Monday, October 8, 2012

What I’m Using

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I just thought I’d write a post on a web service and app that I’ve been using quite a bit lately.  Songza is a music service that Jen introduced me to about a month ago.  I started with the app on my phone, but have been using the web service at Songza.com more lately.

Songza is a streaming service that doesn’t let you pick individual songs, instead it lets you pick from playlists that have been “handmade by an expert team of music critics, DJs, musicians, and musicologists.”  There seem to be hundreds of playlists encompassing almost every genre and most sub-genres within those.  Songza is an excellent way to discover new music that you may never have been exposed to otherwise.  Playlists are mostly organized by genre or mood.  For example, right now I am listening to Harvest Moon, which is described as the “perfect soundtrack of warm, acoustic songs handpicked for enjoying crisp autumn air, fall foliage, and hot apple cider.”  It is as advertised.

The most interesting feature of this service is the Music Concierge button.  If you click on this button, you are asked if you want to find the perfect music for the time of day it is (e.g., Monday Afternoon) or you can choose your own day and time.  When you press go, you are presented with several options to choose from.

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When you pick what type of activity you want your music for you will get a further option of several genre/mood options to fit your choice.

 

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Choose again and you get a list of three playlists to choose from.  If none of these appeal to you, you can go back a screen and try another option.

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Of course, you can just browse the lists of playlists that are most popular or all of them.  I have been pretty pleased with the music I have been listening to via Songza.  I find that I use this service more than I listen to my own music taking up GB of space on my hard drive.

I do have questions as to how this service will be monetized.  Will they eventually charge a monthly fee like Rdio, or will users be subjected to commercials?  It will be interesting to see.  Personally, I would probably pay a fee for this service.  For those of you who know me, I’m pretty frugal, so this is a ringing endorsement.

Finally, I also use the CBC Music Service, but I find that more useful if I already know exactly what I want to listen too.  I feel much more adventurous on Songza.

I hope you’ll go give it a try.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

The Zealots Come Out

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The iPhone 5 was released to the public this past week.  Have we become desensitized to the crowds of barely sane fanboys camping out and begging Apple to take their money.  It doesn’t matter whether the product is off the charts or a small improvement over the last iteration.

The iPhone 5 looks like, well all the other iPhones, just stretched a bit.  I’ve been reading a lot about how Apple isn’t innovative anymore, only cautiously making small improvements over previous versions of a product.  I read a very interesting article on the problem of being Number 1 in the Globe and Mail.  You can check it out here.  The long and short is that Apple had nothing to lose before, but now it has to think about stockholders and protecting its’ market share.  Very interesting stuff.

Contrary to popular belief, I don’t hate Apple.  I do find the Apple phenomenon a very interesting psychological study in fanaticism and mob like behaviour though.  I can’t remember a company making products that sell for so much money and having so many people be so eager to buy them sight unseen simply because of who makes it.  The other part of the puzzle is people buying expensive goods because other people they know have one.  “Why did you choose an iPhone?” “Because that’s what everyone is using.”  Fascinating stuff.

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Monday, September 24, 2012

The Weekend I Never Wanted To End

We have had some of the best Fall weather I can remember this hear.  The past week or so, we’ve had consistent daytime highs in the mid to high 20’s.  I can’t believe I’ve been able to wear shorts and a t-shirt everyday when usually I’m choosing which sweater and jacket combo to wear.  This is the first year I’ve lived up here that we haven’t had snow by the middle of the month.

The long and short is that I’ve been spending some time outside and I’ve taken quite a few pictures.  Jen and I went for a walk on the Fish Creek Community Trail on Sunday and I took some photos.  I can’t wait until we can add smells to pictures.  If these photos had the smell of dried leaves that was in the air, you’d know exactly what I’m talking about.

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Sunday, September 9, 2012

The Hunger Game

I've been on the Weight Watchers (WW) program for just over a week.  I joined because Jen was on the program and I thought it would make it easier if we were both on the same page.  Its tough to not eat certain foods when the person beside you is chowing down.  Second, I put on a bit of weight over the summer and could use to lose the chub.  Besides, my Mother-in-law has had tremendous success on the program.

I thought that WW would be a breeze.  I mean, their advertisements say how you can eat all of your favourite foods and have a wonderful life.  They lie.  Don't get me wrong.  If you love eating carrots and celery and your favourite drink is water, you can eat yourself retarded.  However, if you like...well, real food, then not so much.  The way the program works is that you get a certain number of points for food each day.  Everything but fruits, vegetables and water has a points cost.  Your goal is to end the day without going over your points limit.  You do get a pool of points to be used throughout the week on splurges or when you want to feel full some day.  You can also earn more points by exercising.

What I have learned during my first week on WW:

1.  WW hates anything with a carb in it.  I spend a quarter of  my daily points on oatmeal (not the instant kind) and a glass of skim milk in the morning.  Forget having a piece of toast.  That's just crazy talk.

2.  You must like chicken.  Any other kind of meat will send you over the deep end.  I used almost half of my daily points on a pork chop the other day. Come on! I have to exercise for two hours to eat a pork chop?  No more of those in my life.

3.  It doesn't matter how many carrots, apples or celery sticks you eat, they don't keep you full.  If somebody tells you different, kick them in the shins and stuff some broccoli in their gaping pie hole.  I am generally hungry every hour.  I mean hungry.  Like I will start gnawing on the bark of a nearby tree kind of hunger. 

4.  I am a miserable S.O.B. when I'm hungry all of the time.  Sorry Jen.

In short, I'm on the third world diet.  I'm stuck eating roots and berries and water with no bread to be found.  I don't want to eat the family goat because I'll starve the rest of the week.  I can't believe that I'm paying to give up the first world diet that my ancestors worked so hard to let me enjoy.

 

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An inte1087278-fart_largeresting side effect of my WW experience is that I am eating ridiculous amounts of fruits and vegetables.  As you may or may not know, these are very high in fibre.  This has made me more gassy than the Hindenburg.  I sound like a bloody motor boat walking around the house.  I may actually feel sorry for my little darlings at school this year.  You know, I'm not above blaming the little ones for dropped bombs in the classroom if someone smells it.

I'll try and give periodic reports on my standing in the Hunger Game.  So far, I'm losing badly and someone is likely to pick me off in my weakened condition.

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Friday, September 7, 2012

First Day Follies

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I found out yesterday that I was going to be teaching a straight Grade 1 class this year.  To say the least, this class is…challenging.  However, I went in with an optimistic attitude and gave them aa clean slate.

The little darlings were golden up to recess. I thought that I had hit the jackpot and all the little cherubs had grown up over the summer.  I was very abruptly made aware of my mistake after recess. One little fellow who comes from an environment where structure is in short supply started flopping and rolling around on the carpet.  After repeated warnings he acted up further.  I put on my serious teacher face and asked him if he would like to remain with his friends in the classroom.  Children always answer yes because they don’t like to be singled out.  This little fella just smiled, SMILED and said “No”.  Damn!  What was I supposed to do?  I couldn’t be thwarted by a six year old on the  first day of class.  I quickly turned it around and told him “Too bad.  Sit still and be quiet!”

Then, just before lunch I heard a wailing from the far side of the classroom.  I walk over to see two students standing beside the pencil sharpener.  The little girl  is sobbing like her dog died and the little boy (the same one from the last paragraph) is looking pretty unconcerned.  I asked what happened and the little girl said “He hurt my hand with the pencil sharpener!”  Seriously?  In five years of teaching, I’ve never had anyone hurt by the pencil sharpener.  I looked at the boy and he explains that he said sorry like that should resolve the whole matter.  Upon further questioning it seems that the girl had stuck her finger into the pencil sharpener and the little boy decided he’d give it a few cranks to see what would happen.  I had to give them both what for.  One for the bone head move of sticking her finger in a pencil sharpener and the other for trying to sharpen her finger.

The afternoon was much calmer.  I only had to make a couple of kids sit out of gym for being little turds. 

I told Jen that she had better take a good look at my hair, because its going to be a lot greyer by the end of this year.

Thank God its Friday! 

Monday, September 3, 2012

Pretty Amazing

 

I just thought I’d pass this video on.

 

The End is Nigh

I’m sitting on the couch this morning savouring the last day of summer vacation.  The past few years at this time, I’ve been trying to soak up the end of summer because the past couple of months had been…well, less than satisfying.  Last year I worked all summer.  The year before that we had moved into the house and I had a load of stuff to fix (and Jen had been fallen on by a horse).

I sit here this year savouring summer because it has been SO DAMN GOOD!  We accomplished a lot on the house.  We have painted the kitchen and installed new light fixtures.  We had an amazing trip down to Vancouver Island where we saw lots of friends, saw lots of new places and had heaps of good times.  Finally, we did a mini-reno on the basement.  We painted, put in new carpet and bought new furniture.

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So, I’m satisfied with my summer and ready to go back to work.  Let’s face it, two and a half months is a long time to go without a paycheck and I look forward to contributing to society again.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

My New Best Friend

I received an email from Jen the other day directing me to a Microsoft product called Windows Live Writer.  She said she had read about it on a blog and it might help me out with my blogging.  The name sounded familiar, so I looked on my computer and sure enough I had already downloaded it as part of the Windows Live suite of programs.  I had just never looked into what it was.

After using Live Writer I don’t think I can ever go back.  Live Writer displays your blog theme and lets you write your post into your blog, so you will know what it looks like prior to publishing.

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There are lots of options for adding pictures and video that allow you more flexibility and functionality than the regular Blogger interface (which is what I use).  Using Live Writer is kind of like using Word to write your blog posts.

Live Writer also supports several blogging platforms.  This feature is going to help me out a lot with my classroom blog.  My classroom blog is in Wordpress, which while having lots of features is a pain in my behind to learn each time I want to do something new.  Now I can just post from Live Writer and save myself time and effort.

If anyone knows of an equivalent for Mac, I’d love to hear about it, because I’m feeling sorry for Jen.  She’s stuck in Apple world and can’t use Windows Live Writer for obvious reasons.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

On Safari

I received a text last night from my friend Bryce, asking me if I wanted to go hunting the next morning.  I don’t own a gun and really don’t find the idea of killing critters to fit my definition of “fun”.  So, it may seem strange that he offered at all.  Well, a while back I had mentioned that it might be fun to go hunting with him, so I could take some pictures while we walked.  I wasn’t really that worried about having to witness the death of an animal because Bryce does not spend too much money on bullets, if you catch my drift.

When I talked to Bryce later that evening, I asked him what time we would be leaving.  He mentioned that the best time to go hunting was at dawn.   I quickly looked up what time the sun rose and was appalled to find it was at 5:52 am.  We would be heading to a spot about 45 minutes away.  That would mean there would be a 3 in the time we had to get up.I breathed a giant sigh of relief when Bryce told me that he thought that sunrise was too early.

I didn’t have too many good things to say about my friend Bryce at 5:30 in the morning when the alarm went off.  After I had kickstarted my brain and had some breakfast I was in a more charitable mood.

DSC_0187To get to the hunting spot, we drove several kilometers down dirt roads used to service the multitude of oil and gas wells in the area.  When we arrived we walked along a “path” cut out of the forest to a little beaver pond.  There weren’t any moose, but we did see lots of their tracks.  It had rained the night before and was very misty in the morning, so by the time we got back to the truck I was soaked from toes to ass. If I decide to go out again, waterproof gear is a must.

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This is where I got a pretty big shock.  We proceeded to drive all over the countryside via these service roads looking for moose hanging out in cleared out areas.  Bryce informed me that this is how people hunt up here.  If I doubted him, the proof was provided by a couple of good ol’ boys cruising by in their truck with a rifle sitting up behind their headrests.

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We didn’t see much that was alive beyond a couple of hawks that were very upset we were there and some various small birds.  The drive was nice.

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Here’s what I learned about hunting.  It’s not as boring as fishing.  At least you get to move around (sometimes).  You get to talk way more than I thought you would.  You get to see some parts of the countryside you don’t normally see.  Your feet don’t really get too tired before you are cruising in the truck again (wet is a different story).  Finally, if you don’t appreciate nature you shouldn’t go out because you’ll be pissed when you don’t get to shoot anything (with a gun or a camera).

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Sunday, July 29, 2012

Seymour Narrows

A few days ago, my Father-in-law Chuck told us about Ripple Rock.  Ripple Rock was situated in the middle of Seymour Narrows just north of Campbell River.  This rock created terrible currents and whirlpools that would wreck many a ship.  The decision was made in the 1950's to get rid of it.  The solution was to tunnel under the water and place explosives within the rock.  Around 1400 lbs of explosives were packed into and under the rock.  When they pulled the trigger, what resulted was the largest non-nuclear explosion to date.  The rock was gone and shipping was safe.


Chuck thought it would be a good idea to go and hike the trail out to the narrows.  I went to the tourism centre and got a map and asked where the trail was.  The young lady told me the hike was about 3 hours long.  The map said the trail was 4km each way.  The math sounded good to me.


What we were not told was that the trail was of moderate difficulty.  There were some significant elevation changes and some scrambles as well.  While this would not be terrible news for most people, my mother-in-law has two artificial knees and climbing can be a bit of an adventure for her.  We realised the way things were going early on in our hike, but Diane decided to press on.  She made it both ways with only light to moderate complaining.


The forest was incredible.  You could almost image dinosaurs roaming amongst the ferns and giant moss covered trees.  The endpoint was pretty worth it as well.  We made it out onto the narrows at low tide and we could see the whirlpools and eddies around where the remaining rock lurked under the water.  There is also a very strong current in the narrows.  We witnessed a sail boat get caught in an eddie, get turned part way around and start going the wrong direction by the current before he got it under control.


One last point.  I had decided to take Diane's tripod up with us so that we could take a family photo at the top to prove we made it.  I quickly realized that the damn tripod was heavy.  This was no travel friendly model that I was toting up the hills.  As a result, I forced all of my fellow hikers to pose for photos at the end of the trail.  There was no way I had lugged that God forsaken chunk of iron over 4km to not use it.  I am now of the firm opinion that I will be saving up for a small carbon fibre tripod, no matter how long it takes me.




Tripod=win

The long walk back.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Nature Is Icky


We decided to go for a little nature walk through the Seal Bay forest.  It was a fantastic easy hike through old mossy trees with the ground covered in ferns.  You really had to keep your eyes on the trail however because you couldn't walk more than 10 feet without crossing paths with a giant slug.  These slugs were HUGE.  I'm used to slugs that look like little snails without a shell.  The slugs on the coast look like giant slimy pieces of licorice.  The slugs come in two flavours.  There is the Black Slug which is black (shocker) and the Banana Slug, which is even bigger and yellow with black spots.  These things littered the trails.  Some were slowly making their way across and quite a few had started the trek, but got squished by bike tires or people's shoes.  The latter were giant piles of slime and guts.  There were many close calls of almost having to find a tree trunk to scrape the goo off the bottom of my shoe.


We decided to take the big loop around the forest.  At first the trail was marked very clearly.  However, we got to a point where the trail came out on a major road and just sort of ended.  The map had us walking along the busy road for quite a ways before rejoining the loop.  In all of our wisdom we decided to take a shortcut.  We took another trail that was supposed to link up with our main loop a little further along.  The trails were not so well marked along a our shortcut.  Long story short, our one hour hike took more than twice that long and we were late for dinner (which we were supposed to make).

Here's some pictures I took along the way.



Sunday, July 22, 2012

The Road

After busting our humps for a week in the kitchen repainting, replacing light fixtures and all that entails in an older house, we hopped in the car to drive 1400km down to Vancouver Island.  We had a deadline to make it for my Mother-in-law's 60th birthday party.  Jen had planned it from FSJ and we booted down here so she could cook up a storm for the BBQ.
Essential road trip snacks.

Slurpees make a hot drive easier to do.

Waiting for the ferry at Horseshoe Bay in Vancouver.

Our ferry.


The road trip was actually quite uneventful. We drove for 13 hours the first day and made it most of the way down to the coast.  We caught the ferry over the next day and had a little more relaxing day.  We were up late that night visiting with Jen's parents and then up early the next day to do last minute shopping for the party and Jen had to start cooking.  We had a southern bbq with brisket, pulled pork, chicken wings, baked beans and potato salad.  Jen's mom had a great time and so did all of the guests.
The perfect combination

Jen and I are extremely tired now and it's cloudy and cool outside.  We are hoping to have a day of rest and do a whole lot of nothing.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Canada Day

I took my camera out to the annual Canada Parade last weekend.  This year's incarnation of the parade was a distinct improvement on previous parades I've seen in the John.  Most parades up here involve a load of big rigs with little to no decoration rolling down the street.  This year we had some actual floats.  Maybe there is hope yet.