Author: admin

I bought a washer/dryer set at BM. I called early this week to get it delivered and the only date they could do it was today, they told me. I said fine, gave all my coordinates, and didn't give it another thought. I call them up this morning to see when they're going to come, only to be told that not only was the delivery never confirmed, the dryer is back-order and can't be delivered until mid-next week. The washer, they can't deliver until tomorrow. BASTARDS!

If it hadn't been for that delivery today, I'd be in Ottawa eating mom-cooked food right just this minute. I took the day off to make a long weekend, but now I'm really pissed that:

1. I had to split it in half for a delivery
2. the delivery will NOT happen today
3. I have no more clean laundry and am reduced to wearing mismatched socks
4. I have missed two days of home-cooking
5. I will have to wait a full week before I can get the crap
6. I will have to take another day off to wait for that fuckng delivery.

Hence, I will say again: FUCK YOU Brault & Martineau.

POSSUM KINGDOM LAKE, Texas (AP) – Bob Bemer, a computer pioneer who published warnings of the Y2K problem in the early 1970s and helped invent a widely used coding system, has died after a battle with cancer. He was 84.

Bemer died Tuesday at his home along Possum Kingdom Lake, about 200 kilometres west of Dallas, said his stepson, Glen Teeler. Bemer played an major role in how the world's computers operate. He helped invent the ASCII coding system that is used in computers to represent text, and also contributed the escape key and the backslash to the computer language.

Pronounced “As-kee,” the American Standard Code for Information Interchange is an encoding system used in nearly every computer. It allows computers, which can only interpret numbers, to see text as a series of numbers.

He first published warnings of the Y2K computer problem in 1971 and again in 1979, and made several media appearances to discuss the issue in the years leading up to the millennium.

As recently as a month ago, “He was on the computer every day,” Teeler said Wednesday. “He is a man who literally worked just about every day until he died. He felt at home sitting in front of a (computer) screen.”

Born Feb. 8, 1920, in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., Bemer began his programming career in 1949, working at companies including RAND Corp., IBM, and Honeywell. It was his time with IBM during the 1950s and 1960s where he contributed to the development of ASCII. On his website, he described himself as a “Computer software consultant, futurist and raconteur.” “He never got the coding out of his system,” Teeler said. “He was a coder until he couldn't code any more. He lived it and breathed it.”

Original link: http://canadaeast.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040624/CPB/48332034

Now normally, I wouldn't feel enclined to share something like that. I mean, it's sad, but only geeks would probably care. Why am I doing it, you may ask? It's because I couldn't resist the name of the town the article was published from. Curious now? Click here!

Went to moonlightjoy's and emjayne's garden party last night with eniran and Audrey. I had a really good time. Talked geeky fiction and home decor for a good part of the evening. I was able to put a face to the screennames of people I occasionally goof off with, like judyna, keyef, electricland (though I'd met her once before), defrocked and mr_manifesto. I know I'm probably forgetting many people, but um, some of the details are vague and murky near the end of the night. Something to do about gay midget bondage porn…

Got home and had a very late (and very light) dinner and fell in bed 'round 2am. Of course, my body hates me and woke me up at 7:30 *groan*, Couldn't get back to sleep, so I decided to go online.

It's close to 4pm Vienna time, and I promised raspberrysalmon I'd send good thoughts in her direction. Today is her last exam of the semester, and once she waxes rhapsodic on the virtues of anticoagulants, she'll be on vacation for the next few months. Go you!

*gets up and shuffles towards the kitchen for coffee*

Woke up way the hell too early to go to a client meeting this morning. Things went fairly well considering how fussy the client can be. Right now, I need to write down my meeting notes before I forget them, but I'm HUNGRY!

Anybody have lunch plans today?

Edit: what is it with my friends and their belief that popcorn is a meal???

Just came back from lunch with an old coworker from CGI. Really funny guy with a good head on his shoulders. We talked about the fact I'm looking for a new job. There are some really interesting possibilities with Genome Quebec.

In a nutshell, I was consulting for CGI on the GQ project last year, so I know what they want and what they're working on. Now CGI's mandate for GQ is ending today, and apparently they have funds for another 6 months of development. They also have a ton of side-projects they want to start. That means they'll need to hire people.

Veeeeeeeery interesting. At worst, my salary stays the same. At best, I get a 15-20K yearly increase. In either case, the benefits are better and I'm working on really interesting projects in my field of choice.

Just lemme dust off the old CV and see what happens!

Dogwear designer Hildegard Bergbauer, who also makes Tyrolean mountain hats and rainwear for canines, said the leather outfits were best suited for dachshunds and other small dogs but also looked good on poodles, spaniels and boxers. Bergbauer said she was inspired by the memory of dogs dressed up at festivals in her youth.

She said that when she dressed her dogs Spitzerich and Zorrolino up in mini dirndls and lederhosen, people liked the idea and thought it was a lot of fun. So far, Bergbauer has sold her costumes to dog owners in the United States and of course in Bavaria.

“They want to go to the beer garden and to show off on the Leopoldstsrasse (Munich's main shopping street) and it's ideal for that.” Bergbauer said she is thinking about extending her dogwear range to include kilts and even biking leathers and goggles for dogs riding pillion.

This is why dogs turn on their owners and eat them.

original link: Reuters Oddly Enough

So, end of weekend review.

First of all, I have the apartment all to myself – it's glorious :D It will only last a few days, but I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts. Marc was over to pick up his keys and move the first load of boxes to his room. Talked a bit, then went to Ikea with eniran. This time, prior to our departure, I checked online for stock availability.

This turned out to be our most efficient ikea shopping trip ever. We went in, found the location, ran to the self-serve aisles and laid claim to a pair of really heavy boxes. Goofed off with blue “pantoufles” in the line to wait to pay, and finally headed home. Spent the next hour or so cursing at little screws that wouldn't cooperate (favourite quote from Sara: “You don't need tools to build ikea furniture” – thank god I got tools last xmas) and finally got it up, sanded, oiled and all tucked away.

This is also the final result of all the work I've been doing in my kitchen these past few weeks :)

Once everything was tidied up (even though the place looks like a warzone and needs to be cleaned from top to bottom), I made dinner (hmmm, pasta goodness!) and then we got comfy to watch a movie. We laughed our asses off watching Robin Williams in Good Morning Vietnam. I hadn't seen that movie in ages, and I'd forgotten how funny it was.

Other good quote of the day: “You know how I told S. that I never get the munchies? You just proved me wrong. Damn you!”. Sweeeeeeeeeeeet :D

So what did I do today. Well, I woke up way too early considering the time I went to bed last night. Finished painting the breakfast nook. The trim is done, as is any required touch-ups. Good thing done, so now I'll be able to finally install the damn butcher block – as soon as i can get one from Ikea.

I spent a good part of the day chatting off and on with Tia, while waiting for a phone call from hacker_grrl to go table shopping. I doubt it's going to happen today. Crap. I need a kitchen table, and tomorrow will not be a good shopping day with the roommate madness. I'll be glad when this whole mess is done and over.

So today is Tina's birthday.

Outlook alerted me to the fact earlier this week. I sent her an ecard. I don't know why. To hurt her? To hurt myself? Why do I keep thinking about this girl? I keep looking at my email to see if she sent a reply, even though I fairly well know I won't get anything. I know she got the card. What do I expect to get out of all this?

Shit, I wish I knew.

Well, it's official, both my current roommates are out to drive me bonkers.

Marc, my new roommate, has only met Caro once. He's already afraid of her. She's always had an abrasive personality, but right just this minute, she's acting like a real bitch. She's moving out on Sunday, and has a crew of friends to help her move. That's fine. Marc asked me if he could start bringing stuff on Sunday as well. I didn't see a problem, as Annie's room – the room he's going to be taking – is already empty because Annie moved out last week. She went ballistic, saying that she didn't want a congestion in the staircase.

Now excuse me, but that's a pile of bullshit. I know you only rented your van for a few hours, but I once emptied 3 complete apartments in 4 hours with 6 people. You have 4 people, but you ONLY HAVE ONE ROOM TO CLEAR! So excuse me if I think you're full of yourself.