Sorry for the delay - All photos (223) I took on my Outward Bound trip have now been uploaded to my gallery. Enjoy.
What's Cooking
Posted by on Sunday, October 5, 2003 in - 7 comments
Due to my lack of posting in the last while I thought I would give you a sneak peek at the posts I’m working on. Please keep in mind that: this is a rough draft, some ideas may end up merging, and some may end up never being written. If you’d like me to complete a particular idea sooner rather than later please let me know.
- In shape and feeling good
- Buying a Building 101
- The Oval Inbox (President of the Internet follow up post)
- What will I pay for? (Why would I pay for Trillian but not MSN?)
- Mountain Cairns (a simple but powerful system)
- Pooping in the woods (the sole reason for human invention)
- Outward Bound Trip (a general summary)
- French (a language and a culture)
- Taking Digital Camera on Long Trips
- Zap your PRAM Conference
- Being Alone
- Knowing more about your food is good (knowing how it is made, where it came from, how it is cooked, etc)
- Irrational Fear of the Wilderness (When bears attack!!)
- Living is very basic at its core (food, warmth, dryness)
- Currency (how come one hundred dollars in the mountains isn’t as valuable as a single chocolate bar?)
Back From The Woods
Posted by on Tuesday, September 30, 2003 in - 9 comments
I'm back from the deep dark wilderness. I shaved the beard (too itchy), am in incredible physical shape, hated doing #2 in the woods, and have tons of things to write about in the very near future.
A Guest Post by Steven Garrity
Posted by on Sunday, September 14, 2003 - 1 comment
While Dan is away on his quarter-life crisis mountain adventure, he showed even greater courage and foolhardiness by giving me (his friend and co-worker Steven Garrity) the reigns of his website. As you might expect, at first I explored the many ways in which I could use this privilege to humiliate Dan.
I considered a fraudulent marriage proposal to his significant other, coming out as Dan to endorse Arnold Schwarzenegger’s election campaign, or perhaps fraudulently submitting his resignation (or trying to have him impeached) as the self-declared and undisputed President of the Internet.
In the knowledge that such tomfoolery would be returned to me ten-fold upon Dan’s return, I’ve opted to give you a few updates that Dan would probably want you to know about.
First, we know he arrived safely in Vancouver. He posted some amazing photos of the forest fires he flew over on the way out. We haven’t heard from him since, but such was the plan, so I’ll take that as good news.
Second, were Dan here, he would probably be making a post about the upcoming Zap Your PRAM Conference. Dan, myself, Daniel Burka of silverorange, and Peter Rukavina of Reinvented Inc. are organizing a small conference to be held in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island on the weekend of October 24-26.
The Zap Your PRAM conference will be a gathering people interested in technology, the web, weblogs, and all kinds of other related topics. Read up on the details and if you think you might be interested, drop us a line and request and invitation.
Also, if you’ve been emailing Dan (about the conference, or anything else), you’ve probably already noticed that his handy robot is replying to his emails while he’s away. Please note that he won’t have access to his email until the end of the month. If there is something that I might be able to help with (such as the Zap conference), drop me a line.
As one of the people to whom Dan’s work responsibilities fall in his absence, I’m earning a great respect for what he does. Apparently he actually is busy. We all look forward to his return.
Off we go!
Posted by on Friday, September 5, 2003 in - 5 comments
I'm off on a zainy adventure. Keep yourselves entertained until then. Steve G may post something here I thought would be of interest to you while I'm away.
Hurricane Fabian
Posted by on Tuesday, September 2, 2003 in - 3 comments
In keeping with my weather junkie persona I have to say that I am eagerly tracking Fabian, a class four hurricane aimed straight at the Maritimes of Canada (where I live).
The best information you'll find on the storm is located at the National Hurricane Center's site (USA).
When The Summer Ends
Posted by on Monday, September 1, 2003 in - 5 comments
Today was Labour Day here in Canada. While this day isn’t as official as September 21 for ending the summer it is the turning point for summer activity here on Prince Edward Island.
Because I live on a resort in a tourist town I’m exposed to this summer changing phenomenon more drastically than most. It changes so fast it makes you sit on your front steps, look around and sigh. Two nights ago the resort was full (40 units). Tonight we have 16 vacancies. Today the local amusement park was open. Tomorrow it is closed (for the season). This starts the month of shutting down for our little community. In four weeks all of the stores will be closed. The gas station will pump its last gallon and the traffic lights at the intersection will go back to flashing yellow. A few days after the lights change the golf courses will remove their tees and their flags.
I’ve watched this pan out for twelve years and each year it has that same empty feeling. The weirdest part of it all is that I have that dread of going back to school even though I’m not.
My Invention: A Motion Powered Wireless Mouse
Posted by on Thursday, August 21, 2003 in - 10 comments
As Bluetooth, wifi, and other “freeing” wireless technologies become affordable and widely used we will begin to depend more and more on batteries. The battery life of a laptop is a significant buying point. The same goes for MP3 players, cameras, and computer accessories. While I lust for a Bluetooth mouse I cringe at the thought of the batteries in it running out while on the last level of Half-Life 2. This dilemma got me thinking (a dangerous thing).
We have all seen the marketing hype around kinetic powered watches. The watch captures the energy of it being moved about by your arm. It then uses that stored power to continuously power your watch. Why can’t we do that for a wireless computer mouse?
If the capturing of your hand’s kinetic energy is not a possibility how about a roller(s) or maybe a way to create static electricity?
Are there any engineers willing to enlighten me on the brilliance or stupidity of this idea?
Let the royalties pour in!
Accidents, Cops, Teenagers, and Stupid People
Posted by on Saturday, August 16, 2003 in - 111 comments
This evening I decided to head to my parent’s cottage on the beach for some good times with my sister and her friends. On my way to the cottage I was the first car on the scene of a fairly serious car accident (the cars were still moving when I came up). Here are my thoughts on the event.
Throw a Frisbee, Do Good
Posted by on Monday, August 11, 2003 in - 3 comments
A fellow slice, Daniel Burka, has taken the initiative to organize the first ever silverorange Frisbee golf tournament. All proceeds will be donated to Habitat for Humanity.
Date: September 6,2003
Where: Strathgartney Provincial Park (PEI)
While I won't be here for the event, CEOBlues will be sponsoring the award for the team who comes from the farthest away.