government in their infinite wisdom come along and institute 'Daylight Savings'.  True to government form you actually loose an hour of sunshine just when you were getting used to the notion.  Just when you get used to the fact that they have taken away an hour of your spring sunshine it's time to get yourself all worked up again and calculate how much you owe the thieves for taxes.  Really nice folks those government folks.  It wouldn't annoy me so much if they were just a tad bit wiser with the way they spend my tax money.

There is barely a day goes by where there isn't some headline barking on about some of the most ludicrous expenditures in the history of mankind.  Some of it actually proves to be downright illegal but not enough of it in my estimation.  Ordinary citizens go to jail or pay huge fines for things the government just 'overlooks'!  I'm just about ready to head to the rooftop to yell out, "Anarchy or nothing!" just for the simple reason that it would likely make me feel better.

We definitely need to make some changes but it appears that politicians are genetically programmed to forget all campaign promises shortly after election victory.  In British Columbia, of all places, they have 'Recall'.  Now there's a novel idea and it appears that they are about to test the effectiveness of it shortly.  Imagine that, from the land of absolutely off the wall politics comes a truly imaginative concept like 'Recall'.  That would have been the last place on the planet, maybe even the last place in the universe I would have expected something like this that takes real political courage.  It's unfortunate they have a 'Drunk Driver' at the wheel.

You know what folks, I would really like to keep grinding on this but it's way past my bedtime and I need to get on to a few things that have higher priority.

Hasta Luego,

Dan W. Armeneau - Independent Thinker

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

This is my first posting to what I hope will lead to riches and fame. This will be, and always was intended to be an ongoing, evolving project. For starters it will be somewhat of a *This is what really bugs me about banks* type Web Log. It will no doubt gain momentum and steam off in an entirely different direction from time to time if not forever. I have already accepted that.

Seeing how this is replacing my current blog attempt I guess it gives me the right to reuse some of the old content. I take this artistic license without hesitation.

'Service Charges' annoy me for reasons of principle more than anything. I can see someone who is borrowing money from a bank having to pay 'Service Charges' in the form of 'Interest' but beyond that it's purely a greedy thing. Now for someone with a positive balance in their bank account there shouldn't be any 'Service Charges'. After all the bank is using that money to lend out so that they can earn a profit from the interest they charge. If anything they should be rewarding the depositer with free things like pens and clocks for meagre balances all the way up to wide-screen plasma TV's for those that are willing to leave a few tens of thousands lying around in their bank accounts. That's the way I would do it! Of course I'm no banker and I would be embarrassed to be one.

If you would like to respond then fire off a message and vent your opinion!

I will post selected responses in future updates!

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Was over at Gram's a couple of days ago to move a chair as she's getting ready to retire, I think. She's 96 and she has finally made the decision to move into a Seniors Residence. While I was there I was flipping through a bunch of art and painting manuals and Gram ended up giving me the whole stack. So yesterday I decided to see if I could use the techniques for art work on the computer. This is my first attempt so don't go laughing your butt off.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Gimme a 'R'..., gimme an 'E'..., gimme an 'A'..., gimme a 'L'..., gimme a 'T'!

Whaddya Got!

Certainly Not Reality!

Reality is, I'm still waiting for my cheque! Dealing with lawyers is like playing marbles with a bully, sooner or later you're going to be out all your marbles.  What really steams me is when two lawyers get their heads together.  Now you got yourself some real problems and before too long you're going to find that you have some serious financial difficulties to deal with as well.  If you find yourself in this situation then you can be pretty sure that they are keeping each others meter running.  Bottom feeders tend to cooperate in this respect.  I have what I think is a viable, but often misunderstood solution.

Anarchy or Nothing!

Now I've heard told, and I can't say as I've heard a valid argument this, but if you were to take the total population of the planet and divide up the collective wealth and pass it out evenly by six o'clock Friday evening - Good Friday none-the-less - by Saturday morning you would already have your paupers and your princes (and princessessissess).  What can I say?  Some people are just sharper than others and to be quite frank, that's how we've managed to get where we are today!  I believe there's some 'Law of Physics" that says something about all things eventually coming to a state of equilibrium.  Shake things up with a bit of anarchy and let physics bring it to a state of equilibrium.

I just can't figure out why we ever allowed ourselves to get into a position where we elect someone to represent us and then let them pass laws that are so difficult to understand that we require the service of a lawyer to make sense out of it.  Not only that, the lawyer you hire may not even know how to make sense out of the law he's been hired to make sense out of but you can be certain of one thing.  They have all bases covered when it comes to getting paid.  In fact when you have a couple of parties arguing over money it will almost certainly be the lawyers for both sides that end up dividing the funds in dispute.

This is not really an Easter type subject so I'm going to cut it short for today and then try and come up with an Easterish subject for tomorrow or Sunday.

Hasta Luego

Dan W. Armeneau - Independent Thinker

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

What to do with a weekend off.  The Long weekend evolved into a weekend off. Really thought I was going to be working this weekend but I guess there has been a major change of plans.  Weekend off, nine to five all next week, then four days off and back to twelve hour days or nights - not sure - on the twenty third of the month.  I have this on paper beleive it or not, just happens to be a 'Post-It' note - used one- that I scrounged off the boss's desk during the little 'chit-chat' we had.  Somewhat puzzling.

Yesterday was pretty intense.  I was pretty much left on my own for the most part.  Sink or swim situation with 'sharks' for extra added entertainment.  Experience factor is way up there with this job but it's offset with long hours and low pay.  I will have to do some math on this real shortly and see what kind of answers I come up with.  Seeing as this is also 'Government Greedy Season' it looks like it's going to have to wait until after the end of the month.  It's tough finding the right balance between excellent work environment, excellent hours, and excellent wages.  For the bulk of the population the bulk of the time, one out of three is about the best you can hope for.  If you have excellent wages then there's likely some kind of 'hazard' involved.  Be it toxins, stress, mentally unstable co-workers or what have you.  If you have excellent hours then the income is more than likely minimal at best;  What it all boils down to is if you have all three then you're not really working or you've found your niche and the people that are actually doing the work are actually your employees.

I should be cleaning off the desk this morning and gathering the things up I need for the accountant.  I'm having way too much fun playing with some doofus trying to hack into my OpenBSD box though.  These n00bs kind of annoy me but they can be entertaing at times.  I really should be doing what I should be doing when it comes right down to it.  For starters I should have the kids do some clean up in the basement so that I can pack up some books and move them to a newly created 'free spot' down there.  They could be doing this while I clean my desk.  That way they would be out of what little hair I have left and I may actually accomplish something;  Have to play with the n00b for a bit though.

Well the computer setup went rather well but overall it was a bone of contention in the long run.  I figure if I give it a couple of days though it should blow over and everything will settle into a state of equilibrium once more.  That's the way it's supposed to happen anyhow.  There is one good thing and that's the basement is in a much more manageable condition at the moment.  Just need to try and keep it that way  Easier said than done though and I'm sure I won't get any arguments there.

Well I'm kind of running out of things to write about and I would like to hit the rack somewhat early so I'm going to sign this one off and call it a night.

Hasta Luego!

Dan W. Armeneau - Independent Thinker

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Fine Spring day. It's up to 72F/22C today. Should be outside doing something as it may be one of the few nice days without insects. West Nile virus is heading west so a fellow may have to decide if you want to risk 'The Virus' or pour on the bug goop and contract some weird cancer. Hard to say which is the lesser of two evils here. I suppose running around all summer in 'mosquito gear' is an option if you don't mind people pointing. I guess the decision would boil down to what will get you quicker.

Still thinking about that magazine I was looking at yesterday. Out there on the 'Left Coast' I would think they've been experiencing this kind of weather for a while now. Not nearly as much of a contrast as here where the weather can change so fast it'll give you a nose bleed. I remember jumping in the river this time of year when I lived out there. Pretty close to the same as jumping in the river here around mid July.

I think the 'Signature' thing worked out. As a matter of fact I think I'll leave it for a while and I even have an 'SVG' version waiting for a browser that can handle it as easily as a 'PNG'. Sure hope it's a nice day tomorrow. I'm definitely going to do something outside. Maybe even go for a walk. Now there's a novel idea! Actually I may even go for a walk tonight. It's such a nice day that maybe we'll go for a walk to buy ice cream. That pretty much negates any benefit the walk would produce. It would make the walk worthwhile though.

Can't figure out what happened to Bourque. Doing a 'dig' on the domain brings up an IP address that takes you to a Linux page maintained by Alan Cox - Kernel Hacker Extraordinaire? Can't for the life of me figure out what's going on there but there's a foul-up somewhere. I'll keep you posted on what I find out.

Guess that's all for now. That ice cream deal is really starting to sound appealing!

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Decided to see if I could get my signature on here without it looking too tacky.  Aesthetics and all that.  Trick is to get the backgrounds to blend as the signature is actually a graphic.

Made the mistake of looking through a 'British Columbia Magazine' when I went to the store to get oven mitts and food for the birds.  There are some really nice places in British Columbia!  It doesn't get as cold as it does here in Edmonton either.  I am still having a bit of trouble getting used to the prairie winters as up until a couple of years ago I really hadn't experienced one for the better part of eighteen years.  I honestly forgot how bloody cold and miserable it can get.  Shovelled a lot of snow this winter as well.  I'm telling you this because it's Easter Sunday and the temperature is well into the comfort zone.  In this part of the country it could also be a blizzard and I would say we're not out of the woods on that one for at least another two to four weeks.  On the other hand it could be stinking hot until next fall.  You just never know here.

Burned up a set of Red Hat 9 CD's today as I managed to get tired of Red Hat 7.2.  By this time tomorrow I should have everything running pretty smooth.  I'm getting a bit antsy about the upgrade so I'm going to cut this short and see what kind of havoc I can wreak.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Whew..., been some busy so far this week.  Finally - just now - cleared the floor of papers.  Have to try and get the papers to the accountant tomorrow as Friday is a write off.  I will have to try and find something 'cheap' to do on the weekend as the kids will be off for four days starting Friday.  Definitely need to try and organize a move before too long as the place here is a tad tight.  If the weather cooperates maybe i'll take the kids out to fly a kite or something.  Has to be 'cheap' remember.

Remember a while back the part about 'waiting for a cheque'?  Well..., we're still hanging tight on that one!  So long and so tight that it's beginning to give me a cramp.  The trouble with lawyers and their stalling tactics is that they're working with their bankers and our meter is running!  It's never good for your bank account when you get lawyers involved and the more time or 'involvment' involved the worse it is for the poor old bank account.  The closer you can stay to the surface the farther away you are from the 'bottom feeders'.

I've been trying to decide which direction to take this and I've pretty much come to the conclusion that I need to set up another OpenBSD / Apache webserver and work in a little MySQL / PHP to get some content management happening.  I could 'flat file' it for a while but it will soon get unmanageable so I may as well get a grip on it soon.  I will likely get a hold of the latest OpenBSD release (3.3) when it hits the masses in a couple of weeks.  Right now though I need to hit the rack and grind out a few zzz's.

Hasta Luego

Dan W. Armeneau - Independent Thinker

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

We're finally moving. It's been a threat for awhile but it's finally starting to happen and it's beginning to get to that scary part where you really wonder why you're saving so much stuff. My excuse is that it will likely get a buck or two on eBay.

When you first start packing it's relatively easy to get boxes filled and labeled properly then you start getting down to the stuff that's heavy or a weird shape or extremely bulky or you're going to need it right up to the last minute. That's when things start getting tense. "Where do we put all this 'Crap'?"

What really has me puzzled is what to do with my 'Web Server' as we're moving to the country and my ISP doesn't offer rural service - unfortunately. I suppose I will soon be an expert on satellite broadband but in the meantime I really don't want to have a lull in my offerings. Of all the loose ends this is the one that has me stumped the most.

Anyhow..., I'll put up some pictures of the mayhem around here just so those of you without large families will have some idea what a major move consists of. This one is actually relatively easy as the kids are old enough to be a big help. At least we don't have any borders to cross as borders can be a major pain in the differential when the 'Goons' administering the 'Narrow Strip of Gestapo Land' between sovereign nations decide they want to be 'a bit of an annoyance' just so that you'll have some stories to tell. You are not a seasoned 'Mover' until you've crossed an international border.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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I'm not the one to start this but I am more than willing to help get it off the ground. The 'NoIE' graphic was done up by Bryon Bell with input from Tim Bray, an XML heavyweight. I happen to think there's a good reason to dump 'Internet Explorer' and I will do everything I can to help out and get things rolling. IE 6 is getting a little long in the tooth and Microsoft claims that the only way you will ever get IE 7 is if you buy 'Longhorn', their next version of 'Windows'. (So my question is, 'What did the judgment against Microsoft really accomplish?")

On Friday my new boss asked me how to get his 'home page' back as apparently some rogue site had changed it and he couldn't retrieve it. My answer to him was that it was things like this that convinced me more than two years ago to dump Internet Explorer and go with a 'Cross Platform' browser and I have been more than happy with Mozilla ever since. It's light years ahead of IE 6 and it looks and acts the same on whatever operating system I choose to use. And, that folks, is how it should be!

Take the reins and ratchet up your browsing experience by installing one of the alternate browsers I have conveniently linked below. From this point on stop 'Pop-up Windows', filter out junk mail before it arrives in your 'Inbox', and enjoy the pleasures of 'Tabbed Browsing'. You will thank yourself for taking the initiative and dumping IE 6 for an alternate, and in my view superior, web browser.

Mozilla
Firebird
Opera
Netscape

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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Now here's something you just don't see in the city. I believe this to be some kind of 'Hay Bale Scooper / Stacker Contraption'. This is for the square bales you don't see much of these days.

These days what you usually see are the big round bales. I personally like the ones that are wrapped in white plastic as it makes the fields look like they're scattered with giant marshmallows. The square bales are making a comeback but for something other than feeding livestock. How about a house of straw? Now that's something I could enjoy building. I used to just love playing in the bales in the 'Hay Loft' upstairs in the barn. We would rearrange the bales to make 'forts' and such wasting whole weekends in the pursuit of home brewed entertainment.

Well..., as much as I would prefer to pursue some homebrewed entertainment I guess I better get some things done as we are moving to the country real soon and there is a lot I need to get done.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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Yup..., It's official - I'm finally employed. IT stuff even and it's in a town of 2200 if you can imagine that. An 'Electronic Recycling - Surplus - Junk Yard' of all things. Want to build a Robo-Warrior then you definitely need to check out this place. There is literally acres of electronic things piled everywhere and when I say 'things' I mean things. Some of the stuff is just downright bizarre. I'm the 'Refurb Guy' which also means I'm the 'IT Guy'. I'm pretty much on my own and it would appear that I'm actually to define the position. I'm also the fifth guy to take a crack at the position in the last year.

Another crazy part is that I'm camped out in the 'First Aid Room' until we can move into the place we just rented. (It's actually the second place we just rented but that's another chapter entirely.) The 'First Aid Room' is pretty 'Spartan' - like a vinyl covered bench / cot is the only furnishing. There isn't even any pictures on the walls and no windows! A lot like jail but the accommodation is priced right.

Anyhow..., it's been a long day and I'm going to hit the 'cot'.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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I know it's been a while since I've posted but I've been busy. Haven't managed to get a lot accomplished but I've been busy none the less. My compass is still spinning - in fact it's spinning so fast we've been using it as a fan the last few days. Yesterday we loaded up the kids and went down to Rimbey to look for a house or accommodation of any sort. It's scarce and that's scary! After going to Sylvan Lake and tossing four hot and dusty kids into the lake and then heading back to Edmonton Marilin and I decided to make a quick run up to Valleyview. On the drive up the scene below was spread out before us for at least 45 minutes. I finally stopped just south of Whitecourt to take the picture you see.

I've taken a bunch of pictures the last couple of days so I hope to post a bit more frequently than I have. Plans could change at any moment though as the compass is still spinning wildly.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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Call me old fashioned but I never really liked the name change from 'Dominion Day' to 'Canada Day'. I'm old enough to remember the change in flags as well and our current flag wouldn't have been my first choice. My first choice would have been the same design but with a blue bar at each end representing the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans with a gold maple leaf in the middle. My second choice would have been the same layout but with a red maple leaf instead giving us a bit of the 'Red, White, and Blue' so prevalent in the old 'Union Jack'. My third, and a distant one at that, choice would have been our current red and white layout.

When you think about it though I suppose the flag designers were a forward thinking bunch and were looking beyond the horizon. It doesn't take much imagination to visualize the red bars at each end of the flag representing the tax regime that has the citizens bleeding from both ends. Or the out of control spending represented by a candle burning at both ends. You know, that's what I do like about Canada though, you can criticize the flag if you feel like it. Now our cousins to the South aren't nearly as tolerant about these sort of things and a person could get themselves loaded up with lead by some six-shooter toting patriot wing-nut for bad-mouthing the 'Stars-n-Stripes'. The best you could hope for here would be a lively discussion over a few rounds of Molson's Canadian.

It's ironic when you think about it. An American will rile up a Canadian by bad-mouthing his 'Vitamin B' (beer) to about the same extent that a Canadian will rile up an American by bad-mouthing his 'Stars-n-Stripes'. If we were to ever consider an invasion to the South I think it could be easily accomplished by ramping up production at the breweries here in Canada and offering free beer to our neighbours south of the border. At about two beers each we shouldn't require any more than sixty or seventy million bottles of beer to bring them to their knees without firing a single shot. I should have been a 'general'.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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Well folks, Netscape 7.1 is ready for download as is Mozilla 1.4. So why should you be excited? Because these browsers boast improved CSS support, automatic image resizing, enhanced SPAM filters and much more. These browsers are also light years ahead of Internet Exploder 6 but because IE6 is so prevalent Web designers will be forced to design down to it. In the hardware department the monitor is the single most important piece as it's what you stare at day in and day out. In the software department it would be your Web Browser that you would most likely have up on your monitor at any given moment. If the 'Web Services' hucksters have their way everything you do on the computer will be done through your Web Browser. It's already happening in case you haven't noticed! That's what makes a 'feature rich' and 'standards compliant' Web Browser such a desirable goal.

That's what I find somewhat puzzling about the Web Browser development from Microsoft. How come they appear to be indifferent towards their Web Browser? Could it be they have some larger scheme under wraps? Who knows with those guys. A lot of what they do I don't understand. Some of what they do is downright bizarre. Take for instance the MMC (Microsoft Management Console). Where the hell did that come from? The user interface is completely inconsistent with everything else they do. Why not a Browser based management system? It would certainly be a step in the right direction when it comes to 'remote management'. Or how about the 'System Registry'? There's the bastard child of Dave Cutler that can bring a Windows Server to it's knees when it decides to have one of it's delinquent moments. That has to be one of the biggest software architecture SNAFU's ever. Brilliant idea, let's build in a single point of failure and allow all manner of riff-raff to write to it. What were these guys thinking? Were these the same guys that thought up the new 'Licensing Scheme' that had people falling over each other trying to take advantage of the savings being promised?

I take my Web Browser very seriously as it is what my computing experience revolves around. Then there's my 'Image Editors' and 'Text Editors' that I work with daily but of course they're just catering to the care and feeding of my Web Browser. I like my 'Tabbed Browsing' and the ability to eliminate 'Pop-Ups' with a single configuration change. That sort of functionality just isn't available with IE6 and I'm not so sure it ever will be. Having to use IE6 is a lot like having to revert to a 'Dial-Up' connection after getting used to 'Broadband'. It just doesn't make the final cut! If you're still using Internet Exploder then you really need to check out the alternatives. You will not regret it!

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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I really don't think 'Rocket Scientists' get the recognition they deserve in this country. Hell, the usual response is a snicker. I would just like to bring to your attention two significant Canadian rocket stories that have developed over the last couple of days. The first is the final astronaut pick for the Canadian Arrow X Prize contender and the other is the successful launch and recovery of a 16 ½ foot, 300 pound amateur rocket by Team O Canada. Yes..., Alberta has rocket scientists too and they're not 'Cow Pokes' that have been chewing on 'Mad Cow'!

For those of you unfamiliar with 'Rocket Science' I would just like to point out that the Canadian Arrow Rocketeers have a decent shot at the US$10,000,000 X Prize. I would say they are right up there with the best of them including the totally unconventional design from Scaled Composites and Burt Rutan out of the Mojave Desert. Pretty stiff competition all around but it should kick-start private sector involvement in 'Space Exploration' or should I say 'Space Exploitation'. Hard to determine what the end results will be but I'm sure it will be nothing but interesting. I'm just happy to see some serious competition out of Canada. Maybe if we're lucky we can put the disappointment of the cancelled Avro Arrow project behind us with a win from the Canadian Arrow Rocketeers. I for one would sure like to see this happen. In 'Rocket Science' terminology, that would be the apogee!

Although I may not be a 'Rocket Scientist' I'm pretty sure I could hold my own tipping back a couple of 'Vitamin B's' (Beer) with the 'Big Boys'. I have done some experimenting with things explosively propelled and launchable.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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Without feedback it's hard to determine how your site shows up around the Web. It was a brief conversation I had with my mother this morning about the colour choice for my links and the fact that they were lacking in readablitiy. On that note I took the bull by the horns and made some changes that will hopefully garner a passing grade. I know my site tends to be a bit slow loading with all the pictures but I haven't managed to get around to doing the clickable thumbnail thing yet. Maybe if I move to a small town with out a broadband connection I will get ambitious and make some changes to address the slow loading issue. In the meantime just deal with it!

I have come to the conclusion that doing my formating with CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is certainly the way to tackle 'on-the-fly' changes but I haven't worked out all the issues that could possibly crop up doing the switch. Not to mention I need to work on my understanding of writing CSS. If all goes well I would eventually like to have something like the CSS Zen Garden workable for my site so that visitors can pick the 'look' they prefer. Now that would certainly be cool! I could forever ditch the hassle of working with 'tables' as well.

When it gets right down to it I have a bunch of ideas but a lack of time and operating capital. Feel free to help out with either. If you're really excited about all of this then e-mail me and I will respond with all the bank routing information you will need to make a wire transfer directly into my bank account.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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Note even sure if this is one but I'm saying it is. It's a 'Log' of my 'Web' experiment and that's the story I'm sticking with! It's more than that really and the more I dive into this experiment the more complicated it gets. Take RSS for instance. There's no less than three different versions and as an 'End User' of RSS you require an ' Aggregator' to make the experience a memorable one. Trouble is I haven't been able to get an 'Aggregator' to do what it is I'm expecting it to do. The name is reasonably descriptive but you'll soon wonder why an 'Aggregator' isn't built right into the latest browsers. Most are some standalone thing with live links that are opened in your default browser when you click the link. Clumsy! Another I tried sort of worked in my browser but it linked to some 'flat file' somewhere on my drive. Not quite as clumsy! Guess I just haven't found the one I want.

I'm sure there's some clever minds out there working on the solution to the problem or there could even be someone out there with a solution that just hasn't realized there is a problem. In any event I'm sure the answer is just around the corner so I should really be concerning myself with other things. The more I understand about XML the more I realize that quite a bunch of the latest in whatever it is that fuels the Web depends on it a lot! It would appear easy to grasp when you first see a .xml file but there are few that truly understand it inside out. My biggest revelation was realizing the revolutionary impact of XML and all it's spawned.

Another angle to this whole Weblog experiment is the challenge of creating decent 'Content' on a 'regular' basis. Try that sometime! If you can maintain a 'Diary' or 'Journal' then you won't have any problem whatsoever. However, if you do have a problem with maintaining a 'Diary' or 'Journal' then your Weblog will most certainly fall by the wayside on the road to who knows where. Fun stuff really! I would just like to earn a net profit out of it somehow instead of it just being a repository of minutes and cents.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego

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We're off on a road trip to Rimbey for those in the crew that aren't familiar with the place. For what it will cost for the tank of gas it will be worth it just for the simple reason that there will be a ton of questions I won't have to answer about the place. It would be nice if I had definite employment prospects there as I would prefer this was a house hunting trip. Trouble is that I got stalled off for another week. I suppose on closer inspection that may not be as detrimental as it would appear. After all the guy called his secretary from the States to tell her to call me and let me know that they're still interested. Personally, I would like to be on the payroll already.

Lately my hand has been itchy - could be just a mosquito bite - but my dad always used to say that it was a sign of the imminent arrival of cash. Curiously enough it usually seems to work that way for me even though I'm not really of a superstitious bent. Boy..., if you want to see a superstitious bunch you should go to the BINGO. These folks have their 'Dollar Store' talismans ceremoniously and strategically placed where they can overlook the patrons cards, which may or may not have to be dealt in a certain way by the 'floor walkers' with the fresh cards. I figure you're lucky if you can get out of there without dying of smoke inhalation.

Stopped at the Bluffton General Store in Bluffton on the way home from Rimbey. It has to be the only store I've ever been in here in Alberta where they keep the beer in the Coke cooler. Sure don't see that too often around here. For a town of ten houses though I guess that wouldn't be so unusual. Crazy thing is though, Bluffton is the headquarters of the Recycling Council of Alberta. The guy behind the counter at the General Store looked just like Buddah except for the t-shirt and jeans. Just out of town we stopped by the side of the road to check on the antics of a herd of Shetland Ponies. Click the link to find out why you never see a Shetland Pony with trimmed mane or tail.

So for those of you wondering whether or not you're going to see any pictures I would just like you to know that I did find something to take a picture of:

Although it isn't evident in the photo it appears that the guy that carves these is the guy living in the 'Mobile Home' on the other side of the 'hedge'.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here.

Hasta Luego

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I think I may try and take a crack at restyling this site and have it set up from a CSS (Cascading Style Sheet). That way I could change the whole look of things merely on a whim. You know what? That appeals to me.

First off though we need to get restyled out of here and in to a new location. Small town with Broadband Internet would be my first choice of course. I really wouldn't mind having some small livestock like chickens or maybe some attack geese. Yeah..., Attack Geese. They can also keep your lawn trimmed down nice and short and keep most crawling insects under control. Geese can be pretty tasty too!

I was kind of hoping to find out what direction we would be heading but it turns out I'm on hold for at least another week. I have some temporary work lined up but I would much rather be moving or working full time or both. Kid's are bored - and out of school. We're pretty much all packed but we still don't know where we're going. This is beginning to be a bit of a pain in the rearend not to mention the near fatal gash that's been inflicted on the bank account. At least from this point of view anything that could possibly happen would be pretty much a significant improvement.

For those of you that check here from time to time and are wondering why there isn't any pictures I just have this to say, "I've been packing my digital camera around religiously but lately the 'Photo Op's' just haven't been there. I will at least get a 'Canada Day' picture up though if it's the last thing I do."

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here.

Hasta Luego

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On Monday I attended an IBM Technical Briefing comparing the different ways of developing and delivering up 'Web Applications'. The big players in this arena appear to be Microsoft with their recently renamed 'Dot Net Thing', Sun Microsystems and their 'Sun One Thing', BEA with their 'Weblogic Thing' and IBM with their 'WebSphere Thing'. I would have to say that it appears IBM is clearly in the lead here. IBM's work with eBayalmost two years ago plainly shows they have a head start.

Microsoft certainly has a lot of trouble trying to explain it, Sun just doesn't bother trying to explain it, while IBM just quietly goes about it's business of fine tuning their version. Curiously enough, IBM seems to have embraced 'Open Standards' and 'Open Source' whereas with Microsoft you're married to the Operating System and with Sun you're married to the hardware. That is no small distinction and certainly worth noting. I really believe that IBM is snickering to themselves over this and would really like to see Microsoft get bit on this one the same way they got bit over the OS2 Operating System.

Many people I know say that Microsoft would never make that kind of mistake or that you will never outspend them or other such nonsense. For one thing, Microsoft has made some huge mistakes in the past but they have so much money that they seem to be able to buy themselves out of a mistake or two. One of the biggest mistakes was the one they made a year ago with the 'New Improved Licensing Plan'. Trouble is that there were a lot of folks that saw through the thinly veiled scam and refused to cooperate. They really only have a couple of profitable divisions that subsidise a multitude of others and still turn embarrassingly huge profits after the shuffle. Money can get used up pretty fast making some bad gambles or wrong turns so it will be interesting to see what direction they take and how they choose to get there.

Their latest gaff has been their response to the 'Open Source Threat'. When governments and large corporations threaten to give 'Open Source Software' a whirl Microsoft comes along and pretty much gives their software away. I know that if I was selling software I would be a bit miffed about some colossal corporation cutting into my revenue stream and if I was buying software I would be a bit miffed about a 'Two Tiered Pricing Scheme'. If you're a 'Big Enough' squawker you get 'The Deal' but if you're just a 'Wee Fish' you pay through the nose.

I took a real serious look at Linux and other Open Source Software about four years ago and I haven't looked back since. I would have to say that Open Source has come further, faster than any of the commercial stuff I have the pleasure of servicing. I do own a couple of Microsoft OS licenses but they were bought real cheap at garage sales solely for compliance reasons. There is no way in the world I would ever pay full price for their second rate products hyped by their first rate marketing department. Although I haven't done any scientific comparisons, experience has shown me, without a doubt, that it's a whole lot easier to manage four or five Linux or BSD Servers than it is to manage a single Windows 2000 Server. When I do run into problems it's also a whole lot easier getting help with the 'Open Source Stuff' than it is with the 'Commercial Stuff'.

Finally getting around to the subject of this post I would like to make the observation that this whole "Web Delivered Computing' thing really revolves around XML. Where Java was supposed to make the Operating System a non-issue it's really not been so until XML. If I could be so bold as to stick my neck out and make a huge prediction it would be that within five years the bulk of all computing will be done from within a 'Web Browser' and that the 'Web Server' will easily replace the 'Client / Server' model we're so used to today. Those of us in this business that would like to remain employable should learn a thing or two about XML and a thing or two about 'Application Servers' like the 'Apache Jakarta Tomcat Server'.

Archive that thought so you can chew me up and spit me out a couple of years down the road.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here.

Hasta Luego

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Now here's an entirely different approach to handling junk.

Personally, I kind of like the contrast presented here, not to mention the creative use of otherwise totally useless junk. Just finding a place to display it could have it's challenges. Hell, just for stopping and taking a picture of the flower bowl above I just about ended up in the picture below!

I was actually down south looking into some employment with a company that deals in the recycling of computers and electronics. It has it's own unique set of problems and I guess that's why the last few photos have been on the theme of recycling. I didn't realize it when I was taking the pictures, it just turned out that way. Could be one of those subconscious things. My intention was to just go out and get a couple of memorable photos to liven up the site with.

Speaking of memorable images, or at least ones that stick in your mind, it's funny how some of the most prominent of those are road side attractions consisting of brightly painted junk, gob welded together by some amateur sculptor. They're right up there with municipally sponsored 'Biggest in the World Fill-in-the-blank' that you often see on the outskirts of some prairie town with precious little else to serve as an attraction. Of course if the town has provided a hockey player to the NHL then there will be a sign indicating so and there will be no further discussion at the town board meetings about what to erect as a tourist attraction. Pay attention the next time you drive across the prairies and you will see what I'm talking about.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here.

Hasta Luego

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Well..., I think I've discovered the answer of the age old question of where snowmobiles go to die. It's to the west of the Edmonton Calgary corridor on a bit of a hilltop overlooking Highway 53. A pleasant place for a snowmobile to rust out it's years I suppose.

You know, I never really gave it much thought. Of course you see the odd wreck of a machine rusting away at the side of a barn from time to time but I never would have imagined that there would be acres of the wrecks rusting on a hilltop. What you see in the picture is just a very small part of the bone yard. I would estimate there is something like 15 or more acres of machines in every state of disrepair imaginable. I would think this would be a great place to scrounge for robo-warrior parts. If I would have had more time I would have liked to determine whether or not this was an actual salvage operation or somebodies hobby gone mad. I wonder about these things a lot as I have a couple of hobbies that have come perilously close to going out of control.

This little side trip generated some other shots so I'm going to cut this a bit short and work on the other posts. Western Canada has it's fair share of characters if you know what I mean.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here.

Hasta Luego

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I'm flying out to Saskatoon and then driving this machine up to Valleyview!

That's right, I'm flying out Saturday morning and meeting a guy, I've never met before, at the Saskatoon Airport, paying him for this 1956 Mercury Paneltruck and then driving it up to Valleyview, 210 miles north of Edmonton. I'm even getting paid a bit to do it. Should be an interesting trip.

I'm sure there will be some tales to tell after that trip so I'll be likely following this up with a follow-up posting. I'll have the digital camera along so there should be a picture or two worth posting as well.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here.

Hasta Luego

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Well folks - here's just what you need to show off your backyard culinary skills.

You will be the envy of all your neighbors when you entertain your guests around this showpiece of Bar-B-Que Technology. This thing is big enough to do about two or three hundred hot dogs in a single snort. With the folks of Alberta being a little 'beef shy' this summer this 'Beast of a Bar-B-Que' is likely going to get a real workout producing hot dogs over the next couple of months. Say what you will but I would rather have this in the backyard than some sterile stainless steel contraption designed by some dude at a computer just to satisfy the guys in the marketing department. If nothing else the 'Pink-Pig-Que' will turn heads which just might be all you need to get a leg up on the snooty neighbours. That's 'leg up' as in 'dog leg'!

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here.

Hasta Luego

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Now isn't this just one of the cutest kids you've ever seen? She's just a little over three months old and attentive to the point of being spooky.

I've heard a lot about this little gal over the last three months but last Friday I figured enough was enough and that I better go see for myself. Now I'm not really one to get all that excited about babies, especially other peoples babies, but this this little cuttie had a face that was just begging, "Take my picture!" Well it didn't take more than a couple of minutes before I said, "Hang on, I'm going to run and grab the camera." What you see is my favourite 'chica bonita' and her favourite 'amiga'.

Anyhow..., I guess that's all I've got for this weekend. Suffering through a cold so I figured posting a picture of a 'chicita' would relieve some of the misery. So far it has.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here.

Hasta Luego

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For all you skeptics out there here's a Chilean Palm located on a British Columbia Estate.

I should clarify a few things as I have done a bit of research on this subject. There are essentially two types of palms in the world - the desert palms that can handle the cold but don't do well when it's wet and the tropical palms that can handle the rain but don't do well when the temperature drops. The most common palm on the left coast is the 'Windmill Palm'. Palms aren't the only exotics here either as several people have been sucessful with various types of bamboo and I have heard that others have even managed to coax a certain variety of banana to bear fruit.

Don't take my word for it though - do a little Google search and see what you come up with. Here's one that looked real interesting except that it wouldn't render correctly in my browser or on my operating system. That being Mozilla and Red Hat. When I get around to it I'm going to clue that guy in!

Anyhow..., my compass seems to be pointing west but I'm having a little difficulty getting the gearbox engaged.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Whew, just realized that I haven't done anything here for almost ten days. That's just unacceptable and I intend on doing something about it right now.

This is what I've been busy at. Moving into a storage unit. It may not look like much but believe me it has been a lot of work just getting this far. In order to utilize the maximum amount of space, shelving was needed. Well, I have the shelving but that required removing everything off and on to the basement floor in order to get the shelving out and over to the storage unit. The picture of the basement isn't nearly as pretty as the picture of the storage unit.

The whole idea behind the storage unit is that it acts as a buffer seeing as we're still undecided about where to move to. I figured it made more sense to have everything in a storage unit instead of a truck. Having everything in a truck implies you know where you're going or, at the very least, have made a commitment to head in a certain direction. We're not there yet!

Moving is something I have a lot of experience with except that every situation is different. It's not something I ever look forward to as there is lot of physical labour involved. There's an awful lot of mental labour involved as well just working out the logistics of it all. I have moved a dog, cat, horse and all the worldly possessions of a friend from the hinterland of Quebec to Vancouver Island. I have loaded up the truck and moved to Belize, which actually took about three or four trips to get everything down there. I have packed the family and everything into two vehicles and moved from San Salvador, El Salvador to San Ignacio, Belize. I have put the whole family on a plane with mucho 'Rubber Maid' trunks, cardboard boxes and bags and moved from Belize to Canada - at the beginning of winter no less! There have been many other moves but these were a few of the most interesting ones. Any involving kids or animals are a tad more challenging than just a straight move of worldly possessions. I could be a moving consultant!

Anyhow, as long as I have the computer plugged in I will try and be a bit more judicious about keeping things up to date around here. That way you folks in 'Surfer Land' can keep abreast of the whereabouts of the Armeneau Clan and their fearless leader Dan. In the coming weeks you could see a posting to this page from pretty much anywhere. I've been known to make reckless and radical decisions when it comes to moving. I see nothing in the stars to indicate that now should be any different.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Now here's a place just radiating 'Tropical Paradise'. Certainly a step up from the 'Island Dwelling' in the previous post.

Now the only thing I would change with this place is maybe taking it off the power grid and converting it to solar or wind power. I'm sure it would be a bit more reliable than the electricity provided by Belize Electricity Ltd. anyhow. Now there's something that requires a bit of clarification. Belize Electricity Ltd. is under the thumb of a Canadian Corporation that draws it's funds from the Canadian taxpayer in the form of a guaranteed loan under the guise of 'Foreign Aid'. If that isn't the exact situation it's awfully damn close. One ugly incestuous situation if you ask me and the ones that are bucking up the cash are the working class Canadians and the ones that suffer are the poverty stricken Belizeans and their rapidly disappearing natural resources and cultural heritage. Politicians on both ends will likely have their pockets lined and a few lucky or well connected contractors will enjoy some momentary monetary happiness with the part of the funds delegated for the construction phase. If you agree there is a 'big bad rat smell' here, or would just like a bit more information then click the link to help these people fight an extremely unpopular and unnecessary project that will ensure the continued poverty and reliance on foreign aid by Belizeans for generations to come.

Now where the hell were we? Oh yeah, back to the innocence and tranquility of a beach front property in the tropics. Or at least until the nouveau rich - from the Fortis deal - start showing up as neighbours. Tell these people you don't want them as a neighbour and you think they're tarnishing the reputation of Canadians as a whole in a greedy, destructive way.

Don't for one second think that all Canadians run around in the tropics acting like 'Ugly Americans'. A few misguided souls do, but the majority don't. Don't let the ones getting all the bad press blur your vision! Click the following link if you would like to check out a buddy of mine that is doing some good things in Belize by trying to help the locals understand they should be proud of the importance and significance of their past.

Well guys, I guess I really got off on a tangent tonight. So sue me!

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Well..., if I ever get rich and famous I'm going to find myself a private tropical island. Here's one I looked at in the Caribbean waters off the coast of Belize. The house could use a coat of paint and the yard needs a bit of landscaping but with a little work I think this place has some serious potential.

Owning your own Caribbean Island and hob-knobbing with other rich and famous folks sounds alluring but I think I could be content with just hanging out, doing some gardening, and maybe a bit of pondering as to what our role is in the overall scheme of the universe as I stare into the tropical sky on a moonless night. Island life can be somewhat boring so it's always a good idea to have a retreat on the mainland where you can throw plan 'B' into effect should the need arise. With this particular piece of property that need could manifest itself in the form of a rather nasty hurricane. Having the ability to 'adios outta there' at a moments notice would surely be a prerequisite to laying your money on the table and picking up a small piece of tropical paradise.

Of course if buying your own tropical island seems a bit extravagant you could always build your own island like this British bloke did just a few miles up the Mexican Riviera in Cancun. With this little baby your plan 'B' is where ever you paddle it to. Why not float it to where the customers are and open up a bar! The empties help grow your island to the point where the next logical step would be to move up to micronation status and start the profitable peddling of passports to the pub patrons. What a concept!

Well I better head upstairs and join the Missus for a good nights rest before my name shows up on the divorce roster down at the local courthouse. I'm outta here.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Just working out the logistics of making a move is somewhat of a daunting task. We've been packing and trying to estimate what size of a moving unit we'll require to make the move. We had a guy over on the weekend who claimed he could handle the load but it's obvious we're going to have to find somebody with a tad more capacity.

You know, I hate wasting my time with these guys that say they can handle the job then it turns out they're ill equipped and under staffed. I suppose the guy's just trying to make a buck and feed his family but really, don't waste my time and I won't waste yours. You have to give this guy credit though, at least he isn't dragging his ass!

Anyhow..., way too many other things to do so I'm going to cut this a bit short. I'm outta here!

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

I've been thinking that our 'Watercraft' in the post below could be made a hell of a lot more practical with the addition of the 'Ultimate Junk Dealers Weapon', the Spudgun. Pretty much any Junk Dealer worth his salt should have most of the materials lying around to slap together one of these over the course of a six-pack or two. If you're the least bit handy a two-four should not be required.

Actually to build this one you are going to need a tad more than a few scrap items lying around the Junk Shop. In fact this particular weapon will more than likely require the expense of more than a few two-fours and the expertise of a beer swilling machinist. Actually that's where your expense comes in to play.

Spudgun is a bit of misnomer as anyone that has ever constructed one of these puppies will tell you. After launching a few of our favourite tubers the search will be on for more effective ammo. Granted, a potatoe can do some serious damage but after a little experimentation I've found that beer cans make very versatile 'bullets'. Filled with flour they give the exploding effect on impact which is very popular with the neigbourhood kids. Filled with cement you have yourself some armour piercing ammo and filled with paint you'll be the envy of all at the local paintball field. You could take out a whole troop with a strategically placed shot. Just use your imagination. Nice thing about beer cans is they should be relatively abundant around most Junk Shops. I've found that duct taping a cone onto the beer can makes a cute looking shell but really does little more than improve the aesthetics a bit. Sure, you could stick it in a wind tunnel and run the numbers through a Beowulf Cluster and get all academic on me but out in the field it won't do diddly for it aerodynamically or performance wise.

Depending on the extent of your inventory you could round your 'Spudgun' out with a salvaged Laser Pointer to improve your accuracy or a gas powered air compressor for rapid reloads. If your prefer the combustible propellant the addition of a propane tank along with the igniter from a junked bar-b-que will bring up the technology factor some. A quick search for 'Spudgun' on Google should satisfy your curiosity for hours and get the old cerebral juices mixing nicely with the vitamin 'B' you're consuming to build up your stockpile of ammo.

You hang around here for a day or two and you're going to pick up a few things that will be invaluable for years to come.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Imagine, if you will, a week or two at the lake with this little gem! We're talking some serious holidays folks. This puppy is just oozing, "Our ship has come in!"

The only thing missing from this picture is you, your fishing gear, and a keg or two of beer. Oh yeah, and maybe a springboard for those beer fuelled diving aerobatics you're just dying to impress the kids with. That springboard would also be a great place to drain off a few beers when nature beckons. I might mention that the empty beer kegs make great outriggers for the canoe, which do wonders for stabilization, when you've had a bit too much of the ingredients of the outrigger. You do have a canoe with a beer keg outrigger for a lifeboat don't you? Water safety and all that you know. Can't be too careful you know, in the last few years there's water cops everywhere. Just another example of the waste the government throws back in your face after they rob you blind. Yeah right, "It's your duty as a citizen to cough up your taxes for the betterment of the population as a whole." Trouble is the politicians can't see the forest for the trees and fail to realize that it's the population that makes them politicians and that they're not really part of the population but a particularly putrid part of the problem plaguing the poplulation.

Well I guess if I'm going to be giving this site a bit of visual impact I better figure out how to coax some pictures out my digital camera and gimp them up a bit before I post them. On that note..., I'm outta here.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

For any of you that checked out the camper picture a couple of posts back this is the beauty I've currently got my heart set on. After I point out a few of the features it should be quite obvious why.

The primary reason this one has an advantage over the other I looked at is that this one can be simply unhooked in case you need to slide around by the beer store for a keg. Another thing is that this rig doesn't stereotype a guy as a 'hillbilly' the way the other camper would. This puppy is way more 'up-scale'. That's pretty important when you're trying to maintain a certain image as a respectable businessman in the second hand goods sector of the economy. Image is everything these days and a guy needs to realize this if you have any intention whatsoever of making an impression among your peers. Trust me, this is a lot more important than one may think. Without an 'Image' a guy is on a perpetual treadmill trying to get a little respect but with an 'Image' a little arrogance is all that's required to maintain it. Think it over, there's a lot of truth to that statement.

Speaking of images, I've decided that this blog needs a bit of visual impact if I ever want to achieve the fame and fortune necessary to propel me beyond the ho-hum of the masses. So from now on you are going to see a lot more pictures. Like they say, "A picture is worth a thousand words and a properly doctored picture is priceless." I hope you enjoy the coming weeks and months of this 'Web Log' (Blog) and if you have any opinions you would like to share don't hesitate to drop me a line and let me know what you think. I try my best to answer everyone that e-mails me unless you're some bottom feeding scumbag like a spammer or a lawyer or an insurance salesman or something equally disgusting.

Anyhow..., I'm outta here.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

It's beginning to look obvious that George Bush is not playing with a full deck. As proof I present to you the missing card.

I certainly hope George doesn't make the mistake of sending a little 'Liberation Force' north of the border. I'm not so certain Tony would be with him on that one. I'm pretty sure our Newfie brothers can keep them out of Fort McMurray though - they're a feisty bunch - likely target too as it's supposed to be the largest oil reserves after Saudi Arabia. The Yankees would certainly have their hands full here - whole whack of unregistered weapons could be handed out if the need arises. I can just imagine the headlines from a respected on-line zine like Chortler.

Still kind of grey around here - soggy as well - but I suppose the sun will be along before too much of the summer gets away on us. Of course some asteroid could come screaming in out of nowhere and centre-punch the planet leaving us in the dark for years to come. You just never know about these things. Asteroids, like hemorrhoids, can be a pain in the butt.

Lately I've been giving serious thought to becoming a 'Junk Dealer'. Lord knows I have decent inventory already. One thing I've always thought was unique in regards to 'Junk Dealers' is that 'Customer Service' doesn't necessarily apply. In fact, it appears that the grouchy ones tend to be the successful ones. Business rules tend to be a little less rigid in respect to 'Junk Dealers' as well. For instance, GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) doesn't seem to apply. Lucky thing too. If you want to know why then read this.

In any case, I guess I need to try and have a wee nap before the graveyard shift. I'm outta here!

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Power outage that outlasted my UPS. Not real good! Bet it's snow related as the white, wet, sticky stuff is still piling up. Yesterday it was melting as it was falling but there was still over six inches to sweep off the vehicle this morning. Ugly! Forecast is for more snow! Not what I like to see especially at this time of year.

Getting a tad anxious to get the cheque from the lawyer. Bet they drag that out for a while longer. Of course the meter will be running the whole time. Bottom feeders are like that. I swear those guys have no conscience. After all they are lawyers who fund the politicians that are ex-lawyers who make the laws complicated and band-aided to appease their bottom feeding brethren. If it isn't a conspiracy it is at the very least immoral and incestuous.

These long hours and graveyard shifts appear to have broken the mainspring on my biological clock. Should be sleeping right now but I'm wide awake. I will probably end up sleeping all night and be totally unprepared for the 7:00 pm shift tomorrow night. I'm really beginning to believe the math is not working out here. Time to punch the numbers in for a re-evaluation. I keep telling myself that I'm doing this for the experience but I'm beginning to believe that excuse is starting to wear thin. Have to stay there for a while yet though.

Trying to get everything set up to start submitting my resume again. Sure am relieved all that stuff wasn't part of the hard drive crash. It would have been a real chore recreating everything not to mention the time factor. One thing I did loose though is all my cover letters. I hate doing those and they seem to take me forever and in the end I'm never totally satisfied with them. I'm forever tweaking them and now I'm having to start over. Oh well, I'll be a little more judicious about backups in the future.

Well I'm running out of things to say and the huge snowflakes streaking by the window at a 30 degree angle are distracting me.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Imagine that..., first week in May and the snow is piling up again. This is beginning to really annoy me. I have been ready to put the ice scrapers and snowbrooms away for a few weeks now but it's looking like I better keep them out until I make it over the Continental Divide.

These night shifts take a bit of getting used to. Twelve hours is a bit much but I keep thinking the experience is invaluable. Obviously these long hours are affecting my judgement. I know they make you clench your teeth a lot. Looking out the window I notice the snow is picking up in intensity. If I had the cash I'd be soon moving. No more ugly winter, no more brutal hours, no more graveyards, maybe I should pcik up a Lotto Ticket. I never do that! What the heck, you can't win if you don't enter.

Seriously need to get the cheque thing happening but it appears I'm just going to have to wait it out - as painful as that is. Lawyers, in the words of Shania Twain, "Don't Impress Me Much!" You want fast results? Then you better head down to your favourite pawn broker, Fast Cash, with everything you've got. Otherwise get to the back of the line. Distasteful!

Well you what folks? I'm dog tired so I'm going cut of here for a bit and try and catch a few ZZZ's.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Night shift at T-Byte is sure a boring affair - especially on the weekend. Biggest challenge is just trying to stay awake. Someone had my phone in the server room and because of the fan and air-conditioner noise in there the ring volume was turned way up. Problem is I don't have any idea how to turn it down so when it goes off it's a rather rude awakening. If I don't figure it out soon though it's likely going to give me a heart attack.

Went shopping to the 'Dented Can' Store. Everything in the place has a dent or a corner torn off or a piece missing or something the matter with it. Some of the items in the store appear normal but on closer inspection you find that it's covered with a fine white powder. Cheap place to shop as you can fill a shopping cart right to the top for about CAN$125.00. I suppose a guy should have some serious test equipment to check the integrity of the goods on sale but then if you could afford all the fancy test equipment you wouldn't need to shop there would you. One thing I noticed about the dented cans is that you have to try and pick the ones with at least one good end or you have a bitch of time making the can opener work on them. They're also a bitch to stack in the cupboard as well.

Well I'm going to cut this short. Need to try and get awake enough to get home and get to sleep. Graveyards are a killer. Without shift differential they're a cruel killer.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Pretty nice day to day - weather wise! Hooked up with my truck driving friend Jim today. He's here just about every Thursday dropping off another load of kitchen cabinets. Jim is one of the few guys I know that keeps in touch with everybody. I suppose being a long haul truck driver it's easier as you're always passing through somewhere where some friend lives. I like to hook up with Jim and catch up on the comings and goings of friends and aquaintences. I've known Jim for about thirty years.

My wife, Marilin, is a bit concerned about moving and what we're going to do for a place to live at first and all that. She was not too impressed when I told her that I was thinking of putting a down payment on a camper. I thought it looked to be in pretty good shape myself but apparently she had something else in mind.

I'm seriously thinking I should get the eBay thing back in gear. If I do I can work on a couple of issues at the same time. I get rid of things I no longer need and I raise some much needed cash at the same time. It occurred to me that I have a hard drive with the eBay management software, Shooting Star already set up. Just have to install it in Marilin's machine and load the digital camera software to be in business. Definitely have to get on top of that right away though.

Guess that's about it for now. If I ever hope to get rich and famous at this then I need to figure out how to attract people to the site. My friend, Heinz, asked about 'positioning' a Website a day or two ago and it got me thinking that I need to get this one 'positioned'. For starters, I suppose I should ask those of you reading this to pass the link on to friends and associates. If I get a few visitors then I can start soliciting advertising. Just a thought.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Well..., it's been a few days since I've managed to get anything posted here so I guess I better come up with an explanation. As it turns out when I arrived home from work on Monday - real hectic - went to boot the machine into Windows and was greeted with a rather sickening, 'thunk, thunk'. Anybody who has ever experienced a hard drive failure will know what I'm talking about. Naturally, I didn't have a current back up - and have never heard of anybody who ever has. Disaster Planning - start planning after the disaster to get ready for the next disaster which is going to happen completely different, with disastrous consequences.

It seems bad news, disasters, or what have you, come in waves or bunches or flocks or what not. Phoned out to Victoria this morning to touch base with my good friend Kim Tran only to find that he's been in the hospital for the last two years, unable to speak after suffering a stroke. I certainly need to stay in better contact with my close friends!

Another good friend contacted me last night and he's got his house up for sale and he's moving to the coast. He and his wife decided that they no longer were willing to tolerate 'Prairie Winters'. After close to eighteen years of not tolerating much in the way of winters it has been pretty difficult for myself to get used to as well. There's nothing the matter with Vancouver Island - Wheat Farmer's Florida - as far as winter is concerned and it's not uncommon to experience winters with no snow. I am already totally familiar with the place so I'm speaking from experience.

Another of my friends just e-mailed me from Switzerland and he should be back in a couple of months and is thinking about a small aviation business in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. Now folks, when you mix the beauty that is British Columbia with the beauty that is a Beaver on floats then you have the start of a very potent elixir. You have absolutely no idea how 'therapeutic' dropping your hook into some crystal clear alpine lake off the pontoon of your float plane can be. Very little else compares.

Anyhow, suppose I should stick my head out the door and experience the day. Hard to say what I'm missing. Need to scrounge up another hard drive soon and get redundancy happening. Redundancy is what helps keep airplanes in the air so it certainly has it's merits.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

I was hoping to awake to the sounds of robins squabbling over the few slow moving bugs out and about but instead the street sounds and general 'brightness' of the room indicated to me that something out there was reflecting a lot of light. Not too encouraging. I really don't like snow storms at any time of the year but I especially don't like them at this time of the year. It's been ugly here but it's been even uglier in Calgary It's not supposed to let up much either!.

Such a depressing day that it's been pretty hard to get motivated to do anything. There are lots of things to do and there is a bunch of stuff I would like to get accomplished but the blizzard must have brought about a state of excess negative ions or something. I suppose it hasn't been a total loss as I did make some changes to some of the 'Links' pages. I actually added some links to job prospects in warmer parts of Canada. (Check the 'B' links!) I also cleaned up a lot of the HTML and and kind of made a subconscious decision to learn CSS or get a better grip on XHTML. Another one of those things I would like to get accomplished.

Actually I think I'll watch a bit of TV in an hour as my sister is narrating a history program about the 'Frank Slide' on Access TV. That should be interesting. As tragic as the slide was I had to laugh when I recollected a stop I made there on my motorcycle several years ago. Some yahoo had spray painted some graffiti on one of the boulders. It read, "The Rolling Stones". I like the mountains but it must be a son-of-a-b when the side falls off one.

Anyhow..., I'm hungry! So catch you later.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

You bet, and there's actually been quite a few of them - for a place where crime doesn't happen - in Canada even! I really like the quote from the young lady in the article, "I think I'm in a little bit of shock," said Jennifer. "It's surreal right now. I never in a million years thought something like this would happen right next to me, but that's life, you never know what might happen next." She hit the nail on the head with that one.

You could get struck by lightning, get hit by a Kenmex, or fall out of the sky with the speed of a highly polished anvil and land right square in the centre of a sports bag stuffed with unmarked, large bills. Luck has a knack of screaming off in whatever direction it sees fit. Or, what usually happens is that you skid to a halt somewhere between the two extremes. I suppose for some people the ultimate in luck would be to bounce between the extremes and live a long and productive life well into the hundred and teens.

I think I'm due for a 'luck change' and as a matter of fact I can sort of feel it in my bones if you know what I mean. Sometimes you just 'know'! Sometimes it's hard to reference where you are in the whole scheme of things and it doesn't become apparent until you 'analyze after the fact'. Actually, sometimes it's damn near impossible to figure out where you're at. You really have to zoom out and try and get an overall picture if you actually want to get a handle on the situation.

Anyhow..., I guess that's it for now. Many things to try and get accomplished today and not enough hours at my disposal. Stay tuned and I guarantee some substance before too long.

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Well, I don't know if it's the lovely spring weather or what but my bones are saying that we need to make a move. We've been cramped in a small place for two and a half years and it was originally just supposed to be a temporary thing. Funny how things like that happen. It would sure be nice to run a garage sale and get rid of some things before the move but we have 'townhouse rules' here that pretty much kabooms that notion. No working on the vehicles in the parking lot either. That kind of cramps my style as well. I have always fixed my own vehicles and just cringe when I see an itemized invoice where the labour charges are three times the price of the parts.

Still waiting for 'the cheque' which will likely be the factor that dictates the boundaries of 'the move'. Seeing how moving is such a pain in the differential it only makes sense that it's well planned and efficient. I've already done some packing but I need to be a tad more methodical about it. Things like properly stacking it in the basement have to be taken into consideration if efficiency is to be paramount. I've never ever done it properly, and I've moved around a bit, but this time I would like to take a crack at doing it properly. I've decided that the next move is going to have to be good for five years or more so it needs to be done right and to the right place.

Nice places to live are not necessarily nice places to work or to at least make decent wages. Nice places to live are generally less stressful though so there's a big benefit right there. If I were forced to make a choice between more money or less stress I would have to choose the latter. There are some that would argue that more money would result in less stress but from my experience and observation I would have to disagree. Being the beneficiary of a lotto windfall or something like that could be an interesting twist to the equation.

Anyhow, over the next few weeks I'm going to start rounding up boxes and slowly and methodically start packing. When the time comes to make the move I want to be ready, or at least more ready than I am right now. Just about any form of preparedness would be a major improvement over the present situation. My plan is to take the two pronged approach - start packing and start saving. With four kids in school, timing is a bit of an issue as well. After mixing everything into the equation the lotto windfall is beginning to look more and more like a necessity. It would definitely work out a few of the wrinkles.

Well it's time to cut this short as tomorrow and Thursday are twelve hour days. Friday is pre-booked and I may get a couple of boxes packed on the weekend

Oh, and by the way, Bourque is back up and running after a couple of days of DNS issues. It's good to have Bourque back!

Hasta Luego

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings

Just pulled an all nighter at the new job. Nice place to work except that the night shift is a real killer. Eight hours would be a pain but twelve hours is just brutal. Just in case you're curious about what it looks like I've posted a picture of the NOC - the Network Operation Centre - and a shot or two of the server room. There's some serious equipment here folks.

Supposed to be a nice day today - up to +14 or something - but it looks like I'm going to have to sleep through it. I hope it lasts for a couple of days as after the next shift I'll have three days off I believe. Have lots to do though so it won't be that restful and as I'm working a night shift over the weekend I guess I should be sleeping during the day and cruising at night. Actually I'm not to sure what the heck my shift is so I guess I better find that out right away.

Waiting for a cheque - who isn't? That should elicit some 'Bank Rants' if nothing else. The lawyers are holding up the cheque, which is not suprising as they are bottom feeders like the bankers. I'ts a crying shame so many of them turn to politics when they fail at law.

Well I need to hit the rack and cut some serious z's. Hasta Luego.

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Terremoto - Earthshaking News, Views, Spews and Idle Musings