Cow Bell - Gotta have more cow bell...

SNL clip - definitely worth a view...

Ordering Coffee....

I just ordered a "medium with milk & sugar", which is how I take my Tim's coffee. After it was made/poured/mixed/whatever, the cashier confirmed the order while handing it to me as "medium regular with milk"...

If you have to qualify it, then it isn't "regular"... and how is "medium regular with milk" more efficient than "medium with milk and sugar"?

I guess you save the "and"... but both ways are 8 syllables each...

Rereading the above - I think I need to drink less coffee....

We have a Waterfall!!

They got all the pool electric's hitched up today and tested the pumps and everything.
The waterfall had more water coming down the right hand side so they cemented a rock there to redirect things a bit. There is a switch in the cabana that turns it on and off - very cool. The installer guy said they would probably close it down next week. He didn't know if the cabana crew was coming tomorrow - now that there is power they can use in the cabana things should go quick.

Pete's - Kitchen Backsplash & Settlers of Catan

Must say that Pete's backsplash turned out very nice... I assisted with the tile installation along with Tim, but Pete did all the fancy cutting with the rented tile cutter (pretty cool tool). Pete finished the grout after I left - and did a damn fine job! The cabinets are also new, Pete's Dad has a background in carpentry and everything in Pete's kitchen is custom made and fits perfectly.

We played "Settlers of Catan" after our tile work. Cool game. There is a whole series of different versions of the same game type. There were 4 of us (Chris joined, after all the work was done of course...) so it was good. I could see the game being problematic for less than 3 people playing - but 4 seemed just right. Recommend this game if you have 3-4 people and a couple hours to kill - and of course some beer...

Refinishing Living Room Floor

The projects continue at a frenzied pace... In addition to the pool work that continues, Sharon and Dad started refinishing the living room floor yesterday (Sharon is off work this week). It is hardwood parquet with a light-oak colour. I am not a fan of parquet to begin with and this stuff just looks old and tired. So, rather than starting with a complete removal and restart, Sharon is going to try refinishing first. Yesterday was sanding day - dust everywhere but it already looked better, and today is stain day - apparently getting a bit of a two-tone effect from one end of the room to the other. More stain to go so it should work itself out by the time she is done. If Dad remembered to take some before-during-after pictures I will post them when the job is done...

Music Management Software

Okay, I give up... I've been trying to use free software (mostly Real Player) to manage my music files, but it just isn't working.

The main features I need that seem to be lacking are:

1. convert everything to the same bit rate (128 seems to be fine for me) in MP3 format, either as an up-convert or a down-convert ==> I need this since one of my MP3 players does not like changing bit rates between songs when playing from burned CDs
2. file management, especially with respect to file naming. I need to be able to maintain all track, album, artist information and also allow file renaming to a specific code, either the UPC code or a combination of album serial number and track number ==> I need this because my Xbox won't play any MP3s with a filename greater than about 20 characters

Those are the 2 biggest things that I'm having trouble with right now. Apparently the full version of Real Player will allow the bit rate convertion, but as I've mentioned earlier it doesn't work properly with WinXP and it doesn't allow for any coding to be added to the filenaming (as far as I can tell). I've tried some other freeware that did a good job with the rate conversion, but again limited file renaming, and the ReNamer program I downloaded seems to work but by the time I get from the ripped CD file to the correctly named MP3 file, all my song metadata is gone. Maybe I need to surf some of the Xbox modification sites - I can't be the only one struggling with this...(but that comes back to the issue of being on dialup, in one big circle of frustration...).

Anybody have any suggestions for managing music using a modified Xbox that does not have an internet connection?

==> UPDATE: I have been using Windows Media Player with some success and I now have a high(er) speed internet connection that allows me to connect the Xbox direct to the internet allowing direct ripping and file name/data downloading...

World War 1 Survivors

Its Remembrance Day and once again I thank God that I have lived in a time and place that has not required me to be involved in a war. I am a fairly introspective guy, and when I watch some of these war movies (Platoon, Saving Private Ryan, etc.), I can almost imagine being there and realize that I would not come back a person that I would want to be - if I came back at all... So I give thanks at least every November 11th for the life I have been allowed to make for myself.

One of the stories I heard on the radio today stated that there are only 3 Canadians still alive who served in WW1, one of them is 105 and the other 2 are 106. The nature of the story was asking if the last survivor should be given a "State Funeral" when he passes... In my opinion, discussing this publicly in the first place is bad form, however if it is being discussed, I don't think we should make it a race to see who can live the longest and get the big funeral - I say that we owe all 3 of our oldest veterans more than we can ever repay, and that all three of them should be given the full deal when they pass. I am not a supporter of war in general, however the people who are doing or did the fighting so that I can have the life I lead have nothing but my respect.

Harpers Magazine article - bank machine charges

I read an interesting article in a not-so-recent copy of Harpers Magazine about bank machine user fees. For me personally I tend to withdraw a relatively large sum of cash at the bank machine (~$100+) because of the user fees related to a withdrawal - a typical charge of $1.50 on a withdrawal of $100 is a 1.5 percent fee. Even though this seems low, it is VERY annoying since a) the bank is making money on my money while it is in my account, and b) it is actually cheaper for the bank to provide this type of service through a machine instead of through a teller. For me my choice of bank is purely based on the service charges applied to my account. I moved all of my accounts out of the Royal Bank when they changed their accounts to all have service fees and I currently run all my banking through my CIBC line of credit account - yes, through my line of credit. The only service fee applied to my line of credit is the interest applied to an outstanding negative balance - there are no fees applied when the account has a positive balance and I can still write cheques against the account either way. I have my paycheque deposited directly to this account every payday - which counts as making a payment so I don't have to worry about making regular payments - its done. As well, when the account is negative, the jump in the balance when my paycheque is applied reduces my interest amount until the balance slowly goes down as I use money - and the longer I wait between the deposit and withdrawing funds, the less interest I pay. I use to have a regular chequing account with a few hundred dollars in it, and my line of credit with a few thousand dollars owing, until I realize that the $400 sitting in my chequing account was a) only generating about 1/4% in interest, b) costing me ~$5 a month in account "service" fees (don't recall getting any service for these fees....), and c) was effectively costing me 7.5% in interest because it could have been placed in my line of credit and then I would have been paying interest on a balance that was $400 dollars lower. Now I'm not making the 1/4% interest, but I'm effectively saving 7.25% on this money in my line of credit + saving the $5 per month... Deal !!!

Back to my original post - for me, I have enough cash in my account to reduce the relative % cost of a bank machine withdrawal, but the Harpers article reminded me of my earlier and less lucrative life where there were times that I could not make a withdrawal because my account balance was less than $20 and the minimum withdrawal was $20. Back in those days when my account was much lower, and I could only really afford to withdraw $20-40 at a time, the relative withdrawal fee for taking out $20 is just about 7% (getting $20 costs $21.50). Wow, this is a lot to pay to get access to YOUR money. In my case now where I would be withdrawing from a negative line of credit account balance, this results in a 7% immediate charge plus 7.5% in interest per year on the same amount going forward. So if my account balance stays at this level or lower for a year, I would have effectively paid 14.5% interest on that $20...

For people with some money (a group to which I have been fortunate enough to belong for the last little bit - until the pool install anyway...) this is a relatively insignificant amount - and in many cases the bank waives some fees for "higher value" clients. For people who are not as financially secure, this is a significant cost. And again I am struck by how people who have money end up needing to spend less of it to get the services they need because they are "good customers", while those who could really use some help will always end up paying full price - and then some, for everything...

I don't know how to fix it, but it annoys me and it isn't fair...

Pool Update - Cement Patio is "done"

I know, 3 pictures of cement is not an exciting update - for you... but for me this is fabulous! The patio shows grey in the first pics because of the colouring that is being added. In the final picture the colouring has been removed showing the tan/beige "stone" colour and the grey is only the highlight colour. It isn't easy to see in this picture because it was overcast and cloudy this morning, I will try to remember to replace with a better picture when it is sunny. I expect the cabana construction and the filling in of the holes to begin shortly. Wow, they really only started about ... 3-4 weeks ago - amazing!

Pool update, getting close

Things are moving fast. The fountain is in and cemented, the forms are down for the cement patio, the pad is down for the cabana that will hold the equipment and have bar windows and stools. The rockery is done and set into the hill and the fence posts are installed. The water pipes and electrical conduit are also installed under the ground. The cement decking around the pool is scheduled for Monday - and then the only big things left are backfilling the gaps behind the rocks and waterfall and putting the chainlink on the fence posts (black chainlink is almost invisible and will keep our little fuzzy muffins in where they are suppose to be) - then I think the water goes in!!! The cabana needs to be built, the equipment needs to be installed, and the electrical needs to be put in - but all that stuff doesn't need any heavy equipment. We will wait until spring to have the propane guys come and install tanks for the heater.

Jury Duty - Day 2

Just overheard that last night they selected 5 of the 14 jurors required (12 plus 2 alternates). I hope it takes just long enough so I don't have to go to work today, but not get selected. Or maybe get selected? Not sure what I would prefer... I quess whatever happens, happens...

Nope, didn't get selected - didn't even get to go through the challenge process with the lawyers. I just got out of the session mid-afternoon. Basically I've spent 2 days sitting and reading...sort of like being on vacation, but with no wavy salt water, no sun, no umbrella-drinks, no sand, no funky beach clothes, no interesting restaurants, ...you get the idea... It was a little exciting during the actual calling of the names - sort of like playing Bingo... "From panel 80 [exhale, not my panel], juror number xxxx, .... From panel 88 [gasp! my panel], juror number [holding my breath] xxxx [whew, not me], ..." and so on... At the end of yesterday there were about 140 of us left, about 100 from panel 80 and about 40 from panel 88 (my panel). Finished the session with the selection of a reserve panel of 20 people in case something happens between now and when the trial starts. If nothing happens to any of the selected jurors, these 20 people don't have to do anything, but if any of the 14 (12 plus 2 stand-by) can't attend at the start of the trial, they will replace with people from the 20 at the beginning of the trial. In any event I am free and clear for a couple of years. It was interesting to witness the process.