Brian's Rant-o-Rama - provided free of charge provided you free me from charge

2008 Rants

This was the year that so much happened: I started a new job, then later became manager of my own team and process. My wife and I moved out of my small(ish) apartment and into a 3-bedroom 3-story townhouse. Best of all, my daughter was born this year. Whew! Enough living for anyone.

Dec 29^th, 2008 -   Grumpy self-interest
- 'The worst thing a man can do to himself is to start quietly believing his detractors.' It's hard to stop smiling and start barking--and one definitely needs to remember to choose his battles wisely--but until he learns to protect himself, his path along the high road is forever closed.

Dec 16^th, 2008 -   Ten thousand hours ought to be enough for anybody
- But ya gotta love what you're doing first.

Dec 10^th, 2008 -   Tenets of love and hate
- Some simply-stated ideas about the building blocks of human interaction.

Dec 5^th, 2008 -   Tweaked into destruction
- It's the problem with letting our egos interfere with what should be our primary instinct to leave things alone. Minimal intervention should be the norm.

Dec 1^st, 2008 -   Creative solutions
- Creativity is like any other survival skill, use it or lose it.

Nov 27^th, 2008 -   More beautiful words
- How can one single line from a 600-year old poem have such a profound effect on me? Geoffrey Chaucer and I have a moment of connection, albeit through our differences.

Nov 26^th, 2008 -   Against television
- I wonder if they'd let me turn this into a television documentary?

Nov 18^th, 2008 -   Words beautiful words
- The beauty and catharsis that fluid expression in words can bring.

Nov 12^th, 2008 -   Change nodes
- Notice how large sweeping life changes all seem to congregate together in short bursts?

Nov 3^rd, 2008 -   New kid on the block
- My daughter is born.

Oct 27^th, 2008 -   Tech Docs metrics
- There are kinds of metrics for project and resource planning, but I come up with my own to allocate Tech Doc resources. It's not perfect, but it's based on my own experiences in the software development world.

Oct 23^rd, 2008 -   A few words about clever idiots
- Those folks who have evolved the intellectual equivalent of squid-like ink squirting will be the ruin of us all.

Oct 17^th, 2008 -   Pantheism ... the other white religion
- This actually started as a response to a message about the Nature of God (yes, there is a pun somewhere in there) on my Mensa forum, but graduated to a justification for killing and eating animals. If so, then gout must be God's revenge on my heathen Pantheistic ideas!

Oct 15^th, 2008 -   The bulbous nose of the drinker
- I met a guy today who was obviously a heavy drinker, and who got me thinking about free will vs. fate. It's funny how the mind wanders sometimes. Like I said last week, it's actually kinda nice out here on the fringe.

Oct 9^th, 2008 -   The Great Swirling Masses
- I spend my Thursday afternoon on the fringe, talking about the fringe. You know, it's actually kinda nice out here.

Oct 7^th, 2008 -   The ambiguity of an emergent ascendant life
- It's not a new idea for me. Caves of dark comfort or the wide expanse of possibility. Familiar thoughts rewritten.

Oct 2^nd, 2008 -   Setting up the nursery
- Pictures of preparations for our new nursery.

Sep 24^th, 2008 -   Atlas has osteoporosis
- At first I regularly panicked at economic doom-sayers, then I later learned to take it all with a grain of salt. But one cannot completely ignore the visions of doom and gloom this time around. 'Gas, lads! Gas!'

Sep 15^th, 2008 -   New Church of Pantheism
- If we really and truly still need to have faith in something in this day and age (and, apparently we do) then let's make some unknown natural laws the focus. And let's call Nature our God. In short, let's start the New Church of Pantheism.

Sep 12^th, 2008 -   Not just Hot Pizza City anymore
- Just watch the wontons come rolling in now.

Sep 10^th, 2008 -   Entrepreneurial intuition
- The pseudo-science behind great luck in the marketplace. Maybe there really is something to that ESP thing after all ...

Sep 9^th, 2008 -   What does being a Mensan do for me?
- Non-Mensans get uncomfortable when I talk about being a Mensan. But that's one of the few liabilities. For the most part ... well, it's business as usual.

Sep 8^th, 2008 -   Attacked from both sides of the issue
- Walk into a crowded room and say something like, 'There is no evidence to confirm the existence of God', then see what happens. Bet you will be the most unpopular person there because you've irritated everyone in what is a polarized issue. Religion and science have their own theories and set of faiths about Evolution and Creationism and woe to schmoe who tries to stand in the middle of the spectrum!

Sep 3^rd, 2008 -   I'm not afraid of avoiding fear, are you?
- You might sink your ship if you go into battle, so you might as well scuttle it now ... at least you will maintain some kind of control.

Aug 28^th, 2008 -   My back is back
- Moving toilets is back-breaking work!

Aug 22^nd, 2008 -   You kids are never happy
- Some Friday afternoon melancholy.

Aug 19^th, 2008 -   Two mountains and a cove ... a Big Day on my Ninja
- I took my trusty steed, my Kawasaki Ninja 650r, on a big day of riding the extremes of the Vancouver scenery. Photos and descriptions.

Aug 18^th, 2008 -   A random thought about sports team loyalty
- I'm better than you ... my team winning proves it!

Aug 15^th, 2008 -   Early days of our new home
- Well, we've finally moved in to our new (to us) townhouse, so it's time to sum up our impressions from the first few days living there.

Aug 14^th, 2008 -   Don't hate Britney 'cause she's famous ...
- Britney Spears and Paris Hilton are two icons who only exist as such for the fulfillment of those brainless sheep who aren't interested in forging lives of their own.

Aug 13^th, 2008 -   Tale from an old workplace
- My question about large spaces left by drivers is answered. It actually makes sense now that I know why ... though it's still a stupid reason.

Aug 5^th, 2008 -   A quandry solved
- Someone was kind enough to explain to me why some drivers keep their cars a ridiculous distance away from cars in front of them at stoplights.

July 25^th, 2008 -   It doesn't hurt trendsters to hit them in the pocketbook ... they kind of like it
- I mean, if people are dumb enough to buy bottled water, what other freely-available things can we sell them. I mean, in case you haven't noticed, people will buy anything.

July 24^th, 2008 -   Can you solve my traffic-related quandry?
- Why have people adopted a new habit of stopping their cars a couple of metres short of the line at stop lights and stop signs?

July 21^st, 2008 -   Religious nut loner
- A Thoreau look at my inclination towards communing with waifs and faeries in the vast unknown expanses of the forests of Canada.

July 14^th, 2008 -   It's either this or the pigeons
- Begin the Bedouin! My wife's and my Nomadic lifestyle start in 48 hours.

July 7^th, 2008 -   Grotch the CBC Hockey anthem
- I've entered a song into the CBC Hockey Night in Canada anthem challenge.

July 4^th, 2008 -   Just hum, strum, then plant your bum
- Talent has always been optional in popular music, but new innovations in software renders it quaint and archaic in all forms of music. Making an effort is so ... yesterday, too.

July 2^nd, 2008 -   An Apple at boot makes their reputation moot
- Apple is the worst offender for hijacking your computer. Their iTunes and QuickTime codependency means you get software you don't want. Said software takes over users' file associations by default. QuickTime's insistence on reinstating user-removed programs to the boot list demonstrates an Orwellian Big Brother attitude. Wow, and this from the company that made the famous '1984' commercial a few years back. Oh, how the hip and mighty have deteriorated ...

June 24^th, 2008 -   A plethora of paper clips
- Well ... not all of my blog entries are going to be studied for their intellectual value and keen sociological insights by future generations.

June 23^rd, 2008 -   I dream of headless whales
- Well, not really. It's just that I need to correct something I said about the survival rate of beluga whales at the Vancouver Aquarium. Also, headless people.

June 18^th, 2008 -   Pickup truck meets motorcycle
- Okay, what is it about pickup trucks and motorcycles? Easily, 9/10 times there is a problem while I am driving my motorcycle, it is because of some jerk in a pickup truck. What is it, some sort of Badass Identity Anxiety thing? Well, whatever the reason, my motorcycle got squished by a pickup truck yesterday. Luckily, I wasn't on it when it happened ... of course, if it had I wouldn't be sitting here typing this blog description, would I?

June 13^th, 2008 -   Save the whale!
- The attitude around the Vancouver Aquarium must be, 'Hey, let's kill another whale ... we haven't done that in a few months.'

June 11^th, 2008 -   la femme perilleux
- Here's a former biker chick and gangster's moll who has recently learned to spread her legs for politicians, too.

June 5^th, 2008 -   Retro realtors and social atrophy
- I like my new realtor. He's better than other realtors I've worked with before because he is much more high tech. I worry that I will get stuck at my current level of high tech social acumen, because I am getting older--middle aged, now. I want to stay socially connected as I grow further into middle age, and keeping up with the latest high tech trends is my goal so that I can always keep my options open. Interesting word that ... 'options' ... I wonder why my left elbow is sore ... ?

June 4^th, 2008 -   Miriam Abacha is in a bloody hurry
- They're just not so cute when they start to grow up, are they?

May 30^th, 2008 -   White Man's Guilt and the New Church of Environmentalism
- If we want to do something about our changing environment, we need to dispassionately analyze what is needed to stop it ... and then just do it. It's amazing how difficult those simple paths are for us to follow, isn't it?

May 28^th, 2008 -   Showing a little character
- I am starting to think that maybe the only time Microsoft Vista Tech Support would consider something to be a bug is if it directly and demonstrably resulted in death or dismemberment. Or maybe some kind of blight if it killed enough crops.

May 21^st, 2008 -   Just go, damnit!
- A explanation of how being too polite in traffic can cause trouble.

May 14^th, 2008 -   Get your filthy metallic arms out of my frozen wasteland!
- Every microbe is a sacred microbe. Save the endangered Spotted Martian Microbe before it's too late!

May 12^th, 2008 -   I am trapped in Vista Hell
- Just the latest in a long line of problems with my computer running Microsoft Vista. This is the seventh blog entry complaining about Vista problems, and this one describes probably the most catastrophic failure yet.

May 5^th, 2008 -   Suzuki GSX-R750 (apples) vs. Kawasaki Ninja 650R (oranges)
- For my 41st birthday I test-drove a Suzuki GSX-R750 sports bike. Mid-aged crisis? WHAT mid-aged crisis?

May 1^st, 2008 -   Some snappy answers
- Remember Mad Magazine's "Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions"? I try my hand at some of those myself. It's not as though there's a shortage of flippancy in my personality ...

April 29^th, 2008 -   Wireless nowworking
- Holy crap! Is it ... could it ... am I just dreaming, or is my wireless networking really up and running on Vista now? How could that be? It's only been 6 months, one Service Pack, and 20+ Windows Updates! Something must be wrong somewhere ... except ... no, it really is true. My wireless networks run with efficiency and reliability! Someone alert the world's leaders!

April 24^th, 2008 -   Bob and Jay were good people
- I finally figured out what my trepidation at leaving my last job was really about ... I knew I was going to miss the good people there that I worked with.

April 23^rd, 2008 -   Wireless notworking
- Windows Vista lurches and falls flat on its face again. When is Win 7 due?

April 21^st, 2008 -   Some Sun Run fun
- Third year in the marathon ... best year yet, despite tendonitis injury. I'm pretty buzzed about it, and will celebrate my personal best for a couple of days ... then forget it.

April 14^th, 2008 -   How to make a second-class citizen
- People are perfectly allowed--encouraged, in fact--to go around dehumanizing smokers into non-people, and then slapping higher and more punitive measures on them as though they were criminals.

April 4^th, 2008 -   A bit of "Class"
- Four university guys and two teen girls drunk in a fast-moving car late on a Saturday night ... what could possibly go wrong?

April 3^rd, 2008 -   You are among good company
- It's something of a curse to show Great Potential early in life ... but failure is a subjective term, and no matter what you feel about the unrealised potentials in your life, don't forget that you are among good company.

March 26^th, 2008 -   A case of sexual harassment
- After 20 years, I return to a story of sexual harassment, and this time I am ... erm ... not so sure.

March 24^th, 2008 -   Clearly, Multiculturalism needs some explaining
- Multiculturalism does not give you license to do and say anything you like. It still contains some built-in need for tolerance and compromise.

March 19^th, 2008 -   How the West was lost, Part 5: When elected political prostitutes consort with common street prostitutes
- So, I suppose the most depressing part of it all (for me) is that none of us is particularly surprised or upset; it's a feigned outrighteous indignation to hide our glee.

March 12^th, 2008 -   What is DIS? Who are these GYZ?
- The CD is released into the wilds!!! ... erm ... but it hasn't wandered very far, yet, and it keeps coming back home to mooch for food ...

March 10^th, 2008 -   Ridiculous piece of crap
- I'm tired of being nice about it ... Windows Vista is an un-QA-ed piece-of-crap disaster. It pisses me off that it can't properly perform such a basic function as copying files.

March 5^th, 2008 -   How to make Canadian names (eh?)
- Aha! I've done it! I've come up with a foolproof algorithm for making Canadian names (eh?)

February 25^th, 2008 -   Mr. Smarty Pants rides again
- Take my motorcycle ... please!

February 18^th, 2008 -   The Freeze game
- When the 'game' gets too tough to compete, we must adopt a set of cooperation skills or not be able to play the game at all. Competition is a luxury borne of a life comfortable enough to allow it. When life becomes too difficult to live in competition, we must start working together ... or die.

February 13^th, 2008 -   Dorothea or the Wicked Witch?
- By understanding how people went from naturally and logically coping with their world to creating a nightmare of butchering and slaughtering others, we might possibly be able to hang on to the social convention we call civility.

February 7^th, 2008 -   A strange university course
- Hockey in Canada ... the university course. I should've just waited for the movie.

February 4^th, 2008 -   No flying, only free-fall
- A rare rant about something current. Three starlets on the road to destruction, and I take my own (albeit tiny) kick at them.

January 29^th, 2008 -   Shocked by BioShock
- Oblivion, I'll never forget you. But there's a new game DVD in my drive these days, and it's got me in its dark dystopian grasp right now.

January 23^rd, 2008 -   The coffee tastes just fine
- First impressions from my new job and new job description.

January 18^th, 2008 -   I wonder what the coffee will be like
- I'm moving to a new job starting three days from now. It looks like that standard two-year time limit has imposed itself on me yet again ...

January 10^th, 2008 -   How the West was lost, Part 3: Circling the drain
- It's easy to be an empire when you're the only show in town (and the new kid on the block). But just try to keep up the same old act for more than a few decades, and see how hard it is to stay ahead of the competition ... when you're the same old tune, people stop dancing to it and go listen to some other song and dance. Such is the fate of the stage act known as the Western Empire.

January 7^th, 2008 -   Anatomy of a security breech
- Some devious little mind tried--unsuccessfully--to use my guestbook as a launch to a series of script-based security breech attacks on visitors to my guestbook. I reverse engineer how they tried to do it. I suppose I should warn people that this is a particularly boring blog entry today.

January 4^th, 2008 -   How the West was lost, Part 2: The wheels come off
- Moral rot or liberation from restricted paternal ways? Regardless of how you think of it, it is the litmus test of where our empire is headed. Good or bad, the wheels are rattling loose.

Dec 29^th, 2008 -	Grumpy self-interest - 'The worst thing a man can do to himself is to start quietly believing his detractors.' It's hard to stop smiling and start barking--and one definitely needs to remember to choose his battles wisely--but until he learns to protect himself, his path along the high road is forever closed.
Dec 16^th, 2008 -	Ten thousand hours ought to be enough for anybody - But ya gotta love what you're doing first.
Dec 10^th, 2008 -	Tenets of love and hate - Some simply-stated ideas about the building blocks of human interaction.
Dec 5^th, 2008 -	Tweaked into destruction - It's the problem with letting our egos interfere with what should be our primary instinct to leave things alone. Minimal intervention should be the norm.
Dec 1^st, 2008 -	Creative solutions - Creativity is like any other survival skill, use it or lose it.
Nov 27^th, 2008 -	More beautiful words - How can one single line from a 600-year old poem have such a profound effect on me? Geoffrey Chaucer and I have a moment of connection, albeit through our differences.
Nov 26^th, 2008 -	Against television - I wonder if they'd let me turn this into a television documentary?
Nov 18^th, 2008 -	Words beautiful words - The beauty and catharsis that fluid expression in words can bring.
Nov 12^th, 2008 -	Change nodes - Notice how large sweeping life changes all seem to congregate together in short bursts?
Nov 3^rd, 2008 -	New kid on the block - My daughter is born.
Oct 27^th, 2008 -	Tech Docs metrics - There are kinds of metrics for project and resource planning, but I come up with my own to allocate Tech Doc resources. It's not perfect, but it's based on my own experiences in the software development world.
Oct 23^rd, 2008 -	A few words about clever idiots - Those folks who have evolved the intellectual equivalent of squid-like ink squirting will be the ruin of us all.
Oct 17^th, 2008 -	Pantheism ... the other white religion - This actually started as a response to a message about the Nature of God (yes, there is a pun somewhere in there) on my Mensa forum, but graduated to a justification for killing and eating animals. If so, then gout must be God's revenge on my heathen Pantheistic ideas!
Oct 15^th, 2008 -	The bulbous nose of the drinker - I met a guy today who was obviously a heavy drinker, and who got me thinking about free will vs. fate. It's funny how the mind wanders sometimes. Like I said last week, it's actually kinda nice out here on the fringe.
Oct 9^th, 2008 -	The Great Swirling Masses - I spend my Thursday afternoon on the fringe, talking about the fringe. You know, it's actually kinda nice out here.
Oct 7^th, 2008 -	The ambiguity of an emergent ascendant life - It's not a new idea for me. Caves of dark comfort or the wide expanse of possibility. Familiar thoughts rewritten.
Oct 2^nd, 2008 -	Setting up the nursery - Pictures of preparations for our new nursery.
Sep 24^th, 2008 -	Atlas has osteoporosis - At first I regularly panicked at economic doom-sayers, then I later learned to take it all with a grain of salt. But one cannot completely ignore the visions of doom and gloom this time around. 'Gas, lads! Gas!'
Sep 15^th, 2008 -	New Church of Pantheism - If we really and truly still need to have faith in something in this day and age (and, apparently we do) then let's make some unknown natural laws the focus. And let's call Nature our God. In short, let's start the New Church of Pantheism.
Sep 12^th, 2008 -	Not just Hot Pizza City anymore - Just watch the wontons come rolling in now.
Sep 10^th, 2008 -	Entrepreneurial intuition - The pseudo-science behind great luck in the marketplace. Maybe there really is something to that ESP thing after all ...
Sep 9^th, 2008 -	What does being a Mensan do for me? - Non-Mensans get uncomfortable when I talk about being a Mensan. But that's one of the few liabilities. For the most part ... well, it's business as usual.
Sep 8^th, 2008 -	Attacked from both sides of the issue - Walk into a crowded room and say something like, 'There is no evidence to confirm the existence of God', then see what happens. Bet you will be the most unpopular person there because you've irritated everyone in what is a polarized issue. Religion and science have their own theories and set of faiths about Evolution and Creationism and woe to schmoe who tries to stand in the middle of the spectrum!
Sep 3^rd, 2008 -	I'm not afraid of avoiding fear, are you? - You might sink your ship if you go into battle, so you might as well scuttle it now ... at least you will maintain some kind of control.
Aug 28^th, 2008 -	My back is back - Moving toilets is back-breaking work!
Aug 22^nd, 2008 -	You kids are never happy - Some Friday afternoon melancholy.
Aug 19^th, 2008 -	Two mountains and a cove ... a Big Day on my Ninja - I took my trusty steed, my Kawasaki Ninja 650r, on a big day of riding the extremes of the Vancouver scenery. Photos and descriptions.
Aug 18^th, 2008 -	A random thought about sports team loyalty - I'm better than you ... my team winning proves it!
Aug 15^th, 2008 -	Early days of our new home - Well, we've finally moved in to our new (to us) townhouse, so it's time to sum up our impressions from the first few days living there.
Aug 14^th, 2008 -	Don't hate Britney 'cause she's famous ... - Britney Spears and Paris Hilton are two icons who only exist as such for the fulfillment of those brainless sheep who aren't interested in forging lives of their own.
Aug 13^th, 2008 -	Tale from an old workplace - My question about large spaces left by drivers is answered. It actually makes sense now that I know why ... though it's still a stupid reason.
Aug 5^th, 2008 -	A quandry solved - Someone was kind enough to explain to me why some drivers keep their cars a ridiculous distance away from cars in front of them at stoplights.
July 25^th, 2008 -	It doesn't hurt trendsters to hit them in the pocketbook ... they kind of like it - I mean, if people are dumb enough to buy bottled water, what other freely-available things can we sell them. I mean, in case you haven't noticed, people will buy anything.
July 24^th, 2008 -	Can you solve my traffic-related quandry? - Why have people adopted a new habit of stopping their cars a couple of metres short of the line at stop lights and stop signs?
July 21^st, 2008 -	Religious nut loner - A Thoreau look at my inclination towards communing with waifs and faeries in the vast unknown expanses of the forests of Canada.
July 14^th, 2008 -	It's either this or the pigeons - Begin the Bedouin! My wife's and my Nomadic lifestyle start in 48 hours.
July 7^th, 2008 -	Grotch the CBC Hockey anthem - I've entered a song into the CBC Hockey Night in Canada anthem challenge.
July 4^th, 2008 -	Just hum, strum, then plant your bum - Talent has always been optional in popular music, but new innovations in software renders it quaint and archaic in all forms of music. Making an effort is so ... yesterday, too.
July 2^nd, 2008 -	An Apple at boot makes their reputation moot - Apple is the worst offender for hijacking your computer. Their iTunes and QuickTime codependency means you get software you don't want. Said software takes over users' file associations by default. QuickTime's insistence on reinstating user-removed programs to the boot list demonstrates an Orwellian Big Brother attitude. Wow, and this from the company that made the famous '1984' commercial a few years back. Oh, how the hip and mighty have deteriorated ...
June 24^th, 2008 -	A plethora of paper clips - Well ... not all of my blog entries are going to be studied for their intellectual value and keen sociological insights by future generations.
June 23^rd, 2008 -	I dream of headless whales - Well, not really. It's just that I need to correct something I said about the survival rate of beluga whales at the Vancouver Aquarium. Also, headless people.
June 18^th, 2008 -	Pickup truck meets motorcycle - Okay, what is it about pickup trucks and motorcycles? Easily, 9/10 times there is a problem while I am driving my motorcycle, it is because of some jerk in a pickup truck. What is it, some sort of Badass Identity Anxiety thing? Well, whatever the reason, my motorcycle got squished by a pickup truck yesterday. Luckily, I wasn't on it when it happened ... of course, if it had I wouldn't be sitting here typing this blog description, would I?
June 13^th, 2008 -	Save the whale! - The attitude around the Vancouver Aquarium must be, 'Hey, let's kill another whale ... we haven't done that in a few months.'
June 11^th, 2008 -	la femme perilleux - Here's a former biker chick and gangster's moll who has recently learned to spread her legs for politicians, too.
June 5^th, 2008 -	Retro realtors and social atrophy - I like my new realtor. He's better than other realtors I've worked with before because he is much more high tech. I worry that I will get stuck at my current level of high tech social acumen, because I am getting older--middle aged, now. I want to stay socially connected as I grow further into middle age, and keeping up with the latest high tech trends is my goal so that I can always keep my options open. Interesting word that ... 'options' ... I wonder why my left elbow is sore ... ?
June 4^th, 2008 -	Miriam Abacha is in a bloody hurry - They're just not so cute when they start to grow up, are they?
May 30^th, 2008 -	White Man's Guilt and the New Church of Environmentalism - If we want to do something about our changing environment, we need to dispassionately analyze what is needed to stop it ... and then just do it. It's amazing how difficult those simple paths are for us to follow, isn't it?
May 28^th, 2008 -	Showing a little character - I am starting to think that maybe the only time Microsoft Vista Tech Support would consider something to be a bug is if it directly and demonstrably resulted in death or dismemberment. Or maybe some kind of blight if it killed enough crops.
May 21^st, 2008 -	Just go, damnit! - A explanation of how being too polite in traffic can cause trouble.
May 14^th, 2008 -	Get your filthy metallic arms out of my frozen wasteland! - Every microbe is a sacred microbe. Save the endangered Spotted Martian Microbe before it's too late!
May 12^th, 2008 -	I am trapped in Vista Hell - Just the latest in a long line of problems with my computer running Microsoft Vista. This is the seventh blog entry complaining about Vista problems, and this one describes probably the most catastrophic failure yet.
May 5^th, 2008 -	Suzuki GSX-R750 (apples) vs. Kawasaki Ninja 650R (oranges) - For my 41st birthday I test-drove a Suzuki GSX-R750 sports bike. Mid-aged crisis? WHAT mid-aged crisis?
May 1^st, 2008 -	Some snappy answers - Remember Mad Magazine's "Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions"? I try my hand at some of those myself. It's not as though there's a shortage of flippancy in my personality ...
April 29^th, 2008 -	Wireless nowworking - Holy crap! Is it ... could it ... am I just dreaming, or is my wireless networking really up and running on Vista now? How could that be? It's only been 6 months, one Service Pack, and 20+ Windows Updates! Something must be wrong somewhere ... except ... no, it really is true. My wireless networks run with efficiency and reliability! Someone alert the world's leaders!
April 24^th, 2008 -	Bob and Jay were good people - I finally figured out what my trepidation at leaving my last job was really about ... I knew I was going to miss the good people there that I worked with.
April 23^rd, 2008 -	Wireless notworking - Windows Vista lurches and falls flat on its face again. When is Win 7 due?
April 21^st, 2008 -	Some Sun Run fun - Third year in the marathon ... best year yet, despite tendonitis injury. I'm pretty buzzed about it, and will celebrate my personal best for a couple of days ... then forget it.
April 14^th, 2008 -	How to make a second-class citizen - People are perfectly allowed--encouraged, in fact--to go around dehumanizing smokers into non-people, and then slapping higher and more punitive measures on them as though they were criminals.
April 4^th, 2008 -	A bit of "Class" - Four university guys and two teen girls drunk in a fast-moving car late on a Saturday night ... what could possibly go wrong?
April 3^rd, 2008 -	You are among good company - It's something of a curse to show Great Potential early in life ... but failure is a subjective term, and no matter what you feel about the unrealised potentials in your life, don't forget that you are among good company.
March 26^th, 2008 -	A case of sexual harassment - After 20 years, I return to a story of sexual harassment, and this time I am ... erm ... not so sure.
March 24^th, 2008 -	Clearly, Multiculturalism needs some explaining - Multiculturalism does not give you license to do and say anything you like. It still contains some built-in need for tolerance and compromise.
March 19^th, 2008 -	How the West was lost, Part 5: When elected political prostitutes consort with common street prostitutes - So, I suppose the most depressing part of it all (for me) is that none of us is particularly surprised or upset; it's a feigned outrighteous indignation to hide our glee.
March 12^th, 2008 -	What is DIS? Who are these GYZ? - The CD is released into the wilds!!! ... erm ... but it hasn't wandered very far, yet, and it keeps coming back home to mooch for food ...
March 10^th, 2008 -	Ridiculous piece of crap - I'm tired of being nice about it ... Windows Vista is an un-QA-ed piece-of-crap disaster. It pisses me off that it can't properly perform such a basic function as copying files.
March 5^th, 2008 -	How to make Canadian names (eh?) - Aha! I've done it! I've come up with a foolproof algorithm for making Canadian names (eh?)
February 25^th, 2008 -	Mr. Smarty Pants rides again - Take my motorcycle ... please!
February 18^th, 2008 -	The Freeze game - When the 'game' gets too tough to compete, we must adopt a set of cooperation skills or not be able to play the game at all. Competition is a luxury borne of a life comfortable enough to allow it. When life becomes too difficult to live in competition, we must start working together ... or die.
February 13^th, 2008 -	Dorothea or the Wicked Witch? - By understanding how people went from naturally and logically coping with their world to creating a nightmare of butchering and slaughtering others, we might possibly be able to hang on to the social convention we call civility.
February 7^th, 2008 -	A strange university course - Hockey in Canada ... the university course. I should've just waited for the movie.
February 4^th, 2008 -	No flying, only free-fall - A rare rant about something current. Three starlets on the road to destruction, and I take my own (albeit tiny) kick at them.
January 29^th, 2008 -	Shocked by BioShock - Oblivion, I'll never forget you. But there's a new game DVD in my drive these days, and it's got me in its dark dystopian grasp right now.
January 23^rd, 2008 -	The coffee tastes just fine - First impressions from my new job and new job description.
January 18^th, 2008 -	I wonder what the coffee will be like - I'm moving to a new job starting three days from now. It looks like that standard two-year time limit has imposed itself on me yet again ...
January 10^th, 2008 -	How the West was lost, Part 3: Circling the drain - It's easy to be an empire when you're the only show in town (and the new kid on the block). But just try to keep up the same old act for more than a few decades, and see how hard it is to stay ahead of the competition ... when you're the same old tune, people stop dancing to it and go listen to some other song and dance. Such is the fate of the stage act known as the Western Empire.
January 7^th, 2008 -	Anatomy of a security breech - Some devious little mind tried--unsuccessfully--to use my guestbook as a launch to a series of script-based security breech attacks on visitors to my guestbook. I reverse engineer how they tried to do it. I suppose I should warn people that this is a particularly boring blog entry today.
January 4^th, 2008 -	How the West was lost, Part 2: The wheels come off - Moral rot or liberation from restricted paternal ways? Regardless of how you think of it, it is the litmus test of where our empire is headed. Good or bad, the wheels are rattling loose.