Well my computer has died. Make that both my computers have died. My computer was not running great and only had 40gigs of HDD space, not quite enough for me as I like to save all my media. Graydyn gave me his old machine he told me it was not much faster but had much more storage. A few weeks went by and all was good. Then those nice big hard drives crashed, well the one with th OS did. So I tried my old machine again and it would not operate, I forget why but I took out the HDDs and combined the power of two computers into one mighty Frankenputer. Sadly this mutant was not meant to be, I had some issues playing videos causing freeze ups, the last freeze up was permenant. When I turn on the computer I go directly to the CMOS and when I exit nothing happens, or if it does there is certainly no disply on either monitor. I can`t be bothered to repair it, it might not be much but it`s just not worth it at this point.
I started shopping around already but can`t seem to find what I want, there are a few out there that would work well but none support a dual screen set up. I know I can go back to a single screen set up, most people do just fine but what can I say I like it, heck I originally set it up on not thinking I would keep it but here I am 3 years later.
On a more positive note the weather today and if the weather people are to be believed the next few days was great. First time the car people were out at Canatara park. I cruised by in the MINI and stopped to chat for a while, finally got to get a good look at Justin`s turbo VR6 Jetta, next time we will trade rides.
Lastly I am getting pretty excited for MOTD, it`s now less than a month away and I am sure it will fly by.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
We do it to ourselves.
I was listening to the radio earlier this week. They were talking about the rise in lawsuits for overtime for the perpetually on call. I don't agree with a lawsuit unless your job was at risk if you refused to work 24/7 but things need to be done. One guy was the only dispatcher for a trucking company, as a result if any of the drivers had any issues at any time he was the one who got the call and had to deal with it. As stated above he should have said something at the time, simply refused or asked for compensation but if he felt that he would be fired I can understand the lawsuit.
I am perfectly willing to take a call here and there uncompensated as in my case it is to help a co-worker/friend and if needed I expect help too. But constant calls/e-mails after hours on holiday really do add up. A friend was given a cell phone to be "On Call" for the week end, as this was not part of his work contract he took it but left it off, after a few more times he was asked why he left it off. I don't know what was said but it was pretty much "I will not work without being paid." I applaud him for this.
It's not just unpaid overtime we as a society are proud to be free yet we seem happy to give up that right, unpaid overtime, no dating policies at work, home owners associations, doctors working more that 24 hours straight, not yelling at our government for being stupid.
We work so we can live but sometimes it seems like we live so we can work.
I am perfectly willing to take a call here and there uncompensated as in my case it is to help a co-worker/friend and if needed I expect help too. But constant calls/e-mails after hours on holiday really do add up. A friend was given a cell phone to be "On Call" for the week end, as this was not part of his work contract he took it but left it off, after a few more times he was asked why he left it off. I don't know what was said but it was pretty much "I will not work without being paid." I applaud him for this.
It's not just unpaid overtime we as a society are proud to be free yet we seem happy to give up that right, unpaid overtime, no dating policies at work, home owners associations, doctors working more that 24 hours straight, not yelling at our government for being stupid.
We work so we can live but sometimes it seems like we live so we can work.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Had a couple ides on what to write about tonight, but nothing I really feel like getting into right now. I do want to say that I really need to get out and meet new people. I have friends and good acquaintances that could become friends but most live too far away to call up and hangout at any time. The thing is making friends is not as easy for some of us. For one unless I am in a group setting (work/MINI club) I am not about to walk up to a stranger and chat less so a group of people. Secondly once you do meet someone going from acquaintance to friend can be awkward for me, recently I was talking about this to my friend Chad, I met him through the MINI club and he is also my MINI's "doctor" we got along well enough but it took me a while before I felt comfortable to ask him out as a friend, I told him he was nice and all but I was also a customer so really it's expected that he be nice, not that I thought he was faking it but I also had no idea if he had any interest in hanging out outside our business relationship.
I have had this happen a few times over the years, often times I let a potential friendship slip by because of a fear of coming on too strong, fear of rejection I guess.
I even delayed a friendship, Colin is a really good friend I met through work, but the thing is we had actually met about two years before we actually started working together/became friends. He was dating a coworker at the bingo hall and he joined he at the christmas party. We sat at the same table and really hit it off, (yeah yeah I know how this sounds) but at the end of the night that was it , never asked for his number, never asked his GF how to get a hold of him, It was not until we started working together much later that we actually became friends,
Anyway I am just ranting a little so please forgive me, I just need to get out there and meet people, just need to find a place with a low douchebag ratio.
I have had this happen a few times over the years, often times I let a potential friendship slip by because of a fear of coming on too strong, fear of rejection I guess.
I even delayed a friendship, Colin is a really good friend I met through work, but the thing is we had actually met about two years before we actually started working together/became friends. He was dating a coworker at the bingo hall and he joined he at the christmas party. We sat at the same table and really hit it off, (yeah yeah I know how this sounds) but at the end of the night that was it , never asked for his number, never asked his GF how to get a hold of him, It was not until we started working together much later that we actually became friends,
Anyway I am just ranting a little so please forgive me, I just need to get out there and meet people, just need to find a place with a low douchebag ratio.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
MOTD
Time is getting close for this years MINI's on the Dragon. This is the 8th year for this event and my second time attending. MINI's on the Dragon(MOTD) is a gathering of MINI Cooper enthusiasts from all over the US and Canada. It takes place close to The Great Smokey Mountains national park in North Carolina close to the Tennessee border.
The Dragon is a section of US 129 that has 318 curves in 11 miles. Some of you might think that would be horrible, but to driving/riding enthusiasts this means fun. I will admit that the road does scare me a little it really is a challenge to drive and can be dangerous if you are not careful as you never know what might be around the next corner. Here is a video by Killboy a photographer who makes a living taking pictures of cars/bike on the Dragon, in the video he is being chaced by his wife, watch it and you will understand.Killboy's video
There are lots of other really fun roads i.e curvy roads in the area but MOTD is not just about driving. In fact not counting the drive there most of the time is spent hanging out with some fun and interesting people. There is also a wee bit of drinking every evening.
This year I am actually attending with 3 of my friends Colin, Graydyn, and Susan we will be sharing a cabin with a 5th person who needed a room, I do not know her but I am sure we will have fun. I am getting pretty excited for this trip. I plan on taking lots of picture and will post them up when I return. 44 days until we leave.
The Dragon is a section of US 129 that has 318 curves in 11 miles. Some of you might think that would be horrible, but to driving/riding enthusiasts this means fun. I will admit that the road does scare me a little it really is a challenge to drive and can be dangerous if you are not careful as you never know what might be around the next corner. Here is a video by Killboy a photographer who makes a living taking pictures of cars/bike on the Dragon, in the video he is being chaced by his wife, watch it and you will understand.Killboy's video
There are lots of other really fun roads i.e curvy roads in the area but MOTD is not just about driving. In fact not counting the drive there most of the time is spent hanging out with some fun and interesting people. There is also a wee bit of drinking every evening.
This year I am actually attending with 3 of my friends Colin, Graydyn, and Susan we will be sharing a cabin with a 5th person who needed a room, I do not know her but I am sure we will have fun. I am getting pretty excited for this trip. I plan on taking lots of picture and will post them up when I return. 44 days until we leave.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Working out
Greetings all!
When I was away at trade school living in Toronto I got into a habit of semi nightly walks with Colin as an attempt to keep in shape. It is better than doing nothing but hardly a great workout. Sadly my knees did not like this very much. This is partly due to constantly being on my knees at work (yeah I know how that sounds) partly because I don't walk right, never have really evidenced by the wear patterns on my shoes.
Since I got back home I have been doing nothing at all, this change Sunday. My friend Molly had posted on Facebook that she had gotten back on the elliptical. This inspired me to go out to the shed and get my bike out.
I went for a 12KM ride and repeated this on Monday and Tuesday. Today I skipped due to getting home late and it was getting to dark to start my ride, I have lights on my bike but I still feel much safer riding when it's light out. Speaking of safety I have never been a fan of bicycle helmets, just stubborn I guess, I know they are safer but much like old guys and seat-belts it was just not comfortable and felt awkward. I have been wearing a helmet. Strictly speaking it is not a bicycle helmet it's actually a ski helmet but I find it comfy and as soon as I figure out whats wrong with my MP3 player I will be enjoying tunes on the built in earphones. I might have to pick up a proper bike helmet once the warm weather gets here.
I do not want to call it a diet but I am also watching what I eat, basically cutting down on unhealthy snacks, I recently discovered I really like lychee fruit, they make a great snack.
Thats all for now folks, until next update.
When I was away at trade school living in Toronto I got into a habit of semi nightly walks with Colin as an attempt to keep in shape. It is better than doing nothing but hardly a great workout. Sadly my knees did not like this very much. This is partly due to constantly being on my knees at work (yeah I know how that sounds) partly because I don't walk right, never have really evidenced by the wear patterns on my shoes.
Since I got back home I have been doing nothing at all, this change Sunday. My friend Molly had posted on Facebook that she had gotten back on the elliptical. This inspired me to go out to the shed and get my bike out.
I went for a 12KM ride and repeated this on Monday and Tuesday. Today I skipped due to getting home late and it was getting to dark to start my ride, I have lights on my bike but I still feel much safer riding when it's light out. Speaking of safety I have never been a fan of bicycle helmets, just stubborn I guess, I know they are safer but much like old guys and seat-belts it was just not comfortable and felt awkward. I have been wearing a helmet. Strictly speaking it is not a bicycle helmet it's actually a ski helmet but I find it comfy and as soon as I figure out whats wrong with my MP3 player I will be enjoying tunes on the built in earphones. I might have to pick up a proper bike helmet once the warm weather gets here.
I do not want to call it a diet but I am also watching what I eat, basically cutting down on unhealthy snacks, I recently discovered I really like lychee fruit, they make a great snack.
Thats all for now folks, until next update.
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