Life in Brantford

I looked at the date of my last entry, May 30th. May 30th!!!! Has it been that long? Well, what with the packing and all that, things were quite hectic. Now that we are unpacked, I decided to take a few photographs so you can see at least our house.







To give the tour, the first is the front of the house, the second is our patio and the third is our backyard. The road at the back is Park. We are in the northern part of Brantford, in fact the sign welcoming people to Brantford is only a few metres north of the property line.

The house is a very pleasant side split with five bedrooms. Three are upstairs and two are downstairs. We have converted one of the downstairs bedroom into a library exercise room. The house has been tastefully decorated and very nice. The downstairs has a family room with a gas fireplace and I expect it will be well used when the colder weather comes.

The patio is a small area but quite suitable for sitting outside and enjoying the warm weather. There is a table with an umbrella so its nice to sit outside and listen to the radio or just relax.

Just before Jo-Anne and I, plus Theo and Eowyn left Essex, my family threw a 50th birthday party for me. It is the 14th of July but I wasn't going to be around. It was a good time and I did get a lot of gifts. With some of my gifts I decided it was time to buy another mountain bike. Now that I was moving to a larger centre, I thought it would be better to ride. My mountain bike is approximately 12 years old and while it has a lot of kilometres on it, Vancouver, Trenton, Niagara Falls and Essex, plus a few races, the Great Lake to Lake and Windsor Tri-Duathlon, it was time. So I went to the local SportChek to look at bikes, they were having a sale. After talking with a salesperson and listening to his recommendation, I bought a K2 ZedSPHT07 bike, and it is a beauty. The colour is blue and it is has 21 speeds.




It is a great ride and I've used it to discover Brantford.

There's a number of things to see in Brantford, but I'll save that for another blog.

Continuing the Theme of Pirates

What do you do if you combine scenes from Pirates of the Caribbeans plus the greatest Canadian song. EVER. WRITTEN.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

This being cheap Tuesday at the cinema, I decided to take my $4.20 and go see the third version of the Johnny Depp pirate franchise PIrates of the Caribbean: At World's End. To start off, let me say this is a satisfying way to end the trilogy, at least we think it's a trilogy. While some have complained that there is too much happening at once and some have said it may be a bit too long, don't bother with that, it's a great movie. It has everything we want, Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow the swishiest pirate to ever sail the Seven Seas. There is Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann and of course Captain Hector Barbossa, back from the dead. As we know from the second movie, Jack was swallowed up by something nasty that was under the control of Davy Jones, the captain of the Flying Dutchman. Remember those nasties.

This movie does have everything, there is intrigue, convoluted plot, sea battles, cannon fire, cutlass and lots of all that we love about Pirate movies.

Spoiler Alert

Okay, here are the spoilers: Captain Jack is alive and yes some did rescue him just because he is he. He brings with him the Black Pearl. At the end, Will and Elizabeth get married, Captain Barbossa regains the Black Pearl and everything he wants, or so he thinks. Those two British soldiers, you know the one's from the first movie become pirates, like they should have and everybody lives happily ever after.
Right? Well, let's just say I've given to you about have the spoilers, there's a few things I missed out and you will just have to go and see the movie for yourself. There's all this and more. Plus we meet Captain Teague, who is played by Keith Richards. Captain Teague as we know is Captain Jack's father, what you don't hear about is the fact you get to meet Captain Jack's mother, well sort of.

Any movie that has all this, Keith Richards and a great soundtrack, is worth the time, money and popcorn.

One point, stay to the very end of the credits, there is a nice Easter Egg.

This movie does answer the question, which is cooler, Ninjas or Pirates.

Let me say, okay Ninjas may be cooler, but Pirates have way more fun.

Monthly Ubuntu Post

You can catagorize this as my obligatory Ubuntu Blog because I know you are all interested in how the Ubuntu experience is going. I took a quiz that is supposed to help you decide on which Linux Distro would be suit your lifestyle. My result was Kubuntu which as we all know is the K Desktop Environment flavour of Ubuntu. Regular Ubuntu is as we know Gnome based but Kubuntu is KDE based. You would almost think I knew what I was talking about. The most recent addition to my Ubuntu experience was buying a printer which would work with Ubuntu. I had heard that HP is very supportive of Linux and I noticed that the Thrift Store had one available for $3.00. The HP Photosmart 7150, it is a discontinued machine but for the price what did I have to lose. So I plugged it in and mucked around with it for a few minutes. I put some newer paper in it and once I added it to my printer list I clicked on the 'test page' feature. It worked, it worked perfectly. I was able to print. I didn't have to download or install a driver in anyway in fact the first thing on the test sheet was the Ubuntu logo. This was great because I had complained about printing with Ubuntu, in fact if there is anything that would drive me back into the arms of Windows it would lack of printer support.

Believe it or not, I do have other things in my life besides Ubuntu; I took Kimberly and and her friend Rachel to a Renaissance Faire this past weekend. The local Medieval Society sponsored it and it was their first of hopefully annual event. It was small and the weather conspired against it but it was a good way to spend an hour or so. I did take a few pictures:








The last photograph is of Kim and Rachel. Kim is getting her comeuppance with the stockades.

Off to Gretzkyville

Stephanie mentioned it on her blog that we are moving and so I might as well write and confirm it. Yes we are on the moves from Essex to Brantford, the home of Wayne Gretzky.

Afte four years its time to pack up the house, stuff the Wired Magazines in a box, actually I plan to dispose my collection of Wired Magazines, probably like this generation's National Geographics and move on.

We haven't started to pack, that's the plan for this weekend. Got to start sometime.

I can say we have enjoyed ourselves in Essex, coming back to family. It's been good. The good news, we're not that much further, albeit 3 hours away.

More later.

Peace and Ubuntu

Holiday Insights : Lost Sock Memorial Day

Holiday Insights : Lost Sock Memorial Day

This has to be one of the saddest holidays of the year, the day we mourn the loss of that one sock that always seems to be lost.

We all have a sock drawer filled with unmatched socks, as the webpage suggests. As hard as we try, we simply cannot find the mate for the missing sock, it has vanished. For some reason, the journey from laundry hamper to washer to dryer to drawer is a deadly one for a sock. I've heard different suggestions for this event, some have suggested the spinning of the dryer, the chemicals in the washing soap open up some sort of portal into a different dimension, some have called it the "Sock" Dimension. Or the same chemical reaction opens a worm hole to another part of our galaxy. So on the other side is a planet filled with unmatched socks that magically appear as ours disappear.

How do we celebrate this day? As it is a memorial, perhaps the lighting of a candle, in hope the missing sock returns. We are to search for it and when we can't find it, toss out the unmatched sock.

Sounds like a plan.

MediaChannel.org

MediaChannel.org

Quick blog for the day. I'll have a big post later on.

Dr. Ron Paul gets it. He understand that mainstream media is the lapdog of the establishment. I know that sounds hippie talk, but it's true.

consider some of the media, how many outlets suppressed the news about Iraq or they marched in step with the White House, on such matters as 'Weapons of Mass Destruction'.

Dr. Paul gets it.

Visit of General Shaw Clifton

A trip to Toronto came about to attend the first official visit of General Shaw Clifton. The afternoon event was Officers' Councils and so we gathered at Scarborough Citadel for a two hour meeting.

I should get to the main part of the meeting, which was Gen Clifton's message, which was based upon 2 Timothy 4:17 which reads:

But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth

His premise was that with all we do, God stands with us. We don't face anything alone, but He is there for us.

He took time to go through the entire chapter. He encouraged us to keep to the Word and give it out, he said the idea of in season and out was the fact that preaching should take place even when a person doesn't want to.

He gave an interesting illustration, it dealt with a Salvationists with the name Brumpton. He was with the Royal Navy and was also a member of the Navy and Military League of The Salvation Army. He served abroad a ship that was attacked by a U-Boat. It turned out that Brumpton and another sailor survived the attack and were staying afloat with a small piece of wood. Both tried to share it, however Brumpton realized the other sailor was getting weaker so he said: "For me to die is Christ, for you to die is hell, get on the wood", Brumpton swam away and was never seen. Now it could be asked how did people know of this, it is because the other aailor went, after he was rescued, to the nearest Salvation Army Corps and shared the story.

He gave a good message.

If there was any problem it was the Power Point Presentation, what a surprise.

We are staying with The Oldford's.

Canonical Launches Latest Ubuntu Desktop 7.04 | Ubuntu

Canonical Launches Latest Ubuntu Desktop 7.04 | Ubuntu: "Canonical Launches Latest Ubuntu Desktop 7.04"

I am so ready for the 19th of April, the release date of Ubuntu 7.04, aka Feisty Fawn. I did download the beta a few weeks ago and have enjoyed exploring it on the desktop. What has been impressive is the Beryl desktop accelerator. All the photos and videos you may have seen of Beryl in action are true, it is impressive. I mean you have the cube, the various ways to close, just fantastic. As well, there has been a number of improvements to Ubuntu, such as easier install and some new applications. The blog "Only Ubuntu Linux" has a great review of the beta and from what I understand there won't be that many difference between it and the stable version.

Some of the other programs I've used is the disk usage analyzer. It gives a good picture of what is happening on the hard drive. Other things is the sticky notes and Tommy Boy.

The article gives this comment:

I really Like Ubuntu festy Fawn and this will be the best release ever from ubuntu development team.This includes lots of desktop features includes network manager, Easy-to-install codec wizards,migration assistant,Kernel Virtual Machine,desktop effects like Beryl or Compiz get a more prominent place and and many more in this wonderful operating system

I have to agree, that's why on the 19th I'm going to the terminal and type in sudo update-manager -c -d and letting the magic happen.

Apple TV, Geek Brief TV and MacFan

I am not a Macfan, I am certainly not Apple fanboy. I don't bow when I see the Apple icon show up on anything. I do like the iPod, in fact I'm enjoying my new Nano, read a previous blog for the reason of the Nano.

I was watching Episode 149 of Geek Brief TV. In this episode, Cali Lewis sings the praises of watching the new Apple TV. It is the new attempt by Apple to integrate the home theatre with the computer and wireless networking. On the whole it sounds like a marvellous idea and certainly what you can do with it is amazing. This is especially true with vidcasts. Cali opens by saying we are watching Geek Brief through Apple TV. The feature is you can sync and download podcasts and vidcasts to watch and enjoy on High Definition TV. There is a lot of good to that, the thought of watching Diggnation or as she had on, TikiBar TV. Again a great idea.

What therefore is my problem. Well, first its the attitude of Macfan, they worship anything with the apple icon on it and to that end, they are quick to either ignore, dismiss or justify some of the weaknesses of an Apple product. Cali talks about the fact that words such as simplicity and elegance can be used to speak of Apple TV, yet as you hear her talk, you realize there are some other words. As I watched the vidcast I came up with a list of seven problems that are simply mentioned or stated something that will be improved in later generations.

Here are some of the weaknesses, that aren't mentioned as weakness:

1) Price- $299.00US
2) No Power Button. So here you go, you just purchased your Apple TV. You bring it out of the box and realize

3) No Cables. You have to go back to BestBuy and purchase the cables, so add another $40-100 to the price. Once you return and get all the wires connected. You grab your manual, you stare at the devise and you ask yourself this important question

4) "Where's the Power Button". I mentioned this already but to quote Kryten, it's such a biggie, it's worth mentioning twice. Yes, the question you ask is, "how do I turn it on". Which will be followed by "How do I turn the stupid thing off?". To answer the latter, you push a little button on the remote to put it in 'sleep'. As for turning it on, I have no idea.

5) Okay, you justify the fact you can't turn it off, this leads to the next problem. It overheats. This is simply stated as it gets warm. So you have an always on fire hazard. Good marketing.

6) videos purchased from iTunes doesn't look all that good on the television. So what looks good on your computer monitor, doesn't look good on the TV. You can encode to make it look good, however if you're not a tech geek, this could be a drawback. I suppose there's always piracy.

7) Small HardDrive, it's only 30 gigs. Yes that's a lot of music and videos. But still, 30Gigs, how long will it take to fill up?

All in all, a devise that will have a good future, so long as it gets away from fanboy and fangirl in the present.

As you know from reading


Stephanie's blog, she is on a mission trip to Mexico. Fortunately Edmonton Temple is featuring regular written updates, as well as photographs and videos of the experience. It's good to check up on how the work is progressing and if Stephanie is still doing well.

I laughed when I saw this photograph, Stephanie conversing with a pig.

The question is, what is she discussing with it. Is it:

a) why Pluto should not be considered a planet.
b) who's smarter, Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawkings

or

c) just why you can't teach general relativity to cats.


The answer, when she returns.

My New iPod

Last month my iPod Mini developed some problems the main one being I couldn't sync with the iTunes Music software. It happened suddenly and swiftly. After reading the information on the Apple iPod page, I came to the conclusion that this is a problem. So I dug out my warrenty and went to theBestBuy store. They took it and told me they had 60 days to repair the problem or replace. This was in February.

Just a few days ago, I got a phone from the store. They came to the conclusion that it was far more expensive to repair the problem then to replace it. I was invited back to consider a new iPod, and my choice was the 4Gig iPod Nano. I stuck with my favourite colour and so I went for the blue.

It's quite an impressive little devise, smaller and thiner then my Mini, in fact when I first saw them I wondered if I would lose it. The screen is colour and one of the features is that music downloaded from the Store will show the album cover when the song is played. It also has a picture viewer but I haven't used that yet. It's nice to have the iPod back, even if it is a new one.

One plan for my new iPod is to discover if I can use it with Ubuntu. According to an article in Linux Journal it is possible to use the iPod with Ubuntu. I will do some more reading of that article and a few more to learn how it happens. I know I have some of the software installed on my laptop.

Sally Ann, the Thrift Store Cat


A few people noticed the cat in the photograph of the employees of the Essex Thrift Store. Yes we do have a cat as mascot, manager, princess of the place. She came in as a stray one cold and wet November and never left. The staff placed a sign in the window asking the owner to claim her, but none came forward. Since then she has endeared herself to all who enter the store.

When the store moved location, the cat had to come. She has adopted to the new location very well, finding her favourite spot to rest after a hard day of running the operations. Her spot is a laundry basket of knitting that is just the right place for her.

I'm sure there will be more stories about Sally in the upcoming months

World must protect Darfur civilians from war crimes: UN

The last time I blogged about the situation in Darfur it was to announce there was a cease-fire in effect. Since that time the situation seems to have been quiet or at least not visible.

However, a team from the UN, sent to observe the situation in the Darfur region has come back with this report:

The team, headed by Nobel peace laureate Jody Williams, said Sudan's government "has manifestly failed to protect the population of Darfur from large-scale international crimes, and has itself orchestrated and participated in these crimes."

With over 200,000 deaths and over 2.6 million people as refugees it is incumbent on us to continue to keep aware of what is happening. So long as the darkness of ignorance, indifference exists, these horrors will continue.

So what next? Visit the Embassy of Sudan website and read information concerning the Darfur Peace Accord. After that, write to the embassy and request the government not only live up to these obligations but deal with those who have engaged in crimes against humanity. So long as pressure exists, the government will change their strategies. When they recognize that it is a powerful issue, we can see a difference.


William Booth once said this:

While women weep, as they do now, I'll fight; while little children go hungry, as they do now, I'll fight; while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I'll fight; while there is a drunkard left, while there is a poor lost girl upon the streets, while there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I'll fight-I'll fight to the very end!

These words are still applicable but now we can extend to the entire globe. Where there is crimes against other humans, we must fight.


Remember to pray for peace in Darfur.

Nerd Test Time
I went to the NerdTests site and did the quiz.

My results are:


Go ahead, take the quiz. Let me know your score.

The Joshua Tree

This weekend is the 20th anniversary of the release of The Joshua Tree by U2. It truly is a great album and I do use that word because that's how it was released in 1987. I believe it was released in all three formats, vinyl, cassette and that new method Compact Disc. The latter was this new method that was supposed to replace albums. It was small and shiny and supposed to last nearly forever, as long as it didn't get scratched.

This is what Wikipedia mentions about the album:

The Joshua Tree is not only widely considered one of the band's best albums, it is often considered one of the greatest albums ever recorded. In 1989, it was rated #3 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s, as well as appearing at #26 on the magazine's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The Joshua Tree was selected as #6 on CCM Magazine's 2001 list of the greatest Contemporary Christian music albums of all time (see CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music). It came second place in Channel 4's 100 Greatest albums. It came in at #10 in ABC-TV's My Favourite Album, which aired in Australia in December 2006.

The album has sold over 10 million copies in the United States alone and remains the band's best-selling album. It was followed by the successful worldwide Joshua Tree Tour.

The videos "With or Without You" and "Where the Streets Have No Name" (directed by Meiert Avis) and "I Still Haven't Found what I'm Looking For" (directed by Barry Devlin) saturated MTV, making the band much more visible to both casual music listeners and fans.

It is truly a great album. I plan to listen to it this weekend.

The Thrift Store is Officially Open

We officially opened the new Thrift Store in Essex today. We've been opened on the new location since the beginning of the month, but today we had the local VIP's plus a few from DHQ down to cut the ribbon.

The picture is the staff and volunteers of the Store. I wanted one picture of the group and yes that is a cat in the photograph. We do have a cat, her name is Sally Ann and she is going to get fixed.

A great bunch of people who worked very hard to make this day happen.

Thanks all.

>Finally, Skiing

I have always enjoyed Cross- country skiing. I enjoy getting out along a trail, especially if that trail runs through the woods and just skiing. It's great just to get out there and listening to nature and seeing what there is to see.

X-country skiing has a lot going for it, the physical exertion, the challenge of using the body as the means of transportation, plus breathing deeply all that great cold air. Every moment I spent on skies has been a fabulous one.

As I blogged a few days ago, we finally got a good snowstorm and with the temperature remaining cold I figured this was the weekend to get out. Which is precisely what I did. I found my skies, which I haven't used in two years, lousy mild winter (grumble, grumble), and found a good place to ski.

Fortunately ERCA has established a greenbelt through the county. The Chrysler Canada Greenway is down one of the county roads and that was where I headed.

It started out snowing, but the clouds parted and the sun came out. I saw a number of birds, such as finches, cardinals, hawks and I think a couple of eagles. It was simply a glorious afternoon to go skiing

新年快乐

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

to all those who are celebrating the Year of the Pig, may it be a prosperous and blessed new year.

To understand Chinese New Year:

The Lunar New Year dates from 2600 BC, when the Emperor Huang Ti introduced the first cycle of the Chinese zodiac.

Because of cyclical lunar dating, the first day of the year can fall anywhere between late January and the middle of February. On the Chinese calendar, 2007 is Lunar Year 4704-4705. On the Western calendar, the start of the New Year falls on February 18, 2007 — The Year of the Pig.

If you were born in 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983 or 1995 - you were born under the sign of the pig. Like the pig, you are highly regarded for your chilvary and pureness of heart, and you often make friends for life. For pigs in 2007, any recent setbacks or obstacles can be overcome so look forward to a year in which to really shine, either personally or professionally.

As you know from reading my blog, I am a big fan of the New Doctor Who program. I am also a fan of classic rock.

I was searching for "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" videos I came across this little gem.



Yes, a video that features cuts from the first two seasons and BOC's signature song.

I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.