July, 2006

I have to admit that driving sometimes takes considerably a lot of concentration. Once in a while, I would find myself checking every single mirror every second. But since I’ve been doing this for so long, it all seems natural. There are a lot of things going through your head when you’re driving and sometimes you lose focus really fast. I think in the last couple of months, I’ve almost been in a few accidents. What were the causes of those potential accidents? The ladies.

I was driving down Cannon Street, going around 60km/h. Well above the speed limit but I’m cautious about it. I’m passing other drivers left, right and center. Usually Cannon Street is good because all the lights are synchronized so that they all turn green as soon as you get close to the intersection. So you don’t have to worry too much about traffic.

When I got to the intersection of Cannon and John, I notice a girl on the corner holding up a sign. I turned to look, at the sign of course, and saw that her and some other girls were doing some car washing. I think it was a fundraiser for something but I didn’t get a chance to read up on the details. I looked back on the road and saw that the car in front of me had stop and I’m going pretty fast. My brakes were okay but if I slammed on them, I would skid right into this guy. My first reaction was to switch lanes. And when you switch lanes you’re supposed to check your blind spot. But I didn’t have time so I just switched over to the left. I nearly hit the car in front of me but managed to avoid him just in time. Luckily, there weren’t any cars in that lane.

Earlier today, I was heading up to Futureshop to check out those cameras I talked about. Along the way I drove pass a Hooters restaurant. There were a few girls over there and a couple of them were holding up the signs. The signs were facing the other way so I couldn’t read what it said. I assumed it was for some sort of car washing event. I turn back to look at the road and almost hit the car that was slowing down to get into the turn lane. I swerve just a little bit to avoid his back bumper.

On the way home from Futureshop, I passed Hooters again and the same thing happened. I was looking at the girls when the car in front of me slowed down to say something to them. I wasn’t expecting people to slow down unless they were actually going to get their car washed. The passenger in the car in front of me exchanged a few words with one of the girls so the driver had to slow down a bit. Luckily, they finished what they had to say and sped up fast enough before I hit them.

There’s not much to driving which is probably why I get distracted so easily. I think every time I turn my head to look, the car tends to swerve in that direction as well. So, while the summer is here, I think I should avoid the girls promoting car washes or else I won’t have a car left to wash.

Over the years I have invested a lot of money into my computer. The system I am currently running cost me around $1000. I am running a P4 3.2ghz system on an Asus motherboard with 1.5gb SDRAM, 16x DVD writer, 120gb hard drive, a ATI Radeon 9200 and a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS. Now, you can probably buy the same system for a lot cheaper. This system hasn’t given me any problems and I haven’t had to format it since I got it. I purchased this system around the same time I started college and I haven’t had to upgrade since. So that investment has paid off. Lately, I’ve been thinking about coughing up some dough for another investment, a digital SLR camera. I’ve been asking around and so far the top two recommendations is either a Canon or a Nikon. I’ve currently got my eye on the Canon Digital Rebel XT 8.0MP and the Nikon D50. I was looking at the Canon 30D EOS 8.2MP Digital Camera but that thing is about $2000.

The first candidate is the Canon Rebel XT. It is an 8.0mp digital SLR camera released by Canon a few years ago. It’s going to cost me about $849.99 at Best Buy. This camera is $100 more at Futureshop. This camera may look a little big but it’s quite compact. It weighs about 540g which isn’t that heavy. It has a 1.8″ LCD display which I think is kind of standard for camera these days. It comes with a Lithium Ion battery and charger. Li-Ion batteries last a long time but I don’t exactly how long it will last for my use. The camera has a whole bunch of controls that I’m not well informed about. I’m hoping to pick up on that as I use the camera. It also comes with some software bundle as well.

The good thing about this camera is that the resolution is great. It’s capable of taking pictures at 3456×2304 resolution. You get some nice clear pictures with sharp colours. The camera takes almost no time to turn on. The bad thing is that there are some minor flaws. When you open the compact flash compartment, the camera turns off. Canon hasn’t fixed this issues yet since the last version of the camera. There are a few other cons but I don’t want to get too technical. I’m not a camera expert yet.

Next up is the Nikon D50. This is a 6.1mp digital SLR camera. This camera was released some time last year. It is selling for $849.99 as well. It comes with an AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED lens which is designed for the broadest range of photographers. Compared to the Canon, this comes with a 2.0″ LCD display. It weighs about the same as the Canon. It has pretty much the same qualities as the Canon camera. The only thing different is that it comes with a lens while the Canon doesn’t.

I haven’t actually tested out each camera in person, but I’m hoping to do that later on in the day. I think I’m going to head on over to Best Buy in Burlington and see what the camera is actually like. The Canon camera seems to be the one I’m considering to get but it doesn’t come with a lens piece so that might be another $100 – $200 extra. The Nikon comes with the lens piece already but the picture quality isn’t as good as the Canon. The Canon comes with a one year warranty for parts and labour. The Nikon comes with a two year warranty.

I think that once I get my hands on the camera and actually use it, I will get a better feel for it. I just don’t want to make a hasty decision on something like this because I’m dealing with a lot of money. Being the clumsy person that I am, I might end up dropping the camera the first day I use it. So something that is strong and sturdy will be helpful as well. I just hate going to the store because of the sales people. I hope they’ll leave me alone so I can test the camera on my own.

Every now and then, I would walk in on a conversation that I didn’t want to hear. I’m sure it has happened to a lot of people reading this. It’s during those times when your time couldn’t be any better. It’s like arriving just in time for the punch line.

I was working the afternoon shift one day when the guys over in the engineering department were talking. I’m not sure what they were talking about because I was busy with my work. Usually everyone is out of the office by 5:00pm but today, a few of the guys were staying late. The talking started to get a little loud so I stopped working for a bit and took a little break. That’s when I heard someone say, “I don’t want to touch Spiderman.” For most people, this would sound like something funny. But in the company I work for, Spiderman is a program that we use to interact with the system. To others, Spidey is a wall crawling web slinger with super powers. Although I knew what they were talking about, it sounded funny to me too.

Another time, I was walking back from Square One after getting something to eat. I went over to Burger King to get a whooper sandwich. On the way back, there were a group of guys walking towards me. As they were walking they were talking to each other. As I passed them one guys goes “I gotta take a shift again!” That is just not something you say out in the open. I, especially, didn’t want to hear that because I’m about to eat. Apparently, this guy went once already and he’s got to go again. I don’t know what makes people think that other people are interested in hearing when they have to go. If you have to go, just go. I don’t know to need. It’s not like I’m your parole officer or something. I’m not watching your every move. I don’t want to watch your every move especially when you have to go.

I remember one time in high school. I was heading to computer class and a couple of guys in my class were hanging by the entrance to the classroom. When I got closer all I heard was, “No Phil, I will not bend over!” As I walked pass them I gave them a confused look. I told them that I didn’t even want to know what they were up to. I wasn’t sure if those guys were gay or not but they could have been. One guy had long hair. It was long enough for him to tie it into a pony tail. The other guy sort of looked like a girl. He even acted like a girl sometimes. But I wasn’t going to question their behaviour.

As for me, I say a bunch of stupid stuff all the time. It usually happens when I’m rambling on and on about something I know nothing about. Somewhere during the conversation, I completely lose my train of thought and I would end up repeating myself. So I am not immune when it comes to talking gibberish. Half of the time, nobody knows what I’m talking about anyways. If you get into a situation like that with me, just nod and let me carry on. Chances are, I’m just as confused as you are.

Right now, if you try and visit my .ca domain, you will get redirected to my .com domain. I just wanted to register a .ca for the hell of it. But I think that I should actually use the domain for something rather than just redirecting. This is something that popped into my head just now. The server that it is currently being hosted on was having some problem so I was messing around with the configuration files. That was when it occurred to me that I should do something.

It’s been a pretty busy week for me with work and all so I haven’t had much time to do anything. Well, I have time to do stuff, it’s just that I’m a bit lazy to start on it. I’m hoping to get my act together and actually do something. I have the ability to do what needs to be done but I lack the motivation to start. And I’m having a hard time coming up with some mock up designs. I was planning on doing some of that this weekend but there was a slight change with the schedule at work. So now, I’ll be working on the weekend as well.

It’s almost 4:00am right now and I should be sleeping. I’m working tomorrow at 3:00pm so that means I have to be up and ready to leave for work by 2:00pm the latest. I need at least eight hours of sleep to feel rested so I should be okay if I’m up for a few more minutes. I guess now is a good time to let you in on some projects that I hope to get started on.

I’m planning on redesigning my layout again but this time it will be used on my .ca rather than my .com domain. I’m debating whether I should keep the layout similar to each other or make it totally different. The totally different layout idea kind of stands out more. It will give me the opportunity to try out something new. Lately, my designs have been geared towards the blog layout and chances are the new layout will look similar to that. But who knows. There’s plenty of time to go around searching for ideas so I don’t know what I’ll come up with.

Another side project that I’ve been meaning to start on is geared towards a community based site. I’m hoping to make a site where visitors can go to and just shoot the breeze, having a little discussion here and there and just chill out. My blog draws a few visitors but it’s not really a place of discussion. I don’t blog about things that requires the opinions of others. A discussion section is one feature of the project but I think I will need some more ideas in order to make this new site a hit. I’m not expecting anything big right now. At the moment, all I have is a domain name and a temporary parking space for it.

There are new websites being launched all the time. The ones that are popular are the ones with new ideas. So, I’ll try to poke around in my head and see if anything comes out. Right now, it’s drawing a blank.

It has recently come to my attention that Bell Sympatico has been charging me for my internet service using a credit card that has expired. From my understanding, the last time I tried to process a credit card that was beyond the expiry date, I was declined. So how did Sympatico get approved for the monthly charges? That is what I intend to find out.

I tried to call up Sympatico’s customer service but as always the phone line was busy. So I waited five minutes before I hung up. After that, I sent the billing department an email regarding this. As I’m typing out this blog, I still haven’t received a reply. A day is quite a long time to acknowledge an email. I could probably call up Visa and they can probably reverse the charges. Unless there are some hidden loop holes in the fine prints.

When I was working over at Rogers, my coworker brought a similar situation to my attention. The customer’s credit card had expired a couple months before. That placed his account into a delinquent status. So for the past three months, his credit card was declining every time the system tried to deduct the funds from it. The same thing should have happened to me but instead, the charges went through. If they are able to get away with things like that, I’m curious what else they can charge me and get approved for.

If I don’t hear back from them by Friday, the latest, I’ll be giving Visa a call. I may also switch to another ISP but I’ll have to see if my contract with them has expired yet. Oh wait, in their case, it really doesn’t matter if it is expired or not.

Today is one of those days. Nothing seemed to be going my way and things just kept going down hill. Things started out just fine. I would never have thought it was going to turn out the way it did. I was late for work. I had no ride. And to make matters worse, it rained.

I got up at 11am today and from the looks of things, it appeared to be a beautiful day. I checked my weather widget and saw that there was going to be a thunder storm. I thought nothing of it because it was so nice out.

Around 1:30pm, I went outside to look for the car. Usually it is parked in the drive way but today it wasn’t. I stepped outside to see if maybe it was down the street but it was nowhere to be seen. I asked around to see if my brother was home but he wasn’t. I called his cell phone but there was no answer. I had to leave Hamilton by 2pm if I want to make it to work on time. Any later than that, would mean that I would have to face the rush hour traffic.

I waited until 2pm to call up my brother again but still no answer. I had no choice but to take the bus. My dad was home but I didn’t want to ask him for a ride. He had just gotten back from Mississauga and I didn’t want him to go through another one.

I called up work and informed them that I was going to be 30min late. I hate taking the bus but I had no choice. As I started to walk towards Jackson Square, I could see the dark rain clouds hover above. I knew that at any minute it could start to pour. I didn’t have time to go to the Go Station so I waited by the bus stop just outside of Jackson. The next bus was schedule to leave the station at 2:20pm. Unlike the last time, there was plenty of light around so I’m pretty sure the bus driver will see me.

Minutes later, I could see the Go bus coming but it was stopped at the lights. Then it started to rain. I was under a tree so I didn’t get that wet. The light turned green and the bus started to move closer. And then zoooom! It kept going. WTF! How do you not see a guy win a white shirt in the middle of the afternoon waiting by a designated Go bus stop? As the driver drove by, he just stared at me so I gave him the “WTF” look. What the hell are wrong with these bus drivers? Do they not know that they have to stop at a specific bus stop so people can board the bus? This is exactly why I hate waiting for the bus. They piss me off.

By the time the bus drove by, it was almost 2:30pm so I tried calling my brother again and still no answer. So I had no choice but to ask my Dad for a ride to work. I really hate to do that to help but under the circumstance I didn’t have any other alternatives. Luckily, my dad wasn’t doing much so he was able to give me a ride. So far, he is the most dependable person I know of. He’s always there when I need a hand. I rarely ask my Dad for anything. Like most guy, they try to be macho and independent so they can prove to their Dads that they are a man. I guess in some way, that’s what I’m doing when I don’t ask him for favours. But maybe I should open up more to my Dad. He’s always willing to give me a hand when I need it.

But in the mean time, things are going well at work. I’ll be doing the afternoon shifts for the next few days. But as for now, I need a break. I’m going head on over to Tim Horton’s. If I’m lucky, that bird won’t be there again. If I’m not lucky, you’ll hear about it tomorrow.

“But that doesn’t mean my eyes will soon be turning red.”

It’s another boring and slow day here in the office. There isn’t much one can do during the weekend. I’m the only one here so it’s pretty quiet. The loudest thing in the office is probably the fan I’ve got turned on. That and the phone. Someone keep calling and then hanging up as soon as I pick up the phone. Oh, and the thunder.

When I first heard the thunder, I thought it was a bunch of trucks outside. But I’m on the tenth floor so it’s kind of hard to hear trucks passing on the streets down below. But then again, I rarely see trucks in this area. Mississauga isn’t really known to be known as an industrial city. At least not this part of Mississauga anyway. There are shopping malls, city malls and hi-rise condos. You probably won’t find a factory within a 10km radius of this place.

It never occurred to me to look out the window to see if it was raining. I was looking out the window about an hour ago and it was fine. The sun was shining and there were barely any clouds in the sky. It looked to be a nice day out. After hearing thunder a few dozen time, I finally got up to see what was going on outside. And surprise, surprise, it’s raining.

I had planned on heading out for lunch but I didn’t bring an umbrella. I’ve got the car here but I really don’t want to have to drive a block just so I can get lunch. I guess I’ll just walk in the rain. It’s not raining too hard anyway.

That’s all for now. If I survive this boredom, there will be a blog entry tomorrow. If not, then I must have melted in the rain on the way to get lunch.