Withdrawal

Two weeks without coffee!
What's the best way to quit something? Cold turkey, or slowly wean yourself off?
Maybe its the act of going for coffee that I miss. The social aspect of the 'coffee break'.
Not that I couldn't just go and get a chai or something.
Maybe it's the smell. I love the smell of fresh roasted coffee. There's something so earthy and delicious about it.
Is it the taste that I can't do without? I usually drown it in milk and sugar, so I guess that one's out. I never could get behind straight black coffee. I think I tried it after watching Twin Peaks...bleechh.

Damn it! I sure could use a break right now? ...2nd Cup anyone? ...Anyone?
Bueller?

Profane Power!

The best part about working late at night is that there's no one else around.
That means I get to swear as loud as I want.
Isn't it George Carlin who refers to the seven words you can't use on radio? Well I think I've expanded the list to at least eight today.
It's amazing how refreshing it is to be able to swear out loud. No social conventions to follow, no easily offended co-workers, no visiting press or families happening by at inoportune times in the hallways. Just me and my computer.
Of course, maybe that's why my computer misbehaves so much - it's sulking.

The greatest time in human history

I went to see David Suzuki speak on the weekend. I am incredibly impressed with the passion he brings when he speaks. Trying to deal with big business and big government must have been like getting double root canals on some days, and to stay as committed and involved as he has says a lot about the man. I know how daunting the task of dealing with global warming looks to me. Trying to change the habits of a society based on consumption seems almost impossible.

One thing he said really stuck with me. His daughter described the time we're living in as the 'greatest time in human history'. The way she looks at it is that the decisions that are being made today have the potential to change the course of human history. Sure a little melodramatic, but nonetheless, true. Climate change is happening despite what Ralph Klein may think. It's up to us all to try and place some long-term vision in the heads of our short-term thinking politicians.

Sign up at http://www.davidsuzuki.org/tour/vote.asp and make your voice heard.

Thought for a Saturday

People will forget what you said.
People will forget what you did.
But they will never forget how you made them feel.

Instant Karma

Where is Karma when you need her?
I'm driving to work today and the guy in front of me at the lights is smoking in his car. No big deal right? As long as he's not blowing it in my face what do I care. Then as he pulls off, he flicks his butt out onto the street. I think that's the one thing that pisses me off most about smokers - they all seem to feel that the earth is their ashtray.
Maybe it's chic now to feel sorry for smokers - since they have been banned from polluting others and are forced to huddle outside in little packs to pursue their habit - but they still manage to piss me off. Why are people so oblivious about litter - especially when it comes to cigarettes? How hard is it to actually find somewhere to put your refuse other than tossing it to the four winds? I hate walking down a sidewalk on Whyte and having to wade through last night's piles of crap.
Anyway - I was hoping karma would drop some black ice down in front of the butt-thrower and I'd come around the corner to find him down in the ditch. Damn slow ass karma. Oh well - maybe he had a kink in his neck when he got to work.

Fring

Why do I fall for it every time? False Spring. It gets to be a couple degrees above zero and I'm ready to break out the shorts. As soon as the sun goes down... pooor, unsuspecting, dumb-ass me is out freezing his ass off.
Stupid mother nature. Why does she torment me so? Why does she pick on the gullible?
Didn't the groundhogs promise us an early spring? Last time I listen to rodents when it comes to weather forecasting.

Misplaced rants

I was recently reminded of the power of writing and why I must continue in my goal of writing more.
It was a couple months back - shortly after our provinces latest budget surplus predictions had come out - that I came across a story on Liberia on the BBC.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6266155.stm
How many billions of dollars in surplus are we because of our oil. The country of Liberia has an annual budget of $129 Million. 129 Million! I look at the disparity of wealth in the world, and I look at the short-sightedness of our politicians and I got angry enough to write a letter to the premier.
Well, as happens - a month or so passes and I've forgotten about Liberia and moved back to my own petty concerns about work and life. But then I get a letter in the mailbox. Something official looking. Assuming that I'm in some kind of trouble, I open the letter with some trepedation. To my surprise - its from the minister of intergovernmental affairs. In it, the minister (or more likely some researcher on his behalf), outlined what Alberta has and is doing for foreign aid.
(you may want to check out www.cd.gov.ab.ca/wrf - a fund I'm not sure how many people are aware of).
Anyways - the point of this is not this particular letter - although, at the very least, I feel good that someone in the government was forced to do a little research into Liberia.

The point is to bring attention to the issues you care about. One letter can make a difference.

Workmares

I love dreams. They're like a free trip to the movies. Even if you've done nothing fun all day, you can at least look forward to some self-generated entertainment at night. (not that kind! Get your mind out of the gutter) Sure, sometimes they can be strange and unfathomable but being free, who are we to complain.

I have a friend who used to work at a restaurant called the Keg as a waiter. When he was working a lot of shifts, he'd occaisionally have these waiter nightmares he used to call 'kegmares'. He'd be dropping dishes, forgetting orders, spilling drinks, generally the kind of things that make a waiters life hell.

Now, seeing as I make video games, I occaisionally have fun dreams. Last night I was in the midst of some science fiction adventure. Whatever I was saying, people around me were getting mad, and...just like in a video game, I wanted to redo the action. I had been walking in this large sewer and I became aware that swirling in the water beneath my feet were all the different dialog choices that I could make. But after saying something different, my perception became all screwed up - like seeing a movie shot with bad camera angles. Shortly after - I woke up and listened to Art Bell for an hour.

Fortunately my cameras are working much better today.

Valentine's

I was just thinking about my favorite valentine's memory. Has to be back when I lived in England and was working at a bar in Oxford. On my arrival that crisp english morning, there was an envelope with my name on it. No one knew who left it. Inside was a handmade valentine. For a lonely guy, far from home - that little gesture sure made my day (if not my week). I never did find out who sent it, but it's a valentines day I won't forget.

As much of a made-up, commercialized day that this has become, maybe it at least serves as a reminder to us to let the people who mean the most to us know exactly that. Just don't wait till the next valentine's day to tell them again.

Crunch Time

So here I am...still at work. Ok fine - I'm not actually working while I'm posting this, but rest assured - I've been working. We're in the middle of crunch time. For anyone not familiar with that term - it's the time of a project, especially in software development, when your deadline starts looming and the bugs seem to pile up and the hours grow long and the nerves grow short.

Today - all the little guys I had sitting down nicely in their stations on our starship decided to each move about 2 feet to the left. Damn union disturbers. Between that and my constant battle with the laws of physics and it's been a long week. And it's only Tuesday! By Friday, I expect a total state of chaos.

Hello world!

So why would I want a blog? That's the Big Damn Question. It's not like my opinions are more important than anyone elses. It's not like this is going to be some socially significant commentary or revolutionary call to action. I just wanted to write. Used to be that I kept a journal and filled it with my meandering thoughts from time to time. But hey - this is the 21st century. And besides...journals kill trees!