December 2008

Christmas 2008.

It’s obvious when you’ve been married to someone for a long time. People say you start to look alike. Earl and I get mistaken for brothers from time to time (especially when we were both full-blown redheads) but this morning’s gift giving proved that we really do think alike.

We bought each other one stocking stuffer type gift: he gave me a package of muscle shirts, I gave him an Elton John concert DVD set.

We bought each other one electronic gift: he gave me a new iPhone 3G, I bought him a new Sony digital camera

We bought each other a Carhartt jacket.

And this one surprised us both: we bought each other new black motorcycle boots.

Our holidays are simple this year. Our big home feast was for the Winter Solstice. Last night we went to my aunt and uncle’s for dinner with that side of the family (including my Mom), which was quite enjoyable, and today we are heading up to my Dad’s for a little dinner.

It is snowing like crazy at the moment and the music is playing on the DirecTV.

One simple gesture made it the holidays for me this year. Earl and I haven’t done any decorating around the house this year; we haven’t really been feeling “it” and we’ve been very busy this season. I did take a few moments to decorate the pine tree in our lawn though because I could not let the season go without putting some sort of lights up, so I made the effort for that one tree out in the yard. Our neighbors apparently didn’t have the time or inclination to decorate this year either, but when Earl was getting the mail the other day, they stopped him (the first or second time that they’ve ever talked to us in five years) and thanked us for decorating that tree. They look out in the yard every night and admire my little Charlie Brown tree and it brings them great joy.

And the fact that they enjoy that tree so much fills me with the holiday spirit that I was missing this year.

Merry Christmas to all!

25 December 2008 by Fun and Games Dept 0

Hit List.

Back during my radio days I was asked every year as to what my favourite song of the year was. The song would usually be a dance oriented track; one year it was “I’m Gonna Luv U” by the Summer Junkies. Only a handful of people remember that song.

Since I’m not in radio anymore no one has asked me this year but because this is my blog I’m going to share what my favourite song of this year is.

Presenting “Move For Me” by Kaskade featuring Deadmau5

I hear a good dose of sexual energy in this track. Listening to it always brings my mood to a part of myself I rarely talk about on this blog: adventurous, uninhibited and intense. Those that know me in that space know what I’m talking about. Perhaps someday I will share that side of me on here.

23 December 2008 by DJ 1

Blowin’

The snowfall has been impressive thus far, especially since today is officially the first day of winter in these parts. I cleaned out the driveway for the third time this weekend as Earl took a few photos.

We have about 12-18 inches of snow right now. Truth be known, I’d rather snow blow the driveway than mow the lawn.

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21 December 2008 by Fun and Games Dept 2

Giftin’

I mentioned in an earlier post that Earl and I hiked across the construction zone at Carousel Center to get to and from the remote parking lots. The hike included throwing the gifts over a chain linked fence so that we could cut through this engineering wilderness.

Here’s a photo of the bags we were carrying as we made our hike.

*Notice Earl’s “Canada” sweatshirt. I purchased it for him in Charlottetown, PEI in the summer of 2007. A little, angry man came up to Earl in the mall yesterday and told him that “his country is a pipsqueak version of the United States”. He fled before I could throw the angry little troll over the railing. No one insults Canada around me.

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21 December 2008 by Fun and Games Dept 2

Jaunt.

Carousel Center in Syracuse has begun it’s long promised goal of becoming the largest shopping mall (amongst other grand things) in North America with it’s evolution to Destiny USA. Because of this evolution, about a third of the parking at Carousel is gone and being replaced by a building.

Like many of the folks in our area, Earl and I went to Carousel yesterday to finish up the bulk of our holiday shopping. Figuring I would never be able to get to the mall lots, I opted to park in one of their remote facilities that offered shuttle service to the mall. The lot was about a half mile away from the “regular” parking lots.

Great concept. Bad execution.

The wait for the average motorist to get into the perimeter of the mall was around 90 minutes yesterday. The entire parking lot, perimeter road and feeder roads were all at gridlock. No one was moving anywhere.

Including the shuttle buses.

So Earl and I did what many others did. We hiked through the snow from remote parking, weaved our way through stopped cars and crossed through a blocked off construction area to make our way to the mall. We even escaped the mayhem by cutting through a hole in the chain link fence. Though it was quite chilly we had a great sense of accomplishment.

The return trip was more interesting, because the hole in the fence wasn’t big enough for the our packages to fit through, so Earl threw the packages OVER the fence and I caught them on the other side. Once we made our way through the hole we then found ourselves locked into the construction area as the work had ended for the day, so we had to shimmy over another fence and slide down a tall jersey barrier that plopped us right into the middle of the perimeter road. Lucky for us traffic was at a stand-still (and the commute time had increased two two hours!)

Laverne and Shirley would have been proud.

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21 December 2008 by Fun and Games Dept 1

RIP Majel Barrett Roddenberry.

Majel Barrett Roddenberry, wife of “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry and the only actor to appear on every version of “Star Trek” in some capacity (Christine Chapel, Lwaxana Troi, ‘the computer’, plus others) passed on last night from cancer.

She was 76.

Two weeks ago she completed her voice work for the upcoming Star Trek movie where she will be the voice of the computer, as she did in almost every incarnation of the franchise.

Personally, I was fan of Majel right from the start, when she played “Number One” on the original pilot of “Star Trek”. The role was dropped from the series, as the networks never thought the audience would be a female second command of starship. Silly networks.

RIP Majel.

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19 December 2008 by Spiritual Stuff. 2

We Can Rebuild Him.

I think when my parents decided to make a son they neglected to purchase the extended warranty on me. Now I haven’t completely fallen apart and all of my appendages are still in place, but to quote Earl, “you’re a great fixer upper.”

He is so loving.

Today I went to the dentist. I joked and frolicked a couple of months ago that I had broken one of my teeth on a Lorna Doone. I have felt no pain whatsoever from this broken tooth. It isn’t even noticeable unless I open my mouth at you and say “ah” or something so this isn’t a question of vanity. I just don’t like the idea of having a broken tooth in my mouth so I decided to do something about it; this couldn’t wait until my next regularly scheduled program.

The dentist, in all his hotness, did the best “tsk-tsk” that he could do for not taking care of the tooth sooner. He poked and prodded at my gums and the tooth with the hole in it and did his best to make it hurt but it did not. He then presented me with an estimate of $1700 and outlined what needed to be done. Mentions of crowns and caps were thrown about the room and I signed on the dotted line. Then the vanity finally kicked in when he mentioned that the cap and crown would match the colour of my teeth, it was then that I decided I would get them whitened first so they could match the colour to whiter teeth.

I smile a lot, I should blind people when I do so.

Today’s dentist visit was a prelude to my theme of 2009. In the past I have made resolutions to get myself back in shape, not waste money, yada yada yada. There will be no resolutions for 2009. Instead, with the coming New Year I’m taking a different approach: I’m just going to rebuild and reboot the whole package and get ready for what is probably the second half of my life.

And I’m going to smile brightly the entire time.

16 December 2008 by Ponderings and Musings 2

Status.

I have been a Windows user since Windows 2.0 (aka Windows/286) came out in the mid 1980s. I mean, I remember Windows back when the coolest feature was the clock. Then we upgraded and the windows could actually overlap. That was very exciting. I’ve complained about Windows through the years but have kept up with the latest incarnation of the most popular computer operating system; I have to, after all, because part of my job involves providing technical support for Windows users. I mean, I’ve dabbled in Linux in an effort to go Microsoft free and in 2004 I jumped into the world of Mac, but I’ve always had a Windows machine in my life somewhere.

Back when I jumped into the world of Mac I bought a PowerBook G4 laptop. I LOVED that computer and still do; it’s the computer that I do all my DJ gigs with. I wouldn’t part with my PowerBook ever – it’s very well built, still feels very solid and though it’s rapidly falling behind today’s technology, it still holds it’s own when I’m surfing, checking e-mail or doing the DJ gigs.

Earlier this year I purchased a MacBook Pro to replace my PowerBook for my day to day needs. The MacBook Pro looks virtually identical to my older PowerBook though inside it is considerably different and muh more advanced. While the MacBook Pro is considerably faster than my older PowerBook and looks the same, I’ve found that it doesn’t have the same solid feel that I came to enjoy with my PowerBook. It just doesn’t feel as sturdy to me. I can’t wrap my head around the computer as I have been able to with other machines, I don’t feel like it’s an extension of my technical being. I attribute some of this to Leopard (the latest version of Mac OS X) because while too boring to mention here, there are several things that I don’t like about that OS. (I liked it’s predecessor Tiger better).

Therefore, I still continue to play with Windows.

I have considered selling the MacBook Pro and using the proceeds to buy a (PRODUCT) RED Dell M1530 that is completely souped up and dressed to the nines. This would mean running the (PRODUCT) RED version of Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate. I think this is a good thing. In fact, I’m running the standalone (PRODUCT) RED version of Vista Ultimate on the PC in our back bedroom. It is performing flawlessly.

There is a certain amount of status that comes with wielding a MacBook Pro at the internet café. I don’t want to say that having a Mac automatically thrusts one into some nebulous elite status, but it does carry a certain amount of an “I’m hip” aura with it. People take notice of the illuminated Apple on the notebook cover. Some ask questions. There is a considerable segment of Mac users that are crazed lunatics about Apple, and while I have approached that threshold on a number of occasions, I’ve never drank the entire glass of kool-aid before.

On the other hand, I believe that wielding a (PRODUCT) RED Dell M1530 would also say something to the internet café crowd. While the purchase would certainly benefit others (more information on why and what (PRODUCT) RED is here), it would certainly tell folks that I care about our world. On one hand, that is considerably selfish of me as I’m advertising the fact that I contributed to the (PRODUCT) RED project, but on the other hand, I think I’d rather discuss the benefits of (PRODUCT) RED instead of touting the virtues of all things Apple to the casual observer.

I guess I would be proud because I would be contributing to making a difference.

 

To the best of my knowledge, Apple does not offer any computers involved with (PRODUCT) RED, though they do have a (PRODUCT) RED iPod.

11 December 2008 by Ponderings and Musings 3

About J.P.

Just a guy with a husband. We’ve been together 28 years and he still makes me see fireworks on a daily basis. Hiker. Storm Chaser. Private Pilot. Tech Guy. Hackerish.

Weird? Eccentric!

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