It was about 9:00am local time when the plane crossed over the Netherlands (I actually saw a warship or two in the Atlantic just before the coast came into view,) giving me my first view of the European countryside. Unlike the prairies of Canada, which are a nicely arrayed grid of farms, Europe is a mess of wandering roads and fields of random sizes and dimensions. You could tell the new towns from the old, the ones built during medieval times, with their circular layout and city wa

Before I start this entry, I wanted to let everyone know that my server back at home (you know, the one that runs RoadRunner X and all of the hosting that I do) decided to take a dump on the first day I was gone. I had someone take a look, and the BIOS is reporting a "PCI Parity Error," so likely one of the PCI cards has died. Hopefully I can convince Torke to go over and fix it later today (that is, Tuesday.) So, I'm sorry for the mess caused for everyone, but I'm doing my best to fix it

In a surprise turn of events, I was asked this week if I'd like to work out of Germany for a couple of months. Of course, I didn't hesitate, and said "yes!" right away. So here I am, a few days later, telling you all about my plans to fly off to Deutschland a week from today. As it turns out, there's a big project happening near Nuremberg, and they need some more of us computer forensics folks to come on board and lend a helping hand.

I've been doing a lot of playing, listening, and watching lately. It all started with my trip to Vancouver over the holidays. So, instead of going into a whole ton of detail, here are some mini-reviews in typical, biased "Cyan grade" style.

Thank you very much for taking the time to put your IKEA experience on paper. However I am very disappointed that it wasn't up to your expectations. The only way we can address issues and improve our customer service and shopping experience is to listen to our customers.

It's December 22nd, the last day of work before the Christmas holiday. I checked the weather forecast on Environment Canada's website from the comfort of my office on the 21st floor in Edmonton. Well, isn't that a surprise, rain for the entire duration of my trip to Vancouver. The day wrapped up quickly, and after wishing all of my co-workers a 'Merry Christmas', I was on my way down to meet the airport shuttle. Some might question the wisdom of traveling in one's formal work clothes, but

If you were forced to choose how you would die, what would you choose? It's a bit of a morbid question, but a rather fascinating one. How would you live out those last few days before you died?

A visit to IKEA to purchase furniture has been a ritual in my family for over twenty years. As far as I can remember, being six years old and living in Vegreville, Alberta, paying a visit to IKEA has always been a memorable experience. There has always been a certain amount of charm involved with visiting an IKEA store. Back then, IKEA Edmonton was located near West Edmonton Mall. I hadn't been back to the Edmonton location since then, having lived in the Vancouver area for the past ten y

Friday will be my final day in Grande Cache, Alberta, a town of 4,000 people and in the middle of nowhere. I've stayed here for exactly six months, and it's been like a gigantic breath of fresh air. The attitudes of the people here have been warm and friendly, and it's been interesting to live as an adult in a town that I grew up in as a kid. To be honest, I'll miss the town and all of its nuances.

Hey,

This is by far the best Synchronet BBS I've seen lately. I recently got back into BBS'ing and have noticed that there are SO many out-of-the-box Synchro systems and everything feels so bland. It's nice that you managed to stick with the best software and not make it look like everything else.

Since I'll be departing Grande Cache shortly, I thought it'd be best to wrap up my "series" on the delicacies of fine dining in Grande Cache. I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that the best food to be had in Grande Cache is not in the restaurants, but the houses of everyday people who enjoy putting together a home-cooked meal. For example, last night between games of Hearts, I had some rather fine BBQ Elk. Ironically, the last time I had game meat was right here in Grande Cache,

I just got back home from a great thanksgiving dinner, a night of playing hearts and working on amateur radio equipment. What more could I ask for out of life?

~I can still recall our last summer
I still see it all
Walks along the sand,
laughing in the rain
Our last summer
Memories that remain.~

Ten years ago, I never in my wildest dreams would've believed that I could listen to the great variety of video game music and remixes of video game music as readily as I can today. This is great, because there are some real classics out there, from the Final Fantasy series, from Lennus, from Lufia, Kings Quest VI, the list goes on. You name any great video game, and it's virtually guaranteed that a key component of what made it great was the music.

Due to my unique situation here in Grande Cache, that is, living without an oven or a stove, I've been eating a sickening amount of frozen and pre-made foods. A microwave is currently my only cooking tool, and that's pathetic by any standard. Needless to say, I've become quite sick of the rotating selection of frozen TV dinners, pre-packaged salads, and canned goods.