Sir Spam-a-lot

Posted on December 18, 2011 by Mike

As my Paid LiveJournal account deadline looms, I’ve been taking a longer look at just sticking with the basic account for reading my friends posts while sticking to the site now resting on my own domain. I still have a few weeks to decide but I’ll probably just ride it out and see how painful that will be vs just going full-RSS.

In the meantime, what’s been bothering me the most about the new WP site is… the amount of spam it gets! Daily spambots telling me how much they love the blog and sticking links everywhere. Good thing the moderation is on so their comments don’t get published, but still. What a pain.

So it’s Saturday night in Emeryville and I just lost the entire afternoon due to having fallen asleep after lunch… to only be woken at suppertime by a constantly ringing phone! I still don’t get what’s going on over here. This entire past week has had me falling asleep anywhere between 8pm-9pm with my alarm waking me up just before 6am. That’s like almost 10 hours of sleeping which could easily be more. What the heck is up with my body that it needs that much sleep and knocking me out so often?!

S’funny. It’s almost like my body “knows” that it’s supposed to be winter time and wants to go into hibernation. Except, that’s not exactly the case here – although it will be when I fly back home in a couple of days. Yes, I’m hoping for a White Christmas – I do every year. Kind of hard to think about the Holidays without any snow around! :)  Just doesn’t feel right, you know?

Well, as I’m looking forward, here’s to the fact that I’ve just passed 7 months on this project, living away from home. Wow. Still partly unbelievable. 2 more months and I’m home for good. And THAT is something worth celebrating, too! :)

 

Originally published at The New Floodgates of the Mind. You can comment here or there.

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Hockey Night in San Jose

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Mike

So, here’s the thing about me and Hockey.

Back when I was a kid, I was a big Hockey fan. Watched the Montreal Canadians play on television whenever it was broadcast and when I wasn’t doing that, I was playing hockey in the streets with my friends.

Yes, the frequent calls of “Caaaaar!” whenever we had to stop game play to move our nets out of the way of incoming cars, and “Gaaaame on!” when play resumed is as funny and true as it was in a similar scene in Wayne’s World.

But, at one point in time, basically when Ken Dryden retired and I entered High School, I stopped watching. Why? Because of (what I saw as) the stupidity of my friends. Some of these guys would literally get into fist fights the day AFTER a game because of some stupid call or play or defeat. Wtf? Yeah, totally ridiculous and completely took me out of it.

In the years since, I’ve watched a couple of games but never as religiously as I used to. I attended only a handful of games but never paid for one since I had either won the tickets or gotten them as gifts. Plus, since I always worked downtown, I easily and quickly got fed up of all the scalpers making a fortune on selling tickets at ridiculous prices – shutting out so many fans who would love to see a game but can’t afford to.

One thing, however, that I always knew, saw, and experienced, was the fan participation. Not the idiotic riots which we are, unfortunately, infamous for, but the energetic, joyous, rambunctious cheering, jumping, dancing, etc, that brings a fun level to audience participation at games.

This year, seeing as I’m stationed in Emeryville, California, a bunch of us decided to go catch the Habs when they came to town to play against the San Jose Sharks. Why not? The tickets were extremely affordable (in comparison to similar seating back in Montreal, I believe the cost would easily be three times as much!) and it would have made for a fun outing.

What a difference.

Yes, the arena was very well lit, and there was a lot of activity outside of the rink and lots of things to see, BUT… audience participation… is a misnomer. You are not allowed to stand during the game. You are not allowed to jump around. You are not even allowed to LEAN FORWARD in your seat! Wtf?!

That’s right. Watching a sports event like hockey is like watching a MOVIE. Sit in your seat, prim and proper, with your backs straight and no talking. How do you get INTO a game if you are so far removed emotionally? And, of course, if you’re not allowed to move, then the Ushers do not allow anyone to come in OR out of the rink area during game play. So as not to disturb anyone, you see. Again, wtf?

If you want to just sit there, comfy and cozy in your chair, with a blanket over you to keep you warm… why don’t you just stay home? Srsly. Think of the money you’ll save. At least they allow us to jump up and cheer when a goal is scored, but still….

After the game, instead of feeling pumped because of the action, I felt like “okay, well, that was nice, may as well go home to bed now.” Heck, maybe that’s the real reason. Just another form of crowd control. But definitely NOT a hockey game like we’re used to back home.

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Remembering…

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Mike

So this week, I’ve been thinking about Remembering – specifically as it pertains to Remembrance Day.

Considering where so many of us here in North America come from, what happened in individual families during World War 2 could be quite different from what we’re remembering “today”.

Growing up as a comic book fan, and especially a fan of the Justice Society of America who spent so many of their early adventures fighting the Axis forces during WW2… that reality is no longer true. Think of the Axis back then, and now think of how those various countries work together in this day and age. We don’t still consider them evil, do we?

It’s not a clear cut case of “The Sins of the Fathers” because, in war, what soldiers must do is what they are told to do. History is written by the victors and all that.

Imagine how crazy it can make me to think that I am an extremely proud Canadian, yet my great grandfather may have fought on the “wrong side” – at least when viewed from the Allies perspective. Am I evil? Are my ancestors?

No. War is evil. And the men in power who cause those wars are evil.

And so, today, we remember those who fought and suffered and lived and died – be they men, women, children, soldiers, or civilians. After all, the MAIN thing we should NEVER forget is this: in War, everybody loses, some more than others.

I remember the fallen, and pray for the day war becomes an obsolete notion never to be repeated…

 

Originally published at The New Floodgates of the Mind. You can comment here or there.

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NaNoWriMo2011

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Mike

Originally published at The New Floodgates of the Mind. Please leave any comments there.

Took about a week for me to really accept that, yeah, okay, I actually was writing towards this deadline.  Heh.  I guess it happens.

I haven’t done NaNo since 2006, after having done it from 2003. There was a number of reasons for this. I didn’t need to prove anything since, well, I never really had a problem making the word count. Also, there was more than enough going on that I could use the energy elsewhere – so I did :)

But this year, being in the East Bay (where NaNo sprung up in 1999) and being so far from home, it just seemed like the right time. Heck, one of the things I thought I’d be able to do when I moved here for my project was that I would have time in the evenings to actually DO some writing. But, five plus months in, outside of the stuff for Comicopia, I hadn’t made any dent in that list of things to write.

So, NaNo. What the heck. Why not? It’ll get stuff out of my system :) And this time? I’m not rushing against a deadline – I’m leisurely taking the time and trying to put out as close to 2000 words a day as I could. It allows me the opportunity to reach the goal while still having time to just relax and hang out in the evenings :)

That lounging time? Well, it’s spent on little experiments like this blog, or playing iPad/ iPod word games with my wife… who usually kicks my ass on a regular basis :)

And how’s the NaNo going? Pretty well, I would have to say :) In case the image below doesn’t appear, the count is currently at 15,399

 

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The Experiment Continues…

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Mike

Originally published at The New Floodgates of the Mind. Please leave any comments there.

So, every day this week I’ve spent about an hour taking a look at my blog. By that, I don’t mean that I’ve been sitting here reading it :)  What I have been doing is wondering where to go with it.

See, I’ve often wanted to do more with my hosted site, since I knew it was possible to do more. After the last big upgrade, I tried to explore options but not to the level I’ve done this week. So, what have I found? Well, it’s now much easier to install and configure software on the site :) So, no more having to get real “techie” like in the old days. Don’t get me wrong, I love being techie especially as I’ve been doing it for most of my life. But, some days, you just don’t want to have to figure stuff out and just want things to work.

Which brings me here.

With the click of a switch, I was able to import all my LJ posts (since 2002, 1553 posts!) in one go-round! No exporting, no monthly uploading, just click and go.  Very cool. Yes, I couldn’t get all the comments, but that’s what LJBook is for ;)

And now, with another click of a few links, an LJ cross poster is in place. If it works the way it’s supposed to (and right now I don’t see why it wouldn’t), then this post will show up on the blog, and in Livejournal (with my techie icon). Yeah, me likes :)

What does this mean? I don’t lose out on the LJ portions I enjoy so much, I don’t have to use their crappy posting interface, and I get to keep all my posts in my own database. And then, when my account expires in a few months, I won’t necessarily have to spend money on it. But that’s thought for another time.

There’s obviously still some tweaking for me to do, but, for now, it’s the best of both worlds…

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Halloween 2011

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Mike

Well, there you go. It’s my first Halloween without my kids. The first time I couldn’t go door-to-door with them.

At least through the “magic” of Skype, I’m sitting here watching them sort their Loot 🙂

It’s not the same as being there, but it’s also not like missing everything 🙂

Remember, the joy in life is not to focus on what you’re missing, but to be grateful for what you have 🙂

My family looks happy on the other end of this camera, and I get to share in the squeals of delight as they explore what’s in their bags 🙂

So, I’m content for now 🙂

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Smiling Saturday

Posted on October 29, 2011 by Mike

I’m in a good mood right now 🙂

Having fallen asleep early last night, I woke up at 8am PST with the sun shining into my hotel room. After a quick breakfast, I headed out onto Bay Street for some window shopping. Unfortunately, I headed into Barnes & Noble and got hooked with their discount books… LOL. I can’t say no to a book, especially one on sale 🙂 Truthfully, I picked up a small book for Charlize, an early-reader (ie; 4-8) chapter book for Kyle (based on Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman 🙂 ) and a book on pin-up artist Gil Elvgren).

I then headed over to AMC to catch an early showing of Puss in Boots. Although I loved (loved!) all the music and dancing scenes, including learning of Puss’ early years, and cracked up at Kitty Soft Paws “Batman” inspired costume… it didn’t reach the FULL level of enjoyment I was expecting. On a joy/ giggle/ fun factor level of 8 (my expectations), it was a 6.75. So, I’m glad I got to see it for $6 and not more 🙂

After a quick stop to pick up some groceries, and making myself a killer omelet for lunch, I’ve been doing some editing/ reviewing/ and writing with music playing in the background. I still don’t have a proper “writing” area in my hotel, but have found that sitting at the dining “island” is a lot more comfortable than the desk they have here. Add to that the fact that I have a variety of novels, DVDs, and action figures in front of me watching my every click allows me to find ways to distract myself to help the words slip out of my fingertips 🙂

Add this to the sun still shining into my room and the smell of espresso still in the air… and I can count this as a good day 🙂 Of course, the extra fact that I’m contributing to a friend’s book when I wasn’t sure I would be able to, definitely helps 🙂

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Yup.

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Mike

Yes, it’s true.

I’ve taken to snacking on a small bowl of Fruit Loops cereals at night because I miss my kids and it reminds me of when they came down to San Francisco for a visit a few months back.

sigh.

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Protected: i want the world to stop…

Posted on September 26, 2011 by Mike

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Waiting…

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Mike

Okay, I’ll admit it. A lot of my energy and thoughts have been on the upcoming Air Canada strike. And, yes, the main reason is because I’m scheduled to fly back home on Thursday night – the first flight that’s not direct but going through Toronto.

Strangely enough, I’m not worried about what’s going on. What I mean is that if the strike goes forward and my flight gets cancelled, I can simply rebook with another carrier. What would be bad is if the first leg of my flight goes through, but then the second leg gets cancelled!

Yes, there are always ways around things and it’ll all work out in the end. But it’s nice when things go easy, ya know? 🙂 The whole stress of waiting/ watching/ wondering is a pain in the @ss and expends energy that could be better used elsewhere.

Ah well. At any rate, less than a day left for the news. In the meantime, I’m taking my team out this afternoon for lunch followed by a few games of pool. What better way to have a sprint retrospective? 🙂 A true Team-Building event! 🙂

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