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Thursday, February 24
We will protect this logo
by
rick3528
on Thu 24 Feb 2005 07:56 AM EST
When my son turned 5 years old I enrolled him in a YMCA Judo program. He has now been taking Judo lessons at the Y for 4 years. I have since enrolled my daughter in the program as well. The class consists of 3 volunteer instructors and about 30ish kids between the ages of 5 and 12 years of age. They meet once a week for an hour at a time. During the last 4 years I have taken my son to several judo tournaments where I discovered that other clubs in the area had a greater level of participation and "club pride." Because of this discovery I volunteered to help with communication and identity matters. Translation: I setup a blog, registered a domain name and made a bunch of logo’s of which I had the kids vote on the one they liked best. As dragons seemed to be a popular theme amongst the children I did a google image search on the word "dragon" and made about 10 different logo’s for the kids to pick from. They decided on one, which I put on the weblog. We then thought it would be fun to make some iron on patches for the kid’s workout clothes. These sucked and faded quickly and looked like crap so out of my own pocket I paid to have the image digitized at a local embroidery shop. I then printed a news letter letting the parents know that they could go there and have the image embroidered onto their children’s outfit for a small fee. Since this announcement several of the parents have done so.
our crest 
2 weeks ago I received the following email.
----- Original Message -----
From: <comment-notice@blogware.com>
To: <rick@availablenics.com>
Sent: Friday, February 11, 2005 5:53 PM
Subject: Comment notification for Oakville Hatashita YMCA JUDO CLUB
> A comment was received for "Our New Website Address"
> on Fri Feb 11 16:53:53 CST 2005.
> Comment details:
> =================
> Poster's IP Address: 216.129.189.184
> Article URL: http://judo.journalmine.com/blog/_archives/2005/1/24/276428.html
> Author: Anonymous
> Title: Re: Our New Website Address
> Body:
> Sirs,
> The Dragon on the top of this page is a registered trademark of Minnesota
State University Moorhead. It cannot be used without their permission.
Please remove it from this web page.
> Chuck Noesen
> US Licensing Company
I have since contacted the University and explained the situation to the Art Director and we have agreed to work on the image so it will not be an issue. We agreed that changes are necessary but that no sense of urgency is required.
Today I received this email:
Mr. MacCormack,
The "portion" of the image in question is the exact logo of Minnesota State University Moorhead and cannot be used as your logo for your judo club. The logo is owned by the university and has been trademarked.
I cannot access your web site so I'm not sure if it has been changed or not but you cannot use this logo in any form on any merchandise, web site or any other materials.
Whoever won your contest did not design this logo, it was copied from Minnesota State University Moorhead. I'm sure you would agree that this logo is unique enough that there is no question that it has been copied.
I cannot stress enough to you that we will protect this logo for the university with whatever means may be available to us.
Chuck Noesen
US Licensing Company
The experience so far has left me with several questions about "logo’s" how much altering is necessary before the image is no longer deemed "copied" (i.e. colour change, delete a part, stretch, filter?) What reach does this "registered trademark" law have when it crosses boarders?
Comments???
Tuesday, February 22
Fishing trip Revised
by
rick3528
on Tue 22 Feb 2005 10:16 PM EST
Well Uncle Roger has informed me that he will not be attending this years event. So I am just going to be booking 1 cottage as oppose to the two. It is funny how 4+ months notice is just not sufficient in todays world. Oh well, I invited him up anyways so maybe he will supprise us for a day or two. Our revised costs are about $245 each for the week (plus food and beer). The time has not changed July 2 to 9 check in at 2pm. I am going to confirm the reservation tomorrow. Now lets catch some fish!!!
Catch and Release - Trout Fishing and the Meaning of Life.
by
rick3528
on Tue 22 Feb 2005 09:14 AM EST
 My wife bought me this book for Valentines Day. Partly because I have been reading a lot lately, partly because I have been organizing a family fishing trip for the last 3 years now and partly because I have been reading a lot of books with a philosophy twist. In the past 8 months, Americans have written all the books I have read, with an American perspective. As a consumer of content I haven't paid much heed to this and for the most part was unaware of "the American perspective" After reading Kingwell's "Catch and Release" I felt like I was allowed into the mind of a Canadian. Kingwell is not only a Canadian but also shares my timeline in life. This was by far the most enjoyable book I have read in the last year. It's one of those ones that are hard to put down. Not because of an overwhelming desire to see what's next but just because it's enjoyable. The imagery he uses is very Canadiana and is easy (for me anyway) to relate to. His writing often made me smile in a comfortable, reflective kind of way.
"I am far too near the beginning to feel this tow of delicious craziness, but I see already wisdom in the observation that "the man who has discovered fishing counts the world well lost" Adrift in a happiness without higher purpose, occupied but not directed, my thoughts veer off in random directions. I looked around and suddenly felt for the first time as if I were inside my country's money-the old kind, anyway, with the loons and woods, and, yes, the slow, low flight of a surprisingly massive osprey over the lake's slight chop."
Kingwell packs this book with humor, reflection and wisdom that is both practical and thought provoking. Even though the book has a constant thread, fishing, it is not about fishing so much as it is about life and peace of mind. In the beginning he is very much opposed to the idea of "Fishing" and names the second chapter "Fishing Is Stupid" but comes to the conclusion that this is not the case at all:
"I now found myself, against all odds, entirely happy, miles from my computer or the nearest library, untroubled by philosophical arguments I need to untangle or positions I need to defend. The state of mind peculiar to fishing, which I have called reflection, is neither precisely analytical nor entirely aimless; rather, it's a happy wandering that may outwardly resemble calm yet inwardly accommodates the most felicitous meanders, a quivering suspension in the delights of the moment. You are there but not there, concentrating but immobile, sharp-eyed but relaxed. Fishing is as close to prefect mental equilibrium as a mortal may wish to approach, it seems to me, since the asymptotic end point it sketches is probably indistinguishable from an out-of-body experience or, indeed, death. It is, says one devotee, a sport "capable of reducing the most inquiring mind to the happy indifference of a turnip." And how determinedly do we seek that vegetative state of contentment, this oddly welcome fever of peace, this therapeutic disease."
Near the end of the book he talks about his divorce and failed relationships, he writes:
"You cannot be happy alone, and you cannot be happy together. Mourning mourns the loss of a possible future, the not-yet that now will never be. Everything ends, including you. Love is not eternal, it is not even hardy. Accepting this takes a form and amount of courage that nobody but you will see, or appreciate. You can't change any of this; you have to live with it. Is that funny or sad? You know that it is both, and neither. Once again-and as always-that is the Point."
A book that is well worth the time. I am of course going to be reading more Kingwell in the future.
Monday, February 21
Taking a Course at Sheridan Creating Web pages
by
rick3528
on Mon 21 Feb 2005 10:29 PM EST
I Just finished a course in xhtml at Sheridan  taught by Dan Zen. It was a continuing Education class called "Creating Web Pages HTML and XHTML Authoring Introduction.
The course was great as I now have a basic understanding of tags, preferences, tables and the exposure to Dreamweaver  was fantastic.
The instructor Dan Zen is a professor in the Interactive Multimedia/Web Design area and his teaching style was very relaxed and (for lack of a better word) "fun"
The cost of the course was $400.00 and a Text book was included 'Web Publishing with HTML and XHTML' 
If your looking for HTML enlightenment, this is the ticket to ride.
Friday, February 18
Taoism - World Religions
by
rick3528
on Fri 18 Feb 2005 07:50 AM EST
I picked this book up after seeing the movie 'The Tao of Steve" . 
Thinking that their was more to the religion than the movie revealed. The book reads like a factual high school text book, not surprising since it was written by a teacher. It systematically covers the Taoism religion from Origins and history, beliefs, rituals, meditation and Taoism Today. Packed with lots of interesting facts it makes for a light read and only scratches the surface of the philosophy behind the religion. One of the interesting facts I picked up was Taoism was the birth mother of alchemy, as Taoists believed that a golden elixir of eternal life existed and early sects were devoted to the discovery of this 'life juice'. In the process many other chemical compounds were uncovered. i.e. gunpowder. Taoism is a religion that can be learned but can't be taught according to the Taoist masters.
Look, and it can't be seen. Listen and it can't be heard. Reach, and it can't be grasped... You can't know it, but you can be it, at ease in your own life.
and
The supreme good is like water, Which nourishes all things without trying to. It is content to take the low places that people disdain. Thus it is like the Tao.
In conclusion: The meditation disciplines and the philosophy of Taoism sound very interesting and may require further reading to gain a better understanding (knowing that it can not be taught may make this the best way to approach the subject) than this book provides. Yet for an overview of Taoism this book was worth the read.
Wednesday, February 16
Third Annual Fishing trip - Its Booked
by
rick3528
on Wed 16 Feb 2005 10:26 AM EST
Well it looks like were fishing on Pidgeon Lake this year at Maple Cove Housekeeping Cottages. I have tentatively booked a week as oppose to the long weekends of past years. We can check in anytime after 2pm on Saturday July the 2nd and have the cottages until Saturday July 9th. Bryan, thats July 2nd through 9th. It sounds a little more rustic than past retreats but it should be great. The owner sounds like a very nice lady, her name is Barb Andrews. There is a beach for the kids to play at and a dock and lots of other stuff to do nearby. Bass season will be open this year too. I have reserved 2 cottages, both are 2 bedroom deals with pull out couches. She has 3 cottages in all so we should just about have the run of the place for the week. Their is tons of parking, Dogs are cool so we can bring the woofers if we want and we can pitch tents as well if we want.Their is a fire pit (wood supplied) and BBQ's. We also have 2 boats with motors. The cost is $725/cottage/week, its more than previous years but we will be renting in the summer as oppose to spring and we will have 2 cottages as oppose to 1 for a week as oppose to a 3 day trip. If everyone is cool with that we are looking at $1450/4 or possibly 5 if Ford and spencer join us which would work out to about $365/person with 4 or $290/person with 5 for the week. or just over $52 bucks a day which sounds reasonable. Guests are welcome too so wives/others can join in if they wish, we have space to sleep 12 with out a problem. I will post more info as it becomes available. Later.
Monday, February 14
The Prince - Niccolo Machiavelli
by
rick3528
on Mon 14 Feb 2005 08:39 AM EST
I have always wanted to read this book because of its dark, evil reputation. Machiavellian -(Suggestive of or characterized by expediency, deceit, and cunning.) was a word I became familiar with long before I picked this book up. The Prince was a very short read broken down into many chapters. Some of it was tricky due to my lack of knowledge regarding the political landscape of his time but many of the ideas Machiavelli talks about translate well into the present. For instance:
'On Fortune's Role in Human Affairs and How She Can Be Dealt With'
"I conclude, therefore, that since fortune changes and men remain set in their ways, men will succeed when the two are in harmony and fail when they are not in accord. I am certainly convinced of this: that it is better to be impetuous than cautious, because fortune is a woman, and it is necessary, in order to keep her down, to beat her and to struggle with her.And it is seen that she more often allows herself to be taken over by men who are impetuous than by those who make cold advances; and then, being a woman, she is always the friend of young men, for they are less cautious, more aggressive, and they command her with more audacity." - He was definietly no Taoist.
and
"Without a doubt, princes become great when they overcome difficulties and obstacles that are imposed on them; and therefore fortune, especially when she wishes to increase the reputation of a new prince, who has a greater need to acquire prestige than a hereditary prince does, creates enemies for him and has them take action against him so that he will have the chance to overcome them and to climb higher up the ladder his enemies have brought him. Therefore many judge that a wise prince must, whenever he has the occasion, foster with cunning some hostility so that in stamping it out his greatness will increase as a result." - I wonder if this book is required reading by US Presidents?
If this book was written today I could see the title being "How to be a successful Prince for Dummies" or with a little editing "How to run Microsoft for Dummies"
In conclusion I think the 21st century - 500+ years have taken a lot of the edge off the 'deceit, and cunning' contained in Nick's work. I mean the Pope is probably still reeling from it but the rest of mankind has demonstrated over and over again that Machiavelli did not invent these ideas he just took the time to write them down. A quick fun read.
Friday, February 11
Medal of Honor
by
rick3528
on Fri 11 Feb 2005 07:46 AM EST
 My wife bought me this book on a recent business trip to SanDiego. It covers the history of the Medal of Honor from inception to present and looks at the lives, before and after, of recipients from the American Civil war up to Vietnam. Some of the notables are Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, Samuel Woodfill, Vernon Baker, Hiroshi "Hershey" Miyamura and Dwight Johnson. I found the book an easy read and the lives of the subject's fascinating. I also found the Political/Military involvement in the issuing of the award somewhat disturbing. In places the awards history is intertwined with Prejudice, political bureaucracy and a selection process that in some cases seems to lack the honor that went into achieving the award in the first place. I also felt ashamed for America and the fact that it seems to place such little concern for the well being of so many of their veterans after their service has ended. A case in point is the Death of Dwight Johnson who was shot and killed by a store clerk in a half hearted robbery attempt which was obviously undertaken by him as an act of desperation and depression.
'On May 26, an in-depth article written by Jon Nordheimer appeared in the Times. A reader responded to the article with a letter to the editor that offered poverty as a possible answer: "Sergent Johnson couldn't have bought a can of soup with his Medal of Honor at that grocery store."'
In conclusion this is a very interesting book that gives insight into what makes someone go above and beyond the call of duty at great personal risk and self sacrifice. It left me with the question "could I do the same if it were me?"
Thursday, February 10
Sideways
by
rick3528
on Thu 10 Feb 2005 10:14 PM EST
I remember seeing the trailers for this film last year. My wife and I wanted to go then but it was a very limited release, only one theater (downtown Toronto) Although it looked like a fun film we decided to take a pass and wait for the DVD. A couple of weeks ago we were thinking a night out for mom and dad would be a good idea and we went to take in a movie. This gave us a second chance to view the film. Getting to AMC 20 minutes early was almost not enough time to get a ticket as the film sold out and we had to sit in the 4th row.
As a wine lover to start with, I was pretty sure that I would enjoy the flick even if the masses panned it. I am also a big fan of Paul Giamatti (Miles) ever since I saw him as "Pig Vomit" in Howard Sterns "Private Parts" .
The movie was very entertaining, and had some great laughs in it. The character "Miles" is quite pathetic but as the film goes on you warm up to him. Thomas Hayden Church "Jack" probably best known as "Lowell Mather" from the T.V. series "Wings" was hilarious in his role as Miles buddy. Soon to be wed "Jack" wants to get as much Sex as he can in the pre wedding, week long romp through wine country with his best man "Miles"
The film has some great moments and one of my favorites is when "Miles and Maya" (Virginia Madsen) are discussing why they like wine. The two do a fantastic job on this exchange of dialogue and make you want to buy a bottle of pinot.
A great deal of the film is dedicated to character development and I found myself forgetting I was watching 'actors' on several occasions.
If your looking for a fun romantic comedy I think you will find just that in "Sideways". I will be adding it to my DVD collection when it is released. 9 out of 10
Wednesday, February 9
Fill er Up!
by
rick3528
on Wed 09 Feb 2005 10:07 PM EST
Last September I started working again. It lasted for 8 weeks (almost all of them bad)
Note to self: Never again work for people who don’t have a clue about what they are doing.
After re-evaluating my priorities during the month of December I came to some conclusions
- I detest commuting
- I can’t stand the thought of someone else spending more time with my kids than I get to everyday and having to pay them for it.
- Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
- Money though important can not purchase a happy journey
- Selling stuff for yourself is always better than selling stuff for other people.
- I love to read (thanks to those great Yahoo computer glasses)
- Working the 9 to 5 plus a 2 hour commute left almost no time for me or my family
With this newfound knowledge in hand I decided that the best course of action was:
To find a job close to home, that would allow me to be there for my kids during the day, where I could read lots, and take some courses at school which would help me grow my home business.
I now work nights at an Esso station. 6 blocks from home. Although not the most challenging job in the world. It does have a certain charm ( I work alone, get to read all night and almost never see my boss ) My commute is 5 minutes both ways. (4 if the lights are green) And I can still run my home business during the day. I have also been able to enroll in several courses at the local college. Adjusting my sleep patterns has been a bit of a challenge but as I get older I find that if I can get 5 hours a Night day I’m good to go. I have also been able to start taking Judo Classes with my kids and I now have a green belt.
Things are getting better with my wife and I am enjoying the journey more than ever. Even though I am working at night it is safe to say "The Small Office Home Office Stay Athome Dad" Lives!
Tuesday, February 8
Vroom
by
rick3528
on Tue 08 Feb 2005 08:47 PM EST
Today I picked up the  Official Motorcycle Handbook. I never new you could drive a car with your M licence. It looks like Harleys are out of my price range for now too.
The website said I could go to a Driver and Vehicle Licence Issuing Office to purchase a copy. After I stood in line for 30 minutes I was informed they did not carry them and sent me to a cigar store across the parking lot. And a very cool Cigar store indeed. Worth the wait.
Sunday, February 6
Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance
by
rick3528
on Sun 06 Feb 2005 10:55 AM EST
 I have been meaning to read this book for about 20 years, and now that I have, I’m glad I waited. A younger me wouldn't have made it past page 100. It was a very slow read with lots of philosophical concepts and cerebral thoughts. The book is comprised of 3 parts, a cross country motorcycle journey made by a father and son, a story about a man’s mental illness and an in-depth look at the philosophical meaning of the concept of ‘quality’. I enjoyed Pirsig’s account of the journey, the imagery he created and the romantic feel of the trip. It inspired me to want to buy a motorcycle and take my son on a tour across Canada. The ‘Phaedrus’ section of the book, about a man’s obsession with a concept and how it consumed him, resulting in him being institutionalized was difficult to stay focused on. Not to say it did not have its moments but I really felt I was inside the head of a madman on numerous occasions. I also found some aspects depressing, especially regarding his relationship with his son. The part regarding the meaning of quality and the philosophical meaning in its relation to life was very intellectual and lost me on more than one occasion. (I forgot to get my PhD in retoric) I did however enjoy the pieces I was able to grasp and found myself marking several passages in the book. Here are my favorites:
"This book has a lot to say about Ancient Greek perspectives and their meaning but there is one perspective it misses. That is their view of time. They saw the future as something that came upon them from behind their backs with the past receding away before their eyes.
When you think about it, that's a more accurate metaphor than our present one. Who really can face the future? All you can do is project from the past, even when the past shows that such projections are often wrong. And who really can forget the past? What else is there to know?
Ten years after the publication of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance the Ancient Greek perspective is certainly appropriate. What sort of future is coming up from behind I don't really know. But the past, spread out ahead, dominates everything in sight."
" You are never dedicated to something you have complete confidence in. No one is fanatically shouting that the sun is going to rise tomorrow. They know it’s going to rise tomorrow. When people are fanatically dedicated to political or religious faiths or any other kinds of dogmas or goals, it’s always because these dogmas or goals are in doubt."
"To travel is better than to arrive"
"Getting stuck is the commonest trouble of all. Usually, I say, your mind gets stuck when you’re trying to do too many things at once. What you have to do is try not to force words to come. That just gets you more stuck. What you have to do now is separate out the things and do them one at a time. You’re trying to think of what to say and what to say first at the same time and that’s too hard. So separate them out. Just make a list of all the things you want to say in any old order. Then later figure out the right order."
" You’ve got to live right too. It’s the way you live that predisposes you to avoid the traps and see the right facts. You want to know how to paint a perfect painting? It’s easy. Make yourself perfect and then just paint naturally. That’s the way all the experts do it. The making of a painting or the fixing of a motorcycle isn’t separate from the rest of your existence. If you’re a sloppy thinker for six days of the week you aren’t working on your machine, what trap avoidance’s, what gimmicks, can make you all of a sudden sharp on the seventh? It all goes together.
But if you’re a sloppy thinker six days a week and you really try to be sharp on the seventh, then maybe the next six days aren’t going to be quite as sloppy as the preceding six. What I’m trying to come u0 with on these gumption traps, I guess, is shortcuts to living right.
The real cycle you’re working on is a cycle called yourself. The machine that appears to be "out there" and the person that appears to be "in here" are not two separate things. They grow toward Quality or fall away from quality together."
In closing, I found myself wondering a lot about his personal life and the events preceding his trip. I would have liked to see more details about his current circumstances included. Not that it has much bearing on the overall message of the book but it would have rounded out the character better. I also think that his views on education were very fascinating. I wish some of my teachers would have applied the concepts he speaks about during the course of my education.
Wednesday, January 26
Third Annual Fishing trip
by
rick3528
on Wed 26 Jan 2005 11:28 AM EST
Well January is coming to a close and a destination has not been decided upon. It's beginning to look like its up to me again. I looked around a bit and came up with these suggestions.
ADDRESS : Sandy Shores Cottage
Parson's Road, Eagle Lake (Haliburton), Ontario
3-hour drive from Toronto PLEASE CONTACT : Contact the property owner via email at
sandyshores@sympatico.ca WATER FRONTAGE : Yes (Eagle Lake) - BEACH TYPE : Pure Sand BEDROOMS : 4 - SLEEPS : 8 Available For Rent Year Round
$1500/wk in Summer
$800/wk in Fall / Winter / Spring
Have a look and let me know what you like. Otherewise you will be at my mercy once again...
Tuesday, January 25
Nicotine Patches Whats up with this?
by
rick3528
on Tue 25 Jan 2005 10:46 AM EST
I have been trying to quit smoking for the past 18 months. A friend of mine once said, "Be a nonsmoker that smokes occasionally." I have had some success in my ongoing battle against the evil weed, and am beginning to think of myself as an expert on "how to quit smoking for a week or more and then start again." I guess if I added the time I stopped and compared it to the time I smoked (over the last 18 months of course) I would be sitting at about 50/50.
My longest stint was back when I started my weblog (about 14 weeks) and my shortest is 1 day (multiple times) I am currently on my second week of my most recent attempt (I fell off the wagon at my Friday Night Poker game and had 1 on Saturday)
Through experience I have found that the cold turkey method leaves me on the edge of social disaster and by day 2, I am incredibly irritable and almost anything makes me go ballistic. To combat this I have found the "Transdermal Nicotine Patch"
works incredibly well, it "takes the edge off". I always use the 14mg patch and discontinue use after I have 4 or 5 days under my belt. It seems to be a good idea to have a supply on hand so I can get back on track if/when I slip.
This leads me to the topic of my post. I just finished an exhaustive search online looking for the cost of manufacturing a patch with no luck. The best price I could find was $17.99 for a box of 7. On the high end $29.99 for a box of 7. I wanted to know the cost to see how much of the price is Tax. The cost of a pack of smokes is heavily taxed, are patches? While surfing, I came across a lot of people complaining about the cost of a box of patches. The rebuttal to this argument was that they are less expensive that a pack of smokes. This may be true if you divide the cost of a box of patches by the number in the box and compare it to a pack of smokes but…. A pack of smokes costs about 7 bucks. A box of patches cost about 20 bucks. This is not the same. Also you can buy smokes almost anywhere. Patches are only available in drugstores and places like Walmart. Another question that came to mind "Why can't you buy 1 patch?" If I could go to the corner store and have a choice between a pack of smokes for $7 or a Patch for $5, I just might buy the patch! Another thing that really pisses me off about the patch is the amount of crap inside every box. First off it’s a huge waist of packaging, also every box has a 26 page "support guide" included. I mean how many of these things do I need? Why are they in the step 3 boxes? You are suppose to be in the FINAL phase of quitting and know the stuff in the book by now. Could they not lower the cost of the product and omit the stupid book? This leads me to the "Important Safety Information" What a bunch of bureaucratic bullshit this is. Anyone who buys these things is a smoker, period. There is no recreational drug benefit from patches. People do not go and buy them to party with. Let’s examine some of the content of this Safety Information.
Keep new or used patches out of the reach of children and pets. - Common sense? How often does your dog eat your smokes? Whats more interesting to a kid - smokes and a pack of matches or a box?
Never wear more than one patch at a time? Duh. Are smokers that stupid?
Do you have any other medical conditions?
- a recent heart attack – probably caused by smokes
- Heart disease – caused by smoking
- Recent stroke – smoking cause this
- Skin diseases – or lung cancer pick one?
- Known allergy to the patches or to nicotine – allergy to nicotine. This is so stupid I want to scream.
- If you are pregnant or breast-feeding – better to…..smoke????
- Do not use transdermal nicotine patches if you are under 18 years of age. – you mean you can’t use the patch to quit if you’re under 18????
PEOPLE WHO BUY THIS PRODUCT SMOKE AND ARE TRYING TO QUIT!
In conclusion: I think the Feds need to give their head a shake. To require this much info in a box of patches and not in a pack of cigarettes??? Smokes should come in a huge box with a booklet and a huge warning pamphlet. Why not only sell them in selected places and make it impossible to buy anything less than a carton. Maybe its time they should spend more money on subsidizing the cost of patches and less on those stupid 1-800 help lines. (Does anyone really call them?)
My rant is done, time for another patch. 
Wednesday, January 19
A large double double please
by
rick3528
on Wed 19 Jan 2005 10:23 AM EST
My constant battle with my weight re-kindles itself with a vengeance periodically. The triggers are predictable things like, pants that barley fit but use to fit, the scale, a good look in the mirror after a shower and photographs, Last weekend I got a quadruple whammy. On Monday I found myself full of the drive to change, that seems to rear its head three or four times a year. In regards to my overall health, when I’m good I’m great but when I’m bad I’m atrocious and that may be an understatement.
In the past I have exercised like a maniac for long enough of a stretch, on a regular basis, to warrant some kind of result. And I suppose there was a result, I lost about an inch off of my waist and I did feel better but the effort expended for the result achieved was a big disappointment. I was convinced that the more I exercised, the more I could eat and still loose unwanted weight. I exercised so much that I was always hounded by a ravenous hunger and believe me it was unrelenting. I was somewhat conscious about what I ate but never how much. Recently, I began to think about the little things I consumed in a day like coffee. I share a passion with a lot of my fellow Canadians, I love a large double, double in the morning and often find myself back for another later in the day. In fact I love coffee. When I was working for a past employer I would go the whole day without eating but consume 6 to 10 cups of coffee while in the office, all of them double, double or even triple, triple. I was oblivious as to the calories this represented in my diet. I mean it’s just coffee, right? Today I dug a bit deeper and found this out:
Sugar - In one level teaspoon, 16 calories and 4 grams of carbohydrate. One rounded is 1 1/2 tsp and 24 calories with 6 grams of carbohydrate. Depends on how you measure one teaspoon i.e. measuring spoon or silverware spoon
One tablespoon of half-and-half cream has 20 calories.
Using the information above and assuming that a double, double coffee contains 2 rounded teaspoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons of half-and-half cream, I consume about 90 calories with every cup of Joe I scarf down. I have watched them make my coffee at Tim’s and I know that the above figures are conservative. It’s probably a safe bet to say 100 calories per cup. At 2 cups per day that would total 1400 calories per week on coffee alone. Geesh, who would have guessed, and to think that coffee was never on my radar when I was "watching" what I was eating.
So next time your getting your Tim’s in the morning, remember that the coffee your drinking may be doing more that just helping you wake up.
Friday, January 14
Red, Red Wine
by
rick3528
on Fri 14 Jan 2005 08:02 AM EST
Someone finally asked me why I haven't posted lately. It's because I just didin't know what to say.
The end of 04 was not good. 2004 for the most part, sucked. 05 seems to be picking up right where 04 left off.
Last night my kids crept downstairs well after bed time. I think they were a bit unsettled because my wife and I have not been getting along so good as of late and had just wrapped up a good 10 rounds of " Yea, well you suck more than I do."
I wanted to show them that mom and dad could be nice to each other and that it was not always like this so I popped in our wedding tape. It was fun to see how many friends we once had, all the old faces from the past. Made me wonder what happend to everyone. Everyone looked so young and happy, but that was then and this is now.
Red, red wine
Go to my head
Make me forget that i
Still need her so
Red, red wine
It`s up to you
All i can do, i`ve done
But mem`ries won`t go
No, mem`ries won`t go
I`d have thought
That with time
Thoughts of her
Would leave my head
I was wrong
And i find
Just one thing makes me forget
Red, red wine
Stay close to me
Don`t let me be alone
It`s tearin` apart
My blue, blue heart......
Monday, December 27
Turkey Soup
by
rick3528
on Mon 27 Dec 2004 07:12 PM EST
Now that I have 16 cups of Turkey Stock, what do I do with it? Think, think, think, brain blast....turkey soup :) Should be ready by 7:30, will post the tasting results when done
| Turkey Wild Rice Soup |
 |
| Enjoy this soup for its heartiness, for its many textures and its herby, oniony broth, for the nutty taste of the wild rice...you get the picture. It's obviously a good way to use leftover holiday bird, but substitute chicken and it becomes that much more flexible. |
|
| Estimated Times: |
| Preparation Time: |
30 mins |
| Cook Time: |
45 mins |
|
| Servings: |
12 |
| |
| Ingredients |
|
|
| 1/4 cup butter or margarine |
| 4 stalks celery trimmed and chopped |
| 2 carrots peeled and diced |
| 1 onion peeled and sliced |
| 1 red onion peeled and sliced |
| 1/2 cup chopped green onion |
| 1/2 cup slivered almonds |
| 2 teaspoons ground black pepper |
| 2 teaspoons garlic salt |
| 2 whole bay leaves |
| 1 teaspoon crushed dried dill weed |
| 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric |
| 4 (16 cups) quarts chicken broth |
| 1 1/2 cups wild rice mix |
| 1/2 cup rice |
| 1/2 teaspoon salt |
| 4 egg yolks beaten |
| 4 cups diced cooked turkey |
| 3 cups sliced cleaned mushrooms | |
|
| Directions |
|
|
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add celery and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add carrots, onion, red onion, green onions and almonds; sauté until onions are fragrant and translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in pepper, garlic salt, bay leaves, dill weed and turmeric. Heat thoroughly; set aside.
In a large stockpot, bring chicken broth to a boil; adding wild rice mix, white rice and salt. Reduce heat, add onion mixture, cover and simmer 30 minutes.
Stir 1 cup of the hot soup into egg yolks; return to the soup. Add turkey and mushrooms. Heat thoroughly, but do not boil.
Discard bay leaves before serving. |
Turkey Stock
by
rick3528
on Mon 27 Dec 2004 10:28 AM EST
|
After taking the meat off the bone I am left with about 6 pounds of Turkey Carcus. What to do, What to do.......
|
|
|
|
3 pounds turkey parts.
|
| Turkey neck and giblets (liver reserved, if desired) |
| 2 tablespoons vegetable oil |
| 1 medium onion, chopped |
| 1 medium carrot, chopped |
| 1 medium celery rib with leaves, chopped |
| 6 parsley sprigs |
| 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme |
| 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns |
| 1 bay leaf |
 |
| Using a heavy cleaver, chop the wings and neck into 2-inch pieces. (Or ask the butcher to do this for you.) Using a sharp knife, trim away any membranes from the giblets.
|
| In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. In batches, add the turkey wings, neck, and giblets and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add the onion, carrot, and celery to the pot and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 6 minutes.
|
| Return the turkey to the pot. Add enough cold water to cover the turkey by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, skimming off the foam that rises to the surface. Add the parsley, thyme, peppercorns, and bay leaf. Reduce the heat to low.
|
| Cook uncovered at a bare simmer for at least 2 hours. The longer a stock simmers, the better, up to 12 hours. As needed, add more water to the pot to keep the bones covered. Never let stock come to a rolling boil, or it will become cloudy and have a less refined flavor. A great alternative to the stove is to make the stock in a 5 1/2-quart slow cooker. Transfer the browned turkey and vegetable mixture to the cooker, add the herbs, and pour in enough cold water to cover generously. Cook on Low, and the stock will barely simmer all night long, to make a clear delicious stock.
|
| Do not add salt to your stock. The stock is often used in recipes where it must be reduced, and the final dish could end up too salty. To check the stock's flavor, ladle some into a cup and season lightly with salt before tasting. Without the salt, it may taste deceptively weak.
|
| Strain the stock through a colander into a large bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes, then skim off the clear yellow fat that rises to the surface. If desired, remove the giblets, cool, finely chop, and refrigerate for use in gravy. The neck meat can be removed in strips, chopped, and reserved as well. Cool the stock completely before refrigerating or freezing. (Turkey stock can be prepared up to 3 days ahead, cooled, covered, and refrigerated. It can also be frozen in airtight containers for up to 3 months.)
|
| Reprinted by permission of Broadway Books. All rights reserved. | |
Friday, December 24
A Christmas Wish
by
rick3528
on Fri 24 Dec 2004 09:07 AM EST
Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man. Benjamin Franklin
Merry Christmas and a Happy New year.
P.S.
Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
Benjamin Franklin
P.S.S.
How many observe Christ's birthday! How few, his precepts! O! 'tis easier to keep holidays than commandments.
Benjamin Franklin
Thursday, December 16
My Meeting with Balwant
by
rick3528
on Thu 16 Dec 2004 02:27 PM EST
I am sitting with Balwant from Desiconnection.ca and we are talking about blogs.
Sunday, December 12
The 3rd Annual Family Fishing Trip
by
rick3528
on Sun 12 Dec 2004 10:06 AM EST
Yes, as 2004 comes to a close its time to start thinking about the inevitable 3rd annual family fishing trip. Since I've picked the destination the last 2 years (Buckhorn Lake & Percy Boom Haven just in case you forgot) I thought I would leave the option of where to fish this year open to suggestions. Also since my picks have produced a total of 3 notable fish
    This perch is not a notable but an honourable mention due to effort.
from over 25 000 casts, 200 various lures, 7 different anglers, 100 miles of lake and river and 5 pounds of worms. So Scott, Bryan, Roger (if you ever read this) Ford, Brandon, or who ever wants to come fishing this year :) please feel free to use the old weblog to input some ideas etc. There is a link on the side bar of my weblog called cottage links which has a ton of reasonably priced accommodations on various lakes in Ontario. But feel free to use any resources you want. I look forward to seeing some input.
Saturday, December 11
Words of Wisdom
by
rick3528
on Sat 11 Dec 2004 09:10 AM EST
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.~Abraham Lincoln ~
Wednesday, December 1
Gourmet Food and Wine Expo 2004
by
rick3528
on Wed 01 Dec 2004 11:06 AM EST
The Toronto Food and Wine Expo is over. This year my wife and I were joined by another couple which gave us the opportunity to sample a lot more wine as we shared the taste of the grape many times with each other. Each wine sample has a ticket price (tasting tickets are .50 cents and the cost of a sample ranges from 2 tickets up to 25 tickets for some of the premium vintages) and by the end of the evening my friend Ford would describe the wine sample by the # of tickets the sample cost.
me: "what's this one called"
Ford: "9 tickets"
Because this was my second time at the show I was able to avoid a lot of the faux pas that I had made the previous year. Like parking at the back of the convention center as oppose to the front as to avoid the 10 mile walk to the exhibit. Getting their early before the masses came which made it easier to sample more stuff. I was able to try a cheese flight from the "Cheese Boutique" which was very cool as the cheese guy selects your samples based on the wine your going to drink with it. Not cheesy at all :) I also got to speak with Derek Barnett again.
I met Derek at the Wigamog Inn during our summer vacation. The Inn had a food and wine pairing and Lailey Vineyard's (Derek is the wine maker for Lailey) supplied the wine. This was very cool as he remembered me. I asked him if he had any of the award winning Cab Franc 2001 left but unfortunately it was sold out. He did however have a private stash that was not on the menu and he was gracious enough to give me a sample (very nice) I will be making a point to visit Lailey next year.
Their was also an exhibitor (a builder) who was looking for an Innkeeper for the refurbished Keefer Mansion in Niagara. Now there is a lifestyle change if your looking for one. No Vineyard though. Only 7 G's a month lease and your inn.
You can count on change.
by
rick3528
on Wed 01 Dec 2004 10:26 AM EST
Well November has come to a close and I can honestly say it was a month of change. First off I lost my job so I am back in my home office. I was actually thinking how the name of my weblog was inappropriate because I was doing the 9 to 5 thing again. I guess I don't have to worry about that. The job sucked anyway and other than the barely adequate compensation, and the opportunity to work with a good guy I wont miss it one bit. I also had a fight argument heated discussion disagreement misunderstanding with a good friend of mine that has apparently put a strain on our relationship. It would seem a weblog is not a good place to have debates about controversial topics. I'm sure that the same conversation over a beer would have had a dramatically different outcome. Sorry dude. Live and learn. I My wife and I also celebrated my our 14th wedding anniversary. It was a great reason to get out of the house and spend some time together without the kids. We got married on Nov 24th, 1990 in Jamaica in the rain. During the same year 2 other couples got married (both couples are friends and we have kept in touch) and last week I found out that 1 of the couples recently got separated and the other seems to be headed quickly in the same direction. I think out of the 3 marriages, any 3rd party observer would have pegged my wife and I for first to self destruct but fortunately we still love each other enough to keep on working at it. I also said goodbye to an old friend who is moving to Mexico for good. In some ways I envy his ability to just pick up and move like that. What an adventure he is about to have. But I'm not sure I know I don't possess the courage to leave everything and everyone I know and love behind. I think I would be lonly but I think he will not be, as he is a very friendly guy who can wander in and out of lives like the seasons wander in and out of the year. Good luck Donny.
"If you're in a bad situation, don't worry it'll change. If you're in a good situation, don't worry it'll change." ~John A. Simone, Sr.
'Blog' No. 1 word of the year
by
rick3528
on Wed 01 Dec 2004 09:19 AM EST
I just read an article on the CNN web site. It seems that blog was the #1 word of the year. It made me think back to my very first blog post.
Its kinda funny looking back now. Blog on people.
My first time.
by rick3528 at 11:42AM (EDT) on October 17, 2003 | Permanent Link | Cosmos
This is my first post to my blog site (hence there is no other posts yet)
I am reading through the enduser help files for my friend Ross to see if they make sense and looking for mistakes/suggestions for improvement.
I found this old email about BLOG and thought it was a great reflection on how fast things change in this industry.
I now know first hand what blog is... :)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rick MacCormack"
To: "Ross Wm. Rader"
Sent: Sunday, February 02, 2003 1:22 PM
Subject: Re: [TLDA-Members] Fwd: BulkRegister partners with New.Net
Hi Ross
this is off topic but more fun than the ICANN conversation going on.
I wanted to point this out even though I'm sure you already know.
------excerpt--------
" I've also observed that the professor that complains loudest about this
dynamic has spent more money on his blog than he has on studying and
documenting this problem." ---------------------
I've always been impressed by your writing skills Ross but "BLOG" IS NOT A
WORD!
why are you trying to make it one? and what does it mean?
If it is an acronym for something I do not recognize it.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=blog
No entry found for blog.
9 suggestions found:
log
bog
clog
flog
slog
blob
bloc
blot
blow
For better results, try our search tips.
:)
Later
Rick
Thursday, November 18
American Censorship?
by
rick3528
on Thu 18 Nov 2004 08:57 PM EST
Just found this blog called
Just another Soldier - A journal of a National Guardsman's deployment to Iraq.
I thought Wow. Neat. I can read about Iraq through a soldiers eyes. so I start reading and this is what I get
"Tuesday, February 03, 2004
Dear readers:
This blog is now offline. I have been informed that I have violated operational security and additionally that I am smearing my unit and the Army. I, of course, strenuously disagree.
I am taking the blog offline at the request of my Company Commander. I do so under protest and I do it as a favor to my Platoon Sergeant and First Sergeant...."
After reading this I was more curious than ever and it would seem that this G.I. would like people to hear his thoughts...So I thought It was time for that wacky way back machine to make an appearence  This one is for you Jason.
Gotta love a lawyer
by
rick3528
on Thu 18 Nov 2004 03:01 PM EST
I have omitted the lawyers name . I suppose I shouldn't share this .....but this is this too silly to pass up.  Subject: test Body: Testing This message is intended for the addressees only. It may contain confidential or privileged information. No rights to privilege have been waived. Any copying, retransmittal, taking of action in reliance on, or other use of the information in this communication by persons other than the addressees is prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please reply to the sender by e-mail and delete or destroy all copies of this message.
BlogJet
by
rick3528
on Thu 18 Nov 2004 02:17 PM EST
Great application to post on blogware. It has a built in spell checker.
Tuesday, November 16
Tuesday Night Meetings
by
rick3528
on Tue 16 Nov 2004 09:38 PM EST
 I have met with friends on Tuesdaynight many times
Monday, November 15
Shifting into Wine mode
by
rick3528
on Mon 15 Nov 2004 01:15 PM EST
My wife and I are having our second annual wine tasting party at our house in December. Last year's party was a great time and very educational, not only from a wine tasting experience but also from a planning perspective. (only sample 1 kind of wine or your guests will be too impaired to care about the other one) Our testing wine this year is Cabernet Franc, not the most popular grape variety but a very old one with lots of global coverage. Last year we had invited about 10 couples but because it was so close to Christmas less than 1/2 were able to attend. This year I fired out/am in the process of sending out 12 invites and it looks like we will set a new attendance record!!
On another related note The Gourmet Food and Wine Expo 2004 at the metro convention centre is only 2 weeks away. I just went to the website and you can now buy your tickets and more importantly you can print off your $3 off coupon. It runs from Nov 25 through to the 28th and if you like food and wine you will really enjoy this show. We are planning on attending Saturday Night so let me know if you going and I might stagger into you. If you want to get a better idea of what to expect at the show check out my post from last years show.
Thursday, November 11
Anti theft system
by
rick3528
on Thu 11 Nov 2004 03:41 PM EST
check out the high tech anti theft system. Very cool
 1 Attachments
Webmaster equals Blogmaster
by
rick3528
on Thu 11 Nov 2004 01:14 PM EST
 If someone would have told me 2 years ago that I would be a webmaster for 3 separate web sites, I would have laughed my ass off and replied “I don’t know html worth spit and I don’t ever want to know html, it gives me a headache!”
Well Here I am today looking after 3 websites. 1 & 2 & 3
The funny thing is I still don’t know html worth spit yet I publish what I want, when ever I want, from where ever I want. I have had over 13,000 visitors to the 3 sites and have served over 20,000 web pages to those visitors. I have published from my home, from my work, from my friends house, from my phone, and even on my vacation from Mexico.
I think the title webmaster will one day be changed to blogmaster.
Conclusion: blogware rules! Hats off to the boys at TUCOWS, keep up the great work!
Tuesday, November 9
Spinal cord removal tool with adjustable blade?
by
rick3528
on Tue 09 Nov 2004 12:38 PM EST
Under the category what will they think of next?
Ooo. Oww. Ouch. The words "spinal cord grinders" make me cringe.
With each week I spend updating Patently Silly I come one step closer to being either a vegetarian or a horror film director. |
~Patentlysilly.com
Corporate Blogging Policies
by
rick3528
on Tue 09 Nov 2004 11:12 AM EST
An interesting quote from Joi Ito's blog
"Blogs make it much easier to "post your picture on the Internet" and easier for people to find them. Therefore, I don't think it's silly to talk about blogging. More importantly, it's a good wake-up call for companies to be clear about blogging policy since more and more people are doing it.
Accusation - She broke a company rule. What's wrong with her being reprimanded for it?
The BBC Article.
Her weblog.
The picture 
Response - Companies have lots of rules that are broken every day. Companies need to think of what is in the best interest of the company and for their stakeholders. If a company does something that looks unfair or produces bad publicity, it's stupid whether it's a rule or not. It reminds me a bit about people who talk about "breaking copyright law". It's not like a speeding ticket. You don't "break copyright law". People use copyright law to go after people who are hurting their business. I think Delta should think about whether going after people who post pictures of themselves in uniform hurts their business or not and whether shutting these people down hurts them more."
It's interesting to think that companies need a blog policy when so many companies don't even know what a web log is yet. But that day is fast approaching.
IQ and Politics
by
rick3528
on Tue 09 Nov 2004 10:38 AM EST
I was doing my morning read and came across this. It would appear that IQ plays a very important part in US politics. Maybe the Democrats need a 4 year plan to educate the American public to get elected in 2008.
excerpt:
| |
State |
Avg. IQ |
2004 |
| 1 |
Connecticut |
113 |
Kerry |
| 2 |
Massachusetts |
111 |
Kerry |
| 3 |
New Jersey |
111 |
Kerry |
| 4 |
New York |
109 |
Kerry |
| 5 |
Rhode Island |
107 |
Kerry |
| 6 |
Hawaii |
106 |
Kerry |
| 7 |
Maryland |
105 |
Kerry |
| 8 |
New Hampshire |
105 |
Kerry |
| 9 |
Illinois |
104 |
Kerry |
| 10 |
Delaware |
103 |
Kerry |
| 11 |
Minnesota |
102 |
Kerry |
| 12 |
Vermont |
102 |
Kerry |
| 13 |
Washington |
102 |
Kerry |
| 14 |
California |
101 |
Kerry |
| 15 |
Pennsylvania |
101 |
Kerry |
| 16 |
Maine |
100 |
Kerry |
| 17 |
Virginia |
100 |
Bush |
| 18 |
Wisconsin |
100 |
Kerry |
| 19 |
Colorado |
99 |
Bush |
| 20 |
Iowa |
99 |
Bush |
| 21 |
Michigan |
99 |
Kerry |
| 22 |
Nevada |
99 |
Bush |
| 23 |
Ohio |
99 |
Bush |
| 24 |
Oregon |
99 |
Kerry |
| 25 |
Alaska |
98 |
Bush |
| 26 |
Florida |
98 |
Bush |
| 27 |
Missouri |
98 |
Bush |
| 28 |
Kansas |
96 |
Bush |
| 29 |
Nebraska |
95 |
Bush |
| 30 |
Arizona |
94 |
Bush |
| 31 |
Indiana |
94 |
Bush |
| 32 |
Tennessee |
94 |
Bush |
| 33 |
North Carolina |
93 |
Bush |
| 34 |
West Virginia |
93 |
Bush |
| 35 |
Arkansas |
92 |
Bush |
| 36 |
Georgia |
92 |
Bush |
| 37 |
Kentucky |
92 |
Bush |
| 38 |
New Mexico |
92 |
Bush |
| 39 |
North Dakota |
92 |
Bush |
| 40 |
Texas |
92 |
Bush |
| 41 |
Alabama |
90 |
Bush |
| 42 |
Louisiana |
90 |
Bush |
| 43 |
Montana |
90 |
Bush |
| 44 |
Oklahoma |
90 |
Bush |
| 45 |
South Dakota |
90 |
Bush |
| 46 |
South Carolina |
89 |
Bush |
| 47 |
Wyoming |
89 |
Bush |
| 48 |
Idaho |
87 |
Bush |
| 49 |
Utah |
87 |
Bush |
| 50 |
Mississippi |
85 |
Bush |
As a regular reader of the "Economist" I can confirm that this table (for the 2000 election) was indeed published in the 'Economist". However, a few issues later on, the 'Economist' published a retraction, saying the data was unable to be verified and possibly a hoax."
"i was bored last night, so curiosity got the best of me and i decided to see if there was a correlation between %bush voters and %college grads by state (nerd!). so i found out each state's %Bachelor's degrees from the census and ran it--indeed there was a negative linear relationship between %bush voters and %college grads (R = -0.71)-- which means, the less % of college grads, the more % bush voters. DC had the highest % of college grads (42.5%) and the lowest % of bush voters (9%); West Virginia had the lowest % grads (16.1%) and a relatively high % (56%) bush voters...... Interestingly the last 14 ranking states in grads (<22%) were all bush winners (many 55-60+% voted for bush), and 11 of the top 14 ranking states in grads (>30%) were kerry winners."
Here is a conservative site that appears to debunk the original 2000 election IQ chart thing, and has a lot of relevent information.
Monday, November 8
The Wayback Machine
by
rick3528
on Mon 08 Nov 2004 02:54 PM EST
Wanna know what a website use to look like.
Check out the first attempt at google.com
or how about the first OpenSRS web site. Nice job Ross!
This site is too cool 
Make Remembrance Day a holiday
by
rick3528
on Mon 08 Nov 2004 02:42 PM EST
This is a great idea.
A Toronto Liberal MP is calling on his fellow MPs to make Remembrance Day a national holiday. Dan McTeague, the MP for Pickering-Scarborough East, said entrenching Nov. 11 as a national holiday is a "no-brainer" because Canada needs a "firm and concrete testament" to the country's veterans and war dead.
"I think it's an excellent idea, an idea whose time has come," McTeague said. "And I would invite any backbench member of Parliament on the opposition or the government side to move a motion that November 11 be considered a national holiday."
Not even sure why it's not already a holiday. We have a holiday for the Queen and for the country, but not for the men & women who gave everything for queen and country. Sadly, so many of our Veterans will never get to enjoy the day off.
To gain that which is worth having, it may be necessary to lose everything else.
~ Bernadette Devlin ~
Making Google Work
by
rick3528
on Mon 08 Nov 2004 02:16 PM EST
A great article about making google happy.
excerpt
Google is god. Don't piss her off.
Lots of people were upset that I used such a "trivial" example for the Daily Sucker. The majority of the comments posted to the site (and the e-mail I received) said, "Who gives a sh*t about the Lynx browser? Nobody uses it." Other people said "Making your site look good in Lynx is like accessibility. I'm not selling to the blind so why should I go to the trouble of making my site accessible?"
Why? Because the most powerful Internet force known to God and man visits your web pages like blind people and folks who use Lynx -- Google.
Google is blind and reads your sites linearly -- as the code is sent to the browser -- and then tries to interpret what it "sees" (I like to use the analogy that it reads your site like blind people read using Braille).
Click here for full article
~Vince Flanders, Webpages That Suck
Friday, November 5
Hate Spam? Check this out.
by
rick3528
on Fri 05 Nov 2004 04:30 PM EST
November 05, 2004
The People 1, Spammers 0...maybe
A brother and sister team were [convicted] of spamming millions of AOL customers and bilking them of $24M. Jurors returned three counts each of sending e-mails with fraudulent and untraceable routing information. In these times of supposed equal opportunities, Jeremy Jaynes was pre-sentenced to nine years prison and his sister, Jessica DeGroot, to a $7500 fine. Final sentencing in February is decided by the Virginia Circuit Judge, Thomas Horne.
Prior to deliberation, the judge [stated] he would have a hard time sending the woman's case to jury. The defense argued she was out of town during the adjudged period. Regardless of Virginia supposedly having the toughest anti-spam laws, I'm afraid the court may have overlooked the prosecuter's point of her traveling with a laptop. And considering the large checks her brother deposited into her bank account, did anyone suspect a sharing of her email account, username and password?
Standard-setting and effectiveness of the anti-spam law lie with Judge Horne. He sets the bar (pun intended). He can reduce, but not increase the juror's penalties. You can send your opinions to the court:
Hon. Thomas D. Horne
Loudoun Circuit Court of Virginia
PO Box 550
18 E. Market St.
Leesburg, VA 20178
fax: (703) 777-0676
Don't fall for this.
by
rick3528
on Fri 05 Nov 2004 03:26 PM EST
Domain name humour
by
rick3528
on Fri 05 Nov 2004 02:09 PM EST
I register domain names through my reseller account. I was looking at my renewals and I noticed the theawarenessgroup.com was unaware that their domain name is about to expire.
They also are unaware of Journalmine.com and the power of blogware.
good, fast, cheap pick 3
There'll never be another Microsoft
by
rick3528
on Fri 05 Nov 2004 10:32 AM EST
A friend sent me an email article about Open Source. Below is a snippet.
Mark Shuttleworth (the South African space tourist/Internet billionnaire and renowned entrepreneur) and his current campaign to promote open source software.
The part that really hit home with me is copied below:
Mark: "In an Internet-enabled world what's happening is that people with a really bright idea, and the skills to produce an application and give it away… what happens then is that if the application hits a sweet spot, it starts to get used by lots of people; a whole brand begins to get developed around it and that application becomes a community, and that community becomes a business. I don't think there'll ever be another Microsoft. I think those days are over "
The Greatest Canadian - Terry Fox
by
rick3528
on Fri 05 Nov 2004 01:46 AM EST
When I heard the first radio spot promoting the series "The Greatest Canadian" on CBC it got me to thinking about the question. Who is the Greatest Canadian.? At the time the CBC was screwing around Don Cherry and it sounded like he would not be back on Hockey Night in Canada in the fall. This turned out to be true but not for the reasons one would have expected. I remember thinking at the time how much of a Canadian Icon Don has come to be over the years, and how I would have chosen him when I got a chance to vote.
When the show finally aired, the top 200 Canadian’s voted in by the average Jonny Canuck, was counted down on the tube. I happened to stop on the CBC during a channel surf. I started watching at number 33 ‘Gordon Lightfoot’ mostly out of curiosity and because I like some of his tunes like ‘Black Day In July’ and ‘If I could read your mind love’ or was it called ‘get it back’? Next came Michael J. Fox, Pierre Berton, Rick Handsen, Jim Carrey, General Sir Isaac Brock and commercial. A strange thing started to happen at this point, I started to feel a pin prick of National Pride, not a in your face were the best type of pride but a quiet subtle kinda pride. Like a sense of belonging to a really cool club or looking at a job well done. Commercial over and the list continued, Celine Dion @ #27, Dr. Norman Bethune, Nellie McClung, General Sir Arthur Currie and the ‘Rocket’ Maurice Richard. I remember thinking after each name was announced ‘that one should have been higher on the list’. Harold Rogers, the founder of the Kinsmen Club came in at # 22. I remembered riding in a bike-a-thon when I was 9 to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis sponsored by the Kinsmen Club. I had never heard of Harold until now and he was a Canadian! Unknown Soldier, Mike Myers, Bobby Orr, Shania Twain, and Stephen Lewis at #17 now theirs a selfless guy I thought again he should be higher on the list. At this point that pin prick of national pride was morphing into something more. A sense of identity and belonging was beginning to take shape. I wanted to go out on my front porch and yell ‘I am Canadian’ like on the Molson’s beer commercial. But like a true Canadian, I resisted the urge to wave my flag. The list continued, General Romeo Dallaire, shouldn’t he be higher than #16? Peter Gzowski, Neil Young, Stompin’ Tom Connors, Jean Vanier, and Louis Riel at #11. Commercial, WOW I was dumb founded, so many great people cut from the fabric of this country and the top 10 were still to come. For the next 10 weeks each of the top 10 are presented in a 1 hour segment. I have watched 5 of them and tonight I had to cast my vote. I just watched the episode on Terry Fox, a 1 legged 23 year old selfless man who ran 5,376km for others. To date his efforts have raised over 350 million dollars for cancer research! The Terry Fox Run is held in 60 countries around the world every year.
There are a lot of other great names on this list but I don’t think any of them better represents the selfless, quiet, modest, gritty, determination that Terry Fox possessed. My Vote for the greatest Canadian hands down. Cast your vote here.
"I just wish people would realize that anything’s possible if you try. Dreams are made if people try"
~Terry Fox
Thursday, November 4
Why Weblogs work so good at site promotion
by
rick3528
on Thu 04 Nov 2004 12:53 PM EST
I have had the pleasure/misfortune of attempting to explain this at least a dozen times and never have the complete answer I want handy. So instead of having to hunt the info down I am just going to republish it. This one is for you Jean. Enjoy!
How blogs work in 7 easy pieces
"The gang over at Streamline have blogged a great primer describing how blogs work. Excellent stuff."
How Blogs Work in 7 Easy Pieces Click on the diagram to get a full-size, non blurry image and scroll down for details.
Summary of How Blogs Work in 7 Easy Pieces
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Joe Blogger writes something and publishes it to his blog.
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Joe's Blog system updates his site's HTML, updates his RSS file and sends a 'ping' message to the 'Aggregation Ping Server' indicating that his site has updated. -
Search engines like Google and RSS specific services like Feedster, Technorati and PubSub periodically ask the Aggregation Ping Server, "Which sites have updated?". -
Since Joe's site sends pings and has an RSS file and is easy to update frequently, Joe's search engine rank is higher than a 'normal site'.
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Techie Teresa uses a program called an RSS reader to subscribe to Joe's site. The RSS reader checks Joe's RSS file for updates periodically (usually once/hour or once per day) and notifies her of Joe's updates. Teresa no longer wastes time manually surfing Joe's site. She just checks her RSS reader.
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As a result, Teresa's information flow is more efficient and she can monitor more sites in less time.
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Joe Surfer (who is not related to Joe Blogger) still can access blogs the old fashioned, slow and less efficient way using his web browser and search engines.
Notes (for those who care about details):
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This is typically done today using a web browser and clicking on a button I have generically labeled "Publish". It will vary depending on the system used. e.g. Blogware and MovableType uses the word "Save" instead of Publish, Radio uses "Post to Home Page", etc. Most blog systems also allow you to update your blog via email. -
Blog systems automate the creation of web pages, linking together pages and archiving old pages and creating and updating the RSS file. So bloggers don't think in terms of 'pages' or HTML, they think in terms of posts (short chunks of writing such as 'once upon a time...' because the blog system takes care of creating HTML pages out of multiple posts. This allows bloggers to concentrate on writing rather than technical site creation. There are other syndication formats. RSS is just the most successful. Atom is a syndication format that is new and gaining momentum. RSS was popularized by blogging but there is no reason why non blog sites can't have RSS files. In fact a lot of non blog sites like the New York Times, the BBC, etc. have RSS files as well. The first aggregation ping server was weblogs.com. Now there are many more such as blo.gs -
It's more complicated than this. I have glossed over the technical details but that's what happens from a high level.
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Rather than waiting weeks or days, to re-index a site, search engines re-index blog sites much more often (sometimes within minutes for Feedster, Technorati and PubSub) since they know right away when the site has updated. This leads to a more accurate search results and a higher search engine rank. So Joe's search engine rank is higher simply because he sends the 'ping' message and updates an RSS file without Joe having to manually register his site on search engines or hire an overpriced search engine optimization firm.
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We recommend Bloglines (free hosted solution like Hotmail for RSS), NetNewsWire (Mac) and FeedDemon (Windows) for your RSS reading needs but there are plenty more! -
If you want to make more money or care about getting the latest knowledge first, then an RSS reader (despite their crudeness; RSS readers and blog systems are at about the 'Visicalc stage' of evolution to use a spreadsheet analogy, the Excel of blogs and RSS readers will emerge in the future!) is an essential tool in your toolbox.
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Blogs are normal websites. The only 'magic sauce' is the RSS file and the pings and the fact that blog systems automate the tedium of archiving, constructing HTML pages and linking them together. Otherwise they are identical to any other website so even people who don't know about RSS can access them and use them.
Wednesday, November 3
Lone Ranger's 'kemosabe' not racist, court says
by
rick3528
on Wed 03 Nov 2004 12:26 PM EST
OTTAWA - “Kemosabe”, the name given to the Lone Ranger by his friend Tonto in the 1950s TV western “The Lone Ranger”, is not a racist term, a Canadian court has found.
The ruling was delivered by the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal last week in a case involving a native Canadian woman who complained that the manager of the store where she worked had created a poisoned environment by calling her kemosabe.
The manager of the second-hand sports store, in Sydney, Nova Scotia, argued kemosabe was a term he used to address customers as well as employees.
The court ruling confirmed a earlier decision by a Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission board of inquiry. That decision was made after the board spent a full shift watching “Lone Ranger” reruns.
Full Story
Thank god our legal system was on top of this. Whew!
I can now call you 'Kemosabe' when ever I feel like it, so get over it!
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