Alright, so the Blog has been dead for ages. Work, school, (in University, woot) stuff, life, all that jazz has intruded and made my life online less than existant. However, I came across something tonight that got my blood a pounding so much that I just had to break my long cycle of inactivity, as well as have even less of my ever so precious sleep, to post about it.
Watch this video and read the brief description to see what I am talking about:
Arrest of Peaceful Pro-Life students @ Carleton University.
So you get the picture? Students were peacefully having a demonstration against abortion, and were arrested. Couple of things: the pictures they were showing were the more graphic variety, and they had been offered a room in a building, where nobody would ever see them.
First off, abortion is wrong. Period. I defy anyone to prove me wrong. Just getting that out there.
But secondly, and some who consider abortion a unimportant issue (I am not one), would think more to the point, this just shows how bad our Rights and Freedoms have been trampled. Even those who staunchly believe in abortion, and want to go out and kill me for disagreeing with them, should agree with me that this was an infringement on their rights. As the girl, Ruth Lobo, was telling the cops, they had a perfectly legal right to be there. It was private property, but the students had paid tuition for the right to be there, and the school's rules said they had the right to protest, etc. Ruth Lobo said it better in the video, watch it! That the "University" would go and get the cops to haul those people away just because they were demonstrating against a "offensive" topic is disgusting. I definately know that I'll never enrole in that place. I'd say more, but really, all that was needed to be said was in that video. I just needed to get the video out there.
Anyhow, it's late, I have class tomorrow, and I know I will regret not having gone to bed already. I just needed to get this out there and off my chest.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
TSFTGCSOAT Part 2
Just as an update for the Search for the Greatest Castle Set of All Time.
Voting is now open!
Or if my skills fail me:
Wish I knew why that giant space was there right before the poll...oh well.
Maybe I'll write a real post tomorrow...
.
Voting is now open!
Or if my skills fail me:
Wish I knew why that giant space was there right before the poll...oh well.
Maybe I'll write a real post tomorrow...
.
Friday, May 28, 2010
The Search for the Greatest Castle Set of All Time
Copied from Classic Castle:
There has always been the question among Lego fans as to which set is the best. The theme of Castle is definitely not an exception to the rule. There have been many debates over the years as to which is the best. From the infamous Yellow Castle to the newly released King’s Castle, to every set in between, the deliberation rages on. Well, it is time to end those debates once and for all. It is time to select the Greatest Castle Set Ever!
With the approval of the administrators, I have started this search as a chance for the members of this forum to finally state their case and have some fun. Here is how it’s going to happen.
Anyone who wishes to nominate a set needs to send me a PM with their nomination. If a person who is not a member of this forum wants to nominate a set, send me an email at rimerume@gmail.com. Your nomination needs to be more than a simple sentence stating the set name.
It is going to be your chance to really argue your point, to show the world why you think it should be named the Greatest Set of all Time. Give us some real solid reasons to vote for it. The criteria are your choice. If you think the design is second to none, write about it. If your best childhood memories involve the set, write about it. If you feel the price to piece ratio makes it the most worthy, write about it. Tell us in great detail every thought you have about it. Make us believe that it truly is the greatest. Obviously you don’t have to write a ten-page essay on the subject, but give us at least a few paragraphs. If someone beats you to nominating a set, and you still want to say your piece on it, don’t worry you will get that opportunity. As soon as I have had a chance to look over the nomination, I will post it in the nomination thread. On the nomination thread people can take the opportunity to argue their points further, respond to questions, and voice their support for others. The Search will be open for nominations for two weeks. On midnight, June 9th, nominations will no longer be accepted.
Once nominations are closed the polls will open for the first round of voting. For one week you will be able to vote, using the forum poll if there is ten or fewer nominations, or either by PM or email (same address as above). Should any non-member wish to vote, please do not hesitate to send me an email. If there are at least ten nominations, a second round of voting will take place with the top five. This will give the nominators a chance if they wish to restate their case and make any final statements or closing arguments and possibly change people’s mind and give their set a second chance. For another week you will be able to vote by PM or email only, to help keep the suspense. And once the voting closes, we’ll tally it all up and announce which Castle set is the greatest of all time.
It's a little something I'm doing on the forum, to have some fun, give the site a bit more excitement, and to just see what the general (and yes, subjective, Josh,
) opinion of the best set is. Dunno just how well it's going to go though. Hasn't been much chatter or anything in the first two days, and the only nominations so far are from people who I chat with on a regular basis.....still, what can you do?
There has always been the question among Lego fans as to which set is the best. The theme of Castle is definitely not an exception to the rule. There have been many debates over the years as to which is the best. From the infamous Yellow Castle to the newly released King’s Castle, to every set in between, the deliberation rages on. Well, it is time to end those debates once and for all. It is time to select the Greatest Castle Set Ever!
With the approval of the administrators, I have started this search as a chance for the members of this forum to finally state their case and have some fun. Here is how it’s going to happen.
Anyone who wishes to nominate a set needs to send me a PM with their nomination. If a person who is not a member of this forum wants to nominate a set, send me an email at rimerume@gmail.com. Your nomination needs to be more than a simple sentence stating the set name.
It is going to be your chance to really argue your point, to show the world why you think it should be named the Greatest Set of all Time. Give us some real solid reasons to vote for it. The criteria are your choice. If you think the design is second to none, write about it. If your best childhood memories involve the set, write about it. If you feel the price to piece ratio makes it the most worthy, write about it. Tell us in great detail every thought you have about it. Make us believe that it truly is the greatest. Obviously you don’t have to write a ten-page essay on the subject, but give us at least a few paragraphs. If someone beats you to nominating a set, and you still want to say your piece on it, don’t worry you will get that opportunity. As soon as I have had a chance to look over the nomination, I will post it in the nomination thread. On the nomination thread people can take the opportunity to argue their points further, respond to questions, and voice their support for others. The Search will be open for nominations for two weeks. On midnight, June 9th, nominations will no longer be accepted.
Once nominations are closed the polls will open for the first round of voting. For one week you will be able to vote, using the forum poll if there is ten or fewer nominations, or either by PM or email (same address as above). Should any non-member wish to vote, please do not hesitate to send me an email. If there are at least ten nominations, a second round of voting will take place with the top five. This will give the nominators a chance if they wish to restate their case and make any final statements or closing arguments and possibly change people’s mind and give their set a second chance. For another week you will be able to vote by PM or email only, to help keep the suspense. And once the voting closes, we’ll tally it all up and announce which Castle set is the greatest of all time.
It's a little something I'm doing on the forum, to have some fun, give the site a bit more excitement, and to just see what the general (and yes, subjective, Josh,
) opinion of the best set is. Dunno just how well it's going to go though. Hasn't been much chatter or anything in the first two days, and the only nominations so far are from people who I chat with on a regular basis.....still, what can you do?
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Luck of the Draw
You ever wonder what that means, "luck of the draw"? I just did. But I also figured it out fairly quickly. Moving on.
I seem to have been having a run or weird luck lately. Bad luck that it's been snowing several times in the last week, not only making work lousy, but making it impossible for me to get anything done on a trailer I am working on, and that I really need to finish this summer (it will only be the third summer I have worked on it) because I need the money I will make when I have sold it (it's cost enough to get materials for it in the first place).
There has been good luck in that I (and my sister) have finally gotten everything sorted out with the landlord for when the lease runs out. It's........... complicated, so I won't bore you with the complicated and annoying details, but I will say that I do not look forward to college this fall whenever I think about having to find another apartment.
Bad luck in that my hip got really painful today when I pinched a tendon somehow(according to the doctor) and missed out on work. They probably weren't too happy about me missing work either, since we were already going to be short-staffed that day anyway, and had a couple of awkward deliveries scheduled. I'm curious to see how they managed when I get in tomorrow, assuming I am able to.
Good luck by finding three cubit feet of used Lego at a thrift store for only 90 bucks. And since half of what I paid for isn't Lego, I am going to return that, and get some cash back. The fifty or so bucks that I did spend is more that worth with, when you consider that the fig's re-sale price alone is worth almost twice that. Good stuff that.
Good luck that I have heard the most wonderful news. EVER! A Lego store, the first in Canada, is opening only 1.5 hours away from me!! Check out this oh-so-awesome link I found if you don't believe me: Monster.ca. Unbelievable news my friends, unbelievable!!!! I have been waiting so long for this to happen, and to have it come to the closest possible place to me, it just blows me away.
The bad luck though, is that when it comes (mid to late summer I suspect) it will be right around the time I move six hours east to college (assuming I have been accepted). If I wasn't moving, my newly created LUG (Lego User Group) would benefit immensely from this (and it might still do so without me). Not only would we have the perfect focal point for meetings, (a pick-a-brick too!) but it would be a truly awesome way to find new members, and a potential place to showcase our MOCs and get some inside news on things. Now I am just going to have sit for awhile and bask in the glow of these thoughts......
Ah...
yeah...
Okay, I'm done.
I really don't know why I made this post, with little or no direction or purpose in it. I guess just to make sure I don't have another month of no posts, and to help spread my elation at having a Lego store in Canada! Whoot! Whoot!
I seem to have been having a run or weird luck lately. Bad luck that it's been snowing several times in the last week, not only making work lousy, but making it impossible for me to get anything done on a trailer I am working on, and that I really need to finish this summer (it will only be the third summer I have worked on it) because I need the money I will make when I have sold it (it's cost enough to get materials for it in the first place).
There has been good luck in that I (and my sister) have finally gotten everything sorted out with the landlord for when the lease runs out. It's........... complicated, so I won't bore you with the complicated and annoying details, but I will say that I do not look forward to college this fall whenever I think about having to find another apartment.
Bad luck in that my hip got really painful today when I pinched a tendon somehow(according to the doctor) and missed out on work. They probably weren't too happy about me missing work either, since we were already going to be short-staffed that day anyway, and had a couple of awkward deliveries scheduled. I'm curious to see how they managed when I get in tomorrow, assuming I am able to.
Good luck by finding three cubit feet of used Lego at a thrift store for only 90 bucks. And since half of what I paid for isn't Lego, I am going to return that, and get some cash back. The fifty or so bucks that I did spend is more that worth with, when you consider that the fig's re-sale price alone is worth almost twice that. Good stuff that.
Good luck that I have heard the most wonderful news. EVER! A Lego store, the first in Canada, is opening only 1.5 hours away from me!! Check out this oh-so-awesome link I found if you don't believe me: Monster.ca. Unbelievable news my friends, unbelievable!!!! I have been waiting so long for this to happen, and to have it come to the closest possible place to me, it just blows me away.
The bad luck though, is that when it comes (mid to late summer I suspect) it will be right around the time I move six hours east to college (assuming I have been accepted). If I wasn't moving, my newly created LUG (Lego User Group) would benefit immensely from this (and it might still do so without me). Not only would we have the perfect focal point for meetings, (a pick-a-brick too!) but it would be a truly awesome way to find new members, and a potential place to showcase our MOCs and get some inside news on things. Now I am just going to have sit for awhile and bask in the glow of these thoughts......
Ah...
yeah...
Okay, I'm done.
I really don't know why I made this post, with little or no direction or purpose in it. I guess just to make sure I don't have another month of no posts, and to help spread my elation at having a Lego store in Canada! Whoot! Whoot!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Monday is the new weekend.
Driving back from work today, I had the radio on, as I do just about every time I drive back from work. Or drive at all for that matter of fact. And as per the usual, I was listening to country music, the only music I ever listen to. I won't make this post anything on the values or pros or cons of music, country or otherwise. The Wooden Duck preserve us, what a horrendous topic to make a post about.
But while I was listening, this one song came on, by someone I don't know, singing a song I don't know, with lyrics I don't know. I do remember though a couple dozen lines going on about how hard this person worked. I think that might even have been the story in the song. It went on about how she got up early, stayed late, and collapsed in exhaustion on the weekend, how Friday night were something or other. Blah, blah, blah. It was, I am sure, a decent enough song, all country and emotional.
It got me thinking though. This isn't the first song that I have heard about the average blue-collar job, and all the romantic burdens it entails, foremost of those being a Monday to Friday shift. The general media public still has this as the staple for such jobs, but really, is that the case anymore?
I know from personal experience that bottom of the pile jobs are not typically Monday to Friday. In fact, having a shift like that is a sign of prestige and rank. Allow me to offer an example. In the yard where I work, there are four of us, the foreman, the two drivers, and myself. The schedule is made up by the foreman. The foreman never works on a weekend, unless there is a sickness or booked day off. The two drivers alternate weekends for the most part. In a four week cycle, they usually work two and half weekends. I, the lowest on the totem pole, as it were, work typically three out of four weekends, even four out of five.
Now consider other blue-collar jobs, in fast food joints, in Wal-Marts, janitors, street cleaners, etc. Most of these jobs entail working the weekend. And I will be willing to bet you that the higher-ranking employees get fewer weekends. Jobs where the pay is presumed to be better, and the work more prestigious tend to be the ones that close on the weekends. Banks are a prime example, as well as most if not all of the financial area of things. Even the trades, which can pay fairly decently, are typically off for the weekend.
The end result? If you get the weekend off regularly, you are more likely to be in a higher end job. Our culture though seems to be behind the times in this. If what I learn from country songs is any indication at least. If those that create the media wish to be more relatable to those of us further down the line, then they might want to think about this. And maybe we should start thinking of Monday as the new weekend.
Just a note though, I don't in any way mean to belittle anyone's job, whether it be a Monday to Friday one, or weekends only. I'm just observing something, and do not intend to be judgemental about anyone's station in life. There is more to life than a job anyway.
But while I was listening, this one song came on, by someone I don't know, singing a song I don't know, with lyrics I don't know. I do remember though a couple dozen lines going on about how hard this person worked. I think that might even have been the story in the song. It went on about how she got up early, stayed late, and collapsed in exhaustion on the weekend, how Friday night were something or other. Blah, blah, blah. It was, I am sure, a decent enough song, all country and emotional.
It got me thinking though. This isn't the first song that I have heard about the average blue-collar job, and all the romantic burdens it entails, foremost of those being a Monday to Friday shift. The general media public still has this as the staple for such jobs, but really, is that the case anymore?
I know from personal experience that bottom of the pile jobs are not typically Monday to Friday. In fact, having a shift like that is a sign of prestige and rank. Allow me to offer an example. In the yard where I work, there are four of us, the foreman, the two drivers, and myself. The schedule is made up by the foreman. The foreman never works on a weekend, unless there is a sickness or booked day off. The two drivers alternate weekends for the most part. In a four week cycle, they usually work two and half weekends. I, the lowest on the totem pole, as it were, work typically three out of four weekends, even four out of five.
Now consider other blue-collar jobs, in fast food joints, in Wal-Marts, janitors, street cleaners, etc. Most of these jobs entail working the weekend. And I will be willing to bet you that the higher-ranking employees get fewer weekends. Jobs where the pay is presumed to be better, and the work more prestigious tend to be the ones that close on the weekends. Banks are a prime example, as well as most if not all of the financial area of things. Even the trades, which can pay fairly decently, are typically off for the weekend.
The end result? If you get the weekend off regularly, you are more likely to be in a higher end job. Our culture though seems to be behind the times in this. If what I learn from country songs is any indication at least. If those that create the media wish to be more relatable to those of us further down the line, then they might want to think about this. And maybe we should start thinking of Monday as the new weekend.
Just a note though, I don't in any way mean to belittle anyone's job, whether it be a Monday to Friday one, or weekends only. I'm just observing something, and do not intend to be judgemental about anyone's station in life. There is more to life than a job anyway.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
One is better than the other.
Either men are better than women, or women or better than men. That is the message that one can take from the Olympic games. They are going to be happening in my homeland in two days time, and like all good Canadians, I am down on bended knee praying that we might get at least one gold and so redeem ourselves in the eye of.....ourselves? Something like that.
I don't know, for I am not particularily enthralled with what will be going on. I'll probably watch an event or two if I am around and have the time (by around, I mean around my TV). I'm mildly interested if my nation can live up to it's cold reputation and do well in winter Olympics. Though I really have to wonder just what is so wintery, or even sporty, about bobsleding. I'm pretty sure no Canadian kid grew up with a bobsled run. But yeah, not going crazy about the Olympics.
Though it's definately been a good thing for the economy. Right?
The one thing about the Olympics that catches my eye though is the complete segregation of men and woman. I can imagine that there might be some reason to have the more...physical sports seperate. Supposedly the men are better at hockey then woman...right? I don't know, but that's what they tell me.
BUT! Surely some of the more...gravity oriented sports could be merged. I mean, really, why couldn't a woman participate in the men's ski jumping thingy? So far as I can figure out, there is no unfair advantage that either side would have. And even if you could have some vague reason for that, there is one sport that you simply cannot argue against being merged. Curling. I just can't see why men and woman couldn't play this sport together. How does the act of throwing a rock down a sheet of ice, or doing a bit of sweeping required such effort that a man could do it better than a woman? Or visa versa? It just doesn't make sense.
So clearly, the Olympics are trying to tell us that one is better than the other. Which is better? Who knows really? Just consider all the sports where the reason for segregation isn't immediately obvious (next to all of them) and if you can find the reason why, then you have your answer.
Cheers Canada.
I don't know, for I am not particularily enthralled with what will be going on. I'll probably watch an event or two if I am around and have the time (by around, I mean around my TV). I'm mildly interested if my nation can live up to it's cold reputation and do well in winter Olympics. Though I really have to wonder just what is so wintery, or even sporty, about bobsleding. I'm pretty sure no Canadian kid grew up with a bobsled run. But yeah, not going crazy about the Olympics.
Though it's definately been a good thing for the economy. Right?
The one thing about the Olympics that catches my eye though is the complete segregation of men and woman. I can imagine that there might be some reason to have the more...physical sports seperate. Supposedly the men are better at hockey then woman...right? I don't know, but that's what they tell me.
BUT! Surely some of the more...gravity oriented sports could be merged. I mean, really, why couldn't a woman participate in the men's ski jumping thingy? So far as I can figure out, there is no unfair advantage that either side would have. And even if you could have some vague reason for that, there is one sport that you simply cannot argue against being merged. Curling. I just can't see why men and woman couldn't play this sport together. How does the act of throwing a rock down a sheet of ice, or doing a bit of sweeping required such effort that a man could do it better than a woman? Or visa versa? It just doesn't make sense.
So clearly, the Olympics are trying to tell us that one is better than the other. Which is better? Who knows really? Just consider all the sports where the reason for segregation isn't immediately obvious (next to all of them) and if you can find the reason why, then you have your answer.
Cheers Canada.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Rest in peace math.
You know, it's funny; the next two days after I wrote that post, I spent all of work shovelling. We were graced though to have two weeks of above freezing weather right after, so the shovelling actually did something, and the yard actually got a little cleared. Crazy stuff.
I have come to realize that I learned very little in high school. Now more than two years since I graduated, I have next to no memory of math. I could maybe do a bit of the simpler algebra (I had to just recently get clarification on what algebra was exactly) but forget all that geometric stuff. Though to be fair, I think I purposely erased that information. All that triangle stuff was just....bleah!
So here I am now, blissfully unaware of imaginary numbers. They apparently exist, according a friend versed in such things, but I don't believe it. If they were real, then all the other things I imagine should be real too. And if there were true, I wouldn't be in this apartment typing a blog post. Me and my imaginary (and real) friends would be enjoying some extremely expensive entertainment and refreshments.
Maybe I should have learnt all that math though. Then maybe all my imaginary stuff would come true. Now there's a thought. I always wondered what those mathematicians saw. Perhaps that way lies the moon bagels.
And yet, I don't think I'll lose any sleep over it. Just a brief glance at my friends simply math stuff is more than enough to blow my mind. And as I enjoy an un-blow-up mind, I'll stick to where I am.
I have come to realize that I learned very little in high school. Now more than two years since I graduated, I have next to no memory of math. I could maybe do a bit of the simpler algebra (I had to just recently get clarification on what algebra was exactly) but forget all that geometric stuff. Though to be fair, I think I purposely erased that information. All that triangle stuff was just....bleah!
So here I am now, blissfully unaware of imaginary numbers. They apparently exist, according a friend versed in such things, but I don't believe it. If they were real, then all the other things I imagine should be real too. And if there were true, I wouldn't be in this apartment typing a blog post. Me and my imaginary (and real) friends would be enjoying some extremely expensive entertainment and refreshments.
Maybe I should have learnt all that math though. Then maybe all my imaginary stuff would come true. Now there's a thought. I always wondered what those mathematicians saw. Perhaps that way lies the moon bagels.
And yet, I don't think I'll lose any sleep over it. Just a brief glance at my friends simply math stuff is more than enough to blow my mind. And as I enjoy an un-blow-up mind, I'll stick to where I am.
Friday, January 8, 2010
I think I am psychic.
So today I hung out with a friend for the last time before he goes back to college. With his holidays over, the final, final vestiges of Christmas have been swept away. No more carols (I have mixed feelings about this), all my Lego I got for Christmas is built (except for the set that I already own and have no desire to build a second one, not at this point anyway), the parent's house's decorations are down (I never put any up at my apartment, since I spend all my free holiday time at the parents), and the world has become cold and miserable.
All my co-workers are back at work, and even though business is still slow, things are back to normal, which means, I have will probably have to shovel snow. Sigh.
It is very interesting to note though, that in the two weeks or so in and around Christmas, I didn't have to do much snow shovelling, and I was pretty much the only guy working the yard that time (in other words, the only one in the entire store who would shovel). Being alone isn't really that bad, since business is slower than Canadian mail. It also gives me more opportunities to not shovel.
Which in all honesty, I hate. But even more so than shovelling, I hate the thing that must be done along with it, ploughing. See, in the lumber yard that I work at, whenever it snows, all the lifts of wood have to be shovelled off, and all the snow pushed at least two feet away from all the lifts. This amounts to a huge amount of shovelling, but said shovelling can only be done if the snow will be removed fairly soon after. If it isn't, then it gets in the way of customers, gets packed down and causes huge ruts, etc. So if any shovelling is to be done, ploughing must soon follow.
As I said, I hate, hate ploughing. The reason being is that all we have for a plough is a poorly designed scoop mounted on the front of a forklift. Dumb! Forklifts have completely bald tires, completely open cabs, are not designed at all for pushing, and get stuck so, so easily. What is more, if you are ploughing, a slow and mind numbing job, you are liable to get really, really, really cold. With the cab open to the oh-so lovely winter elements, and with your body just sitting there, you get cold. At least when shovelling you stay mostly warm. Every time I can, I let one of the other co-workers plough while I shovel. I'd rather stay warm and active, and get a free workout in. And boy what a workout! It takes two of us two days to get the yard clear, assuming we have a relatively uninterrupted day.
So, like I said, I managed to avoid this over the Christmasish holiday time. The main reason of course being that we haven't had any major snow dumps since before the 20th. But we have still had a couple small ones, and even if there is only an inch or two fallen, we have to shovel it up. However, at the start of the holidays, Christmas Eve, I am alone for the first time and do a bit of ploughing, on a remarkably warm day, and since we closed early, not much time was spent doing it. Come Boxing Day, I get back on the plough, and work away for an hour or so. Whilst doing so, I am thinking to myself how miserable the next week is going to be by myself, with nothing to do but shovel and plough. Well not long after, as I am dumping a load, I see that a bracket that holds a wheel that feeds a hydraulic pipe is bent under the forks. This being way beyond my mechanical expertise, I bring the forklift inside and leave it alone until it can be looked at next week. By the time it is fixed, four days have passed!
So we have the forklift running for a day, do a bit of snow removal, but nothing major. The next day, New Year's Eve, my last day of work before my three day holiday, I get up out of bed, see how really cold it is outside, and get real depressed at the thought of all the ploughing that needs to be done at work. I go to work and sure enough, first thing I am on the plough. As I am ploughing, I think to myself how much I wish the forklift would break again so I wouldn't have to freeze my fingers off using it.
Wonder of wonders, not half an hour later, it just suddenly stops working. I thought it ran out of propane, but even with a new canister, it still won't go. So we haul it inside and send it away to be fixed. Yay! It only got back the other day and I have yet to plough or shovel snow this month. Here's hoping for more shovel free days.
The lesson to be drawn from all of this? Clearly, I am psychic.
All my co-workers are back at work, and even though business is still slow, things are back to normal, which means, I have will probably have to shovel snow. Sigh.
It is very interesting to note though, that in the two weeks or so in and around Christmas, I didn't have to do much snow shovelling, and I was pretty much the only guy working the yard that time (in other words, the only one in the entire store who would shovel). Being alone isn't really that bad, since business is slower than Canadian mail. It also gives me more opportunities to not shovel.
Which in all honesty, I hate. But even more so than shovelling, I hate the thing that must be done along with it, ploughing. See, in the lumber yard that I work at, whenever it snows, all the lifts of wood have to be shovelled off, and all the snow pushed at least two feet away from all the lifts. This amounts to a huge amount of shovelling, but said shovelling can only be done if the snow will be removed fairly soon after. If it isn't, then it gets in the way of customers, gets packed down and causes huge ruts, etc. So if any shovelling is to be done, ploughing must soon follow.
As I said, I hate, hate ploughing. The reason being is that all we have for a plough is a poorly designed scoop mounted on the front of a forklift. Dumb! Forklifts have completely bald tires, completely open cabs, are not designed at all for pushing, and get stuck so, so easily. What is more, if you are ploughing, a slow and mind numbing job, you are liable to get really, really, really cold. With the cab open to the oh-so lovely winter elements, and with your body just sitting there, you get cold. At least when shovelling you stay mostly warm. Every time I can, I let one of the other co-workers plough while I shovel. I'd rather stay warm and active, and get a free workout in. And boy what a workout! It takes two of us two days to get the yard clear, assuming we have a relatively uninterrupted day.
So, like I said, I managed to avoid this over the Christmasish holiday time. The main reason of course being that we haven't had any major snow dumps since before the 20th. But we have still had a couple small ones, and even if there is only an inch or two fallen, we have to shovel it up. However, at the start of the holidays, Christmas Eve, I am alone for the first time and do a bit of ploughing, on a remarkably warm day, and since we closed early, not much time was spent doing it. Come Boxing Day, I get back on the plough, and work away for an hour or so. Whilst doing so, I am thinking to myself how miserable the next week is going to be by myself, with nothing to do but shovel and plough. Well not long after, as I am dumping a load, I see that a bracket that holds a wheel that feeds a hydraulic pipe is bent under the forks. This being way beyond my mechanical expertise, I bring the forklift inside and leave it alone until it can be looked at next week. By the time it is fixed, four days have passed!
So we have the forklift running for a day, do a bit of snow removal, but nothing major. The next day, New Year's Eve, my last day of work before my three day holiday, I get up out of bed, see how really cold it is outside, and get real depressed at the thought of all the ploughing that needs to be done at work. I go to work and sure enough, first thing I am on the plough. As I am ploughing, I think to myself how much I wish the forklift would break again so I wouldn't have to freeze my fingers off using it.
Wonder of wonders, not half an hour later, it just suddenly stops working. I thought it ran out of propane, but even with a new canister, it still won't go. So we haul it inside and send it away to be fixed. Yay! It only got back the other day and I have yet to plough or shovel snow this month. Here's hoping for more shovel free days.
The lesson to be drawn from all of this? Clearly, I am psychic.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Done, finally.
Well, after a long and bitter haul, the time has finally come that I can bid goodbye to......building my Classic Castle Contest entry!
All three items are part of my entry into the training a knight category.
The story behind it is thus.
In the land of Bethel, young men selected to become knights under go a three stage training regime. Stage one is preparation, where as a page they are taught to overcome basic fears, like heights, heights over sharp rocks on a swaying bridge.
Stage two is selection. When a page reaches a certain point in his training, he is selected by one of the three Houses of Knights to become a squire to.
Stage three is education. The squire is then training in more complex parts of a knight's duties, such as diplomacy.
I am so, so glad to finally be done this entry. It took over a month to build, and I had some serious builder's block inbetween. Then there was taking the pictures. I hate taking pictures, it's just something that I do not care to do....plus my battery died a third of the way through....it was not pleasent. Never the less, it is done and submitted, and with a whole two days left (as of the time I submitted it).
All three items are part of my entry into the training a knight category.
The story behind it is thus.
In the land of Bethel, young men selected to become knights under go a three stage training regime. Stage one is preparation, where as a page they are taught to overcome basic fears, like heights, heights over sharp rocks on a swaying bridge.
Stage two is selection. When a page reaches a certain point in his training, he is selected by one of the three Houses of Knights to become a squire to.
Stage three is education. The squire is then training in more complex parts of a knight's duties, such as diplomacy.
I am so, so glad to finally be done this entry. It took over a month to build, and I had some serious builder's block inbetween. Then there was taking the pictures. I hate taking pictures, it's just something that I do not care to do....plus my battery died a third of the way through....it was not pleasent. Never the less, it is done and submitted, and with a whole two days left (as of the time I submitted it).
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Brickshelf should be shelved.
So if anyone noticed, most of the links in the last post are broken. That is because the website that hosts them, Brickshelf is down, and has been down for a few days now. The general conscensious of the population is that it's down for repairs. This can neither be confirmed nor denined, as the guy who runs it, Kevin somethingorother has, as per usual, made no annoucement at all as to the reason behind it. This is Kevin's usual method when Brickshelf gones down. No forwarning, and no explaination.
I can't really fault him though. The site is completely free, with absolutely no fees or requirements from the users. Still, considering that people are willing to use the site over others, it would be nice if he would have the courtesy to make a quick note as to the reasons behind the offlines.
This aside, my main point is that I think Brickshelf should be completely redone, or else shelved for the time being. While it does provide a very needed service to the online Lego community, it is outdated, and slow, and awkward. Apart from the unschedualed, and unexplained, and somewhat regular breakdowns, the largest reason people don't use is that there is no comment feature on it.
I'm not completely sold that that option needs to be there. It would allow for many creations that are not posted elsewhere to recieve some feedback, but at the same time, distract the point of the site, which is to provide a spot to host pictures, nothing more. Brickshelf is not intended to be a table, around which people hang out, but merely a shelf, on which to store items. (Hence the "shelf" in Brickshelf)
The problems I would like to see fixed, apart from the downtime, are a) The uploading procedure. At the moment, all you can do is either upload each picture individually, or upload a zip file with all of them on, and both ways are rather slow and ponderous. b) Update the whole layout of the site. It looks far too much like those homemade sites from way back when the internet was new, very ugly. c) While I understand the ads on the site are necessary to keep it running, I would like to see a better management of them, to put them in a more, out of the way corner of the site, as it were. d) A better manner of sorting the pics, and a better search engine.
Where I would like to see the whole site go would be to a split version. On the one side you have a site much like flickr, with commenting, updated look, etc. On the other side, you have a site with absolutely nothing but the ability to upload pics. It would be even more basic than it is now.
Let us hope that the Brickshelf guy does at some point do something with his site. The absolute worse thing he could do would be to leave it exactly as it is.
I can't really fault him though. The site is completely free, with absolutely no fees or requirements from the users. Still, considering that people are willing to use the site over others, it would be nice if he would have the courtesy to make a quick note as to the reasons behind the offlines.
This aside, my main point is that I think Brickshelf should be completely redone, or else shelved for the time being. While it does provide a very needed service to the online Lego community, it is outdated, and slow, and awkward. Apart from the unschedualed, and unexplained, and somewhat regular breakdowns, the largest reason people don't use is that there is no comment feature on it.
I'm not completely sold that that option needs to be there. It would allow for many creations that are not posted elsewhere to recieve some feedback, but at the same time, distract the point of the site, which is to provide a spot to host pictures, nothing more. Brickshelf is not intended to be a table, around which people hang out, but merely a shelf, on which to store items. (Hence the "shelf" in Brickshelf)
The problems I would like to see fixed, apart from the downtime, are a) The uploading procedure. At the moment, all you can do is either upload each picture individually, or upload a zip file with all of them on, and both ways are rather slow and ponderous. b) Update the whole layout of the site. It looks far too much like those homemade sites from way back when the internet was new, very ugly. c) While I understand the ads on the site are necessary to keep it running, I would like to see a better management of them, to put them in a more, out of the way corner of the site, as it were. d) A better manner of sorting the pics, and a better search engine.
Where I would like to see the whole site go would be to a split version. On the one side you have a site much like flickr, with commenting, updated look, etc. On the other side, you have a site with absolutely nothing but the ability to upload pics. It would be even more basic than it is now.
Let us hope that the Brickshelf guy does at some point do something with his site. The absolute worse thing he could do would be to leave it exactly as it is.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
MCC Winners!
-Copied from a Microbricks.-
Well I finally got around to judging the Mini Castle Contest. The entries, some of which have already been shown here were just incredible.
Okay, so here is the list of winners.
In the Miniature Set category, the two runner-ups were:
Nanuck95 with his version of 6073 - Knights Castle.
Griffon with his version of 6080 - King's Castle.
And the winner of the category was Bartosza6m with his version of 6081 - King's Mountain Fortress.
For the main category, the runner-ups were:
Marcosbessa with his Running up that Hill:
Wunztwice with his Micro Lego Castle:
Mahj with his Temple:
Third place went to TooMuchCaffeine with his Kingdom in a Box:
Second place went to Darkspawn with his Firbolg Keep:
And First place went to Weasel47 with his Castle on the Lake:
Once again the contest was a sound success with many great entries. There were also many other great MOCs entered, be sure to check them out at the contest page. I look forward to next years.
Well I finally got around to judging the Mini Castle Contest. The entries, some of which have already been shown here were just incredible.
Okay, so here is the list of winners.
In the Miniature Set category, the two runner-ups were:
Nanuck95 with his version of 6073 - Knights Castle.
Griffon with his version of 6080 - King's Castle.
And the winner of the category was Bartosza6m with his version of 6081 - King's Mountain Fortress.
For the main category, the runner-ups were:
Marcosbessa with his Running up that Hill:
Wunztwice with his Micro Lego Castle:
Mahj with his Temple:
Third place went to TooMuchCaffeine with his Kingdom in a Box:
Second place went to Darkspawn with his Firbolg Keep:
And First place went to Weasel47 with his Castle on the Lake:
Once again the contest was a sound success with many great entries. There were also many other great MOCs entered, be sure to check them out at the contest page. I look forward to next years.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
One man's crutch is another man's cane.
I find canes an incredibly cool thing. That is why I bought a wooden one at a garage sale, and made another out a branch (it was going to be burned!). Every now and again the fit will take me and I will walk around the house with one of them. I haven't yet had the courage/lunacy to go outside with them.....yet.
Though, when you consider that I have had this current cane spout for several days now, it might well escalate into a trip outside.
Why canes you won't ask? Well, it's just a strangely cool way to walk. And I have been watching several discs of House episodes back to back. Nothing puts one in a more caney mood than that.
However! I did always like canes even before I knew of the tv show. Call it my older brother, who loves canes, suits, and pipes, rubbing off on me. But hey, I was young and foolish, and since he was my older brother, he obviously knew what was cool. And if he thought canes were cool, then who be I to disagree? Especially if disagreeing was dangerous for my health.
One of the reasons my current cane binge has gone for as long as it has is that it helps drain some of the tension my neighbours give me. I can relax a bit when they are playing their ----- tv too loud by thinking of myself as a grumpy cripple who has no problem telling them a piece of his mind if it gets too much. That the theory anyway, or least, I think it is. Either way, canes are a cool thing.
Though, when you consider that I have had this current cane spout for several days now, it might well escalate into a trip outside.
Why canes you won't ask? Well, it's just a strangely cool way to walk. And I have been watching several discs of House episodes back to back. Nothing puts one in a more caney mood than that.
However! I did always like canes even before I knew of the tv show. Call it my older brother, who loves canes, suits, and pipes, rubbing off on me. But hey, I was young and foolish, and since he was my older brother, he obviously knew what was cool. And if he thought canes were cool, then who be I to disagree? Especially if disagreeing was dangerous for my health.
One of the reasons my current cane binge has gone for as long as it has is that it helps drain some of the tension my neighbours give me. I can relax a bit when they are playing their ----- tv too loud by thinking of myself as a grumpy cripple who has no problem telling them a piece of his mind if it gets too much. That the theory anyway, or least, I think it is. Either way, canes are a cool thing.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
License to Post.
After a period of uploading, uploading, and more uploading, I finally got my video from BrickCon up and running on youtube. It is really weird being a member of youtube. Not that I am actually going to do anything with my account. It was solely created so as to make public this video.
Seb at BrickCon
So here we have Sebastian Arts, from the Netherlands, Aliencat as he is known online, doing some advertising for the castle layout at BrickCon 2009.
Enjoy.
I gotta say, if a moon bagel was anywhere at the con, this might have the most likely.
Seb at BrickCon
So here we have Sebastian Arts, from the Netherlands, Aliencat as he is known online, doing some advertising for the castle layout at BrickCon 2009.
Enjoy.
I gotta say, if a moon bagel was anywhere at the con, this might have the most likely.
Monday, October 12, 2009
I was framed!
So in that last post, I totally forgot to mention one of the most interesting events that happened to me at BrickCon. And I am not referring to the free Spongebob SquarePants Lego set I got, which, by the by, I shouldn't complain about, for Steve Witt would probably repeat himself and say, "I'm sorry your free stuff isn't perfect."
Anyway, I figured I might as well address an entire post to this topic. So on Saturday night at BrickCon, they had the blind build, where 20 people try and build a small set without being able to see it. I had my name down for it and was one of the ones selected. It was a cool thing to be in, with my adrenaline level rising every minute. We had half an hour to finish in, and for some unbelievable cool reason, I finished first, by a good 20 seconds too!!!
Unfortunately, I didn't win. Why you may ask? Because the next closest person had fewer errors than I did. For every misplaced piece you received a 10 second penalty, or something to that effect. This includes coloured pieces as well. So basically, the reason I didn't win was because I couldn't tell by feel if a piece was red or orange.
It makes perfect sense really. Why, all of the great builders can tell the moment they touch a piece what colour it is. I simply haven't master the craft enough to tell.
*Insert calming breaths*
Whatever, it's water under the bridge I guess. I'm not that sore of loser to complain on and on about not winning.
Still!
I do know that if I ever hosted a contest like that, I wouldn't make misplaced colours a time penalty. To me, doing that means that the outcome of the contest is determined as much by luck as by skill, which makes the whole point moot if you ask me. Why not just have the contestants randomly put pieces together, and whoever happens to come closest to the real thing win? Or why not just draw lots? If there was a tie, I could understand using the colours as a tiebreaker, but nothing more.
Sigh, perhaps I am a sore loser. But with as much right to be sore as any loser had. Oh well, such is life.
Anyway, I figured I might as well address an entire post to this topic. So on Saturday night at BrickCon, they had the blind build, where 20 people try and build a small set without being able to see it. I had my name down for it and was one of the ones selected. It was a cool thing to be in, with my adrenaline level rising every minute. We had half an hour to finish in, and for some unbelievable cool reason, I finished first, by a good 20 seconds too!!!
Unfortunately, I didn't win. Why you may ask? Because the next closest person had fewer errors than I did. For every misplaced piece you received a 10 second penalty, or something to that effect. This includes coloured pieces as well. So basically, the reason I didn't win was because I couldn't tell by feel if a piece was red or orange.
It makes perfect sense really. Why, all of the great builders can tell the moment they touch a piece what colour it is. I simply haven't master the craft enough to tell.
*Insert calming breaths*
Whatever, it's water under the bridge I guess. I'm not that sore of loser to complain on and on about not winning.
Still!
I do know that if I ever hosted a contest like that, I wouldn't make misplaced colours a time penalty. To me, doing that means that the outcome of the contest is determined as much by luck as by skill, which makes the whole point moot if you ask me. Why not just have the contestants randomly put pieces together, and whoever happens to come closest to the real thing win? Or why not just draw lots? If there was a tie, I could understand using the colours as a tiebreaker, but nothing more.
Sigh, perhaps I am a sore loser. But with as much right to be sore as any loser had. Oh well, such is life.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Thursday after BrickCon, (close enough)
So I guess I have no excuse not to post, now that BrickCon is over.
*Sob* BrickCon is over! (Insert many a tear here)
My flickr link to the pictures I took. Linky The pictures, especially of the people, are more than iffy, as to why, I can only speculate. My camera is just one of those relatively inexpensive credit card ones. For whatever reason it will only take stable pics on a tripod, regardless of what the iso is set at. It's weird. It does its job of taking pics of Lego well enough, but try and use it for it designed function and it sucks. Maybe next year I should borrow a higher end camera from a relative.
I did take a fair bit of video, which I am in the process of uploading, and provided I can figure out both youtube and how to rearrange my video, it will be posted online.
The pics save me any necessity of talking about the creations there. I will say though, that just like last year, I am inspired to build better and bigger again. Though I more than quadrupled my displayed area at BrickCon, as compared with last year, I still was a tiny contributor, when compared with some.
Socializing was way different than last year. I actually knew a few people beforehand, had a couple of planned events where I knew I could hang around, (CC supper, driving to the Lego store, picking up Beckie at the airport) plus, I shared a room with four other attendees. Two of whom, Aliencat from CC and his wife, I hung out with for a great portion of the Con. I must say, beforehand, I had more than a few misgivings about sharing a room, with other people period, much less a strange couple from Holland that I had never met, or for that matter, I don't think anyone had ever met in person. Yet, it was an unbelievable blast hanging with them. Also met a few more castle people who I hung out with, some of them quite frequently. I imagine the fact that I had already been to a Con helped out immensely with the hanging out aspects.
Spent a ton of money at the Lego store, both my own and the family's. Gonna be building sets for awhile. The drive up and down was pretty much a copy of last year's. Got varying amounts of sleep...stayed up later than I should have often as not, but I think I was more rested over all than last year. Maybe it's just because I didn't have the stress from driving in Seattle that I had last year. This time I knew which way was North just about all the time, and found the parking stall for the Con on the first try, and didn't have to loop around any. I also made my way to the airport, and back, hazard free. Much better than last time. I also wasn't as disoriented coming over the mountains. My sense of the north, and the compass's usually agreed with each other. And coming back to Kamloops on Sunday night, there was very bright moon that gave me a general idea of what kind of country I was traversing at the time.
Sigh, I can't believe it's over, and I really, really, really wish it wasn't. The wish made all the greater because when I went back to work, it was snowing. And it was snowing today, and I expect it to be snowing tomorrow. There was also a horribly cold wind, and just general suck. Winter has arrived, with no Autumn at all. Two weeks ago, we were breaking heat records left, right and centre. In Seattle it was nice weather, mostly sunny, and you usually didn't need a coat. I come back, everything looks fine. I wake up for work, and it's snowing and freezing my fingers off.
Sigh.
Oh well, that's the way it goes I guess.
Makes next year all that more anticipated.
*Sob* BrickCon is over! (Insert many a tear here)
My flickr link to the pictures I took. Linky The pictures, especially of the people, are more than iffy, as to why, I can only speculate. My camera is just one of those relatively inexpensive credit card ones. For whatever reason it will only take stable pics on a tripod, regardless of what the iso is set at. It's weird. It does its job of taking pics of Lego well enough, but try and use it for it designed function and it sucks. Maybe next year I should borrow a higher end camera from a relative.
I did take a fair bit of video, which I am in the process of uploading, and provided I can figure out both youtube and how to rearrange my video, it will be posted online.
The pics save me any necessity of talking about the creations there. I will say though, that just like last year, I am inspired to build better and bigger again. Though I more than quadrupled my displayed area at BrickCon, as compared with last year, I still was a tiny contributor, when compared with some.
Socializing was way different than last year. I actually knew a few people beforehand, had a couple of planned events where I knew I could hang around, (CC supper, driving to the Lego store, picking up Beckie at the airport) plus, I shared a room with four other attendees. Two of whom, Aliencat from CC and his wife, I hung out with for a great portion of the Con. I must say, beforehand, I had more than a few misgivings about sharing a room, with other people period, much less a strange couple from Holland that I had never met, or for that matter, I don't think anyone had ever met in person. Yet, it was an unbelievable blast hanging with them. Also met a few more castle people who I hung out with, some of them quite frequently. I imagine the fact that I had already been to a Con helped out immensely with the hanging out aspects.
Spent a ton of money at the Lego store, both my own and the family's. Gonna be building sets for awhile. The drive up and down was pretty much a copy of last year's. Got varying amounts of sleep...stayed up later than I should have often as not, but I think I was more rested over all than last year. Maybe it's just because I didn't have the stress from driving in Seattle that I had last year. This time I knew which way was North just about all the time, and found the parking stall for the Con on the first try, and didn't have to loop around any. I also made my way to the airport, and back, hazard free. Much better than last time. I also wasn't as disoriented coming over the mountains. My sense of the north, and the compass's usually agreed with each other. And coming back to Kamloops on Sunday night, there was very bright moon that gave me a general idea of what kind of country I was traversing at the time.
Sigh, I can't believe it's over, and I really, really, really wish it wasn't. The wish made all the greater because when I went back to work, it was snowing. And it was snowing today, and I expect it to be snowing tomorrow. There was also a horribly cold wind, and just general suck. Winter has arrived, with no Autumn at all. Two weeks ago, we were breaking heat records left, right and centre. In Seattle it was nice weather, mostly sunny, and you usually didn't need a coat. I come back, everything looks fine. I wake up for work, and it's snowing and freezing my fingers off.
Sigh.
Oh well, that's the way it goes I guess.
Makes next year all that more anticipated.
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