After several weeks of escalating tensions - this evening I came home with a peace offering. I bought several cans of 'wet' cat food to try and negotiate my way out of the dog house.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Détente
After several weeks of escalating tensions - this evening I came home with a peace offering. I bought several cans of 'wet' cat food to try and negotiate my way out of the dog house.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Father's Day, Golf and Bike Ride
Walking out of church this morning a cheerful gentlemen asked if my father was in town. His face dropped when I said, 'no, my father passed away a few years ago'. At that moment, sadness hit me. I would really like to pick up the phone today and be able to wish my Dad a happy father's day. I miss him. I thought of spending some time at home with a photo album and remembering good times. Just thinking about it made me sad - so I opted for some fresh air and an afternoon bike ride.
The traffic was eerily light today Instead of the usual whirr of cars and SUVs speeding by - it was just the occasional shuttle bus, taxi or limo slowly climbing the Genesee hill with me. I guess all those ominous road signs warning to 'Avoid the area' scared people away. About half-way up the hill I came upon a man in golf clothes held up a fistful of U.S. Open tickets. A taxi pulled over and he was off running to make a sale. The area was crawling with men in orange vests guarding empty corporate parking lots. The odd lots advertised parking, but most were taped off with yellow police tape and everywhere there were 'No Event Parking' signs. There was an explosion of orange cones everywhere. A fun little obstacle course for my Sunday afternoon ride.
The most entertaining part of my bike ride as all the crazy road signs. The sign below says no stopping and no standing. There was a policeman near by, watching me closely, as I stopped my bike for a moment and stood there to snap a picture.
Just past this sign was another series of signs - including a big yellow sign that showed a person walking with a big circle with a line through it - along the walkway leading to the admissions entrance. Go figure!
With all the excitement- I almost wish I had an interest in or knew a bit about the game of golf.
The traffic was eerily light today Instead of the usual whirr of cars and SUVs speeding by - it was just the occasional shuttle bus, taxi or limo slowly climbing the Genesee hill with me. I guess all those ominous road signs warning to 'Avoid the area' scared people away. About half-way up the hill I came upon a man in golf clothes held up a fistful of U.S. Open tickets. A taxi pulled over and he was off running to make a sale. The area was crawling with men in orange vests guarding empty corporate parking lots. The odd lots advertised parking, but most were taped off with yellow police tape and everywhere there were 'No Event Parking' signs. There was an explosion of orange cones everywhere. A fun little obstacle course for my Sunday afternoon ride.
The most entertaining part of my bike ride as all the crazy road signs. The sign below says no stopping and no standing. There was a policeman near by, watching me closely, as I stopped my bike for a moment and stood there to snap a picture.
Just past this sign was another series of signs - including a big yellow sign that showed a person walking with a big circle with a line through it - along the walkway leading to the admissions entrance. Go figure!
With all the excitement- I almost wish I had an interest in or knew a bit about the game of golf.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Surf Buddies
Unpacking Wanda* and heading out for an afternoon of chasing waves.
What a great day to be playing in the ocean. The water was warm and the sun was muted by the marine layer (typical June gloom). We stayed on the inside, riding waves that had already broken. It was just Jac and I and a few folks walking on the beach. Absolutely no one competing with us for waves. Perfect!
All smiles after an afternoon of playing in the ocean. Suprise, suprise we actually caught and rode a few waves!
*Wanda is my car.
What a great day to be playing in the ocean. The water was warm and the sun was muted by the marine layer (typical June gloom). We stayed on the inside, riding waves that had already broken. It was just Jac and I and a few folks walking on the beach. Absolutely no one competing with us for waves. Perfect!
All smiles after an afternoon of playing in the ocean. Suprise, suprise we actually caught and rode a few waves!
*Wanda is my car.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Happy Ending
The happy ending to this earlier post.
Team
We have now successfully arrived in Michigan!!
That's right folks - after a cold and rainy night camped out in GMT ... we have successfully landed and confirmed transactions are being logged with EST timestamps.
I would like to officially thank and confirm the greatness of iTim
- Tippie
Team
We have now successfully arrived in Michigan!!
That's right folks - after a cold and rainy night camped out in GMT ... we have successfully landed and confirmed transactions are being logged with EST timestamps.
I would like to officially thank and confirm the greatness of iTim
- Tippie
Thursday, June 12, 2008
It's Smoothie Time
This morning's smoothie experiment was a HUGE success.
Yup, I was right - Trader Joe's Pomegranate Green Tea makes an excellent smoothie base!
Here is the scoop...
2 cups Trader Joe's Pomegranate Green Tea
2 scoops of Pomegranate Sorbet (365 Brand, fat free diary free from Whole Foods)
1 cup wild blueberries
1 scoop of Soy Protein Powder with Spirulina (Whole Foods Brand)
1 scoop fiber supplement (Benefiber)
3 fl oz Mixed Berry Flavoured Probiotic Immunity Drink (DanActive)
4 ice-cubes
Blend until smooth. Enjoy!
Yup, I was right - Trader Joe's Pomegranate Green Tea makes an excellent smoothie base!
Here is the scoop...
2 cups Trader Joe's Pomegranate Green Tea
2 scoops of Pomegranate Sorbet (365 Brand, fat free diary free from Whole Foods)
1 cup wild blueberries
1 scoop of Soy Protein Powder with Spirulina (Whole Foods Brand)
1 scoop fiber supplement (Benefiber)
3 fl oz Mixed Berry Flavoured Probiotic Immunity Drink (DanActive)
4 ice-cubes
Blend until smooth. Enjoy!
No filter today
It has been one of those long frustrating work weeks. That combined with feeling ill today -- I guess I just didn't have it in me to pretend. Lately, I have noticed when I am not feeling well I start to loose my *filter* - I start to say exactly what I am thinking...
Dealing with data across timezones is always fun. Today, I was trying to enter a transaction from our office (PST) on a server in the midwest (CST) and have it appear in our web portal with the client's timezone (EST). After some configuration changes by another engineer on the team - I did some testing this was my report back.
Team
Good news is we are no longer stuck in the windy city of Chicago (a.k.a Central Time) - bad news is we flew right by Michigan (our destination of EST), St John's, NFLD (Newfie Time) and ended up God knows where.
I submitted this transaction at at 1:04pm PST, was expecting was expecting to see 4:04 pm EST, got 8:04 PM Mystery timezone.
516 Approved Change Demographics Susie Test 06/12/2008 06/12/2008 08:04:40 PM History
Shall we try again ...
-Tippie
Dealing with data across timezones is always fun. Today, I was trying to enter a transaction from our office (PST) on a server in the midwest (CST) and have it appear in our web portal with the client's timezone (EST). After some configuration changes by another engineer on the team - I did some testing this was my report back.
Team
Good news is we are no longer stuck in the windy city of Chicago (a.k.a Central Time) - bad news is we flew right by Michigan (our destination of EST), St John's, NFLD (Newfie Time) and ended up God knows where.
I submitted this transaction at at 1:04pm PST, was expecting was expecting to see 4:04 pm EST, got 8:04 PM Mystery timezone.
516 Approved Change Demographics Susie Test 06/12/2008 06/12/2008 08:04:40 PM History
Shall we try again ...
-Tippie
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Stimulus Cheque
Mr. Philip A. Belisle
United States Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Kansas City, MO 64999-0025
Dear Sir:
On May 9, 2008, I received an “economic stimulus payment” from you for the amount of $600.00. I’m concerned that I received this check in error. As I understand it, you are $9 trillion in debt. You have outstanding bills with:
a) 47 million people in the United States without health insurance
b) 27 million Iraqis
c) 35.5 million Americans living without adequate food
d) 744,000 people in the U.S. without a place to live
e) 2.9 million disabled U.S. veterans
f) at least one polar bear
...
This is a snipit of a blog posting by Rose Marie Berger. Rose Marie is a Sojourners associate editor, is a Catholic peace activist and poet. She sent her stimulus cheque to charity.
For the complete posting click here
United States Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Kansas City, MO 64999-0025
Dear Sir:
On May 9, 2008, I received an “economic stimulus payment” from you for the amount of $600.00. I’m concerned that I received this check in error. As I understand it, you are $9 trillion in debt. You have outstanding bills with:
a) 47 million people in the United States without health insurance
b) 27 million Iraqis
c) 35.5 million Americans living without adequate food
d) 744,000 people in the U.S. without a place to live
e) 2.9 million disabled U.S. veterans
f) at least one polar bear
...
This is a snipit of a blog posting by Rose Marie Berger. Rose Marie is a Sojourners associate editor, is a Catholic peace activist and poet. She sent her stimulus cheque to charity.
For the complete posting click here
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Abandoning The Life Raft Mentality
Ever since they broke with the mainline Protestant churches nearly 100 years ago, the hallmark of evangelical's theology has been a vision of modern society as a sinking ship, sliding toward depravity and sin. For evangelicals, the altar call was the only life raft — a chance to accept Jesus Christ, rebirth and salvation. Falwell, Dobson and their generation saw their political activism as essentially defensive, fighting to keep traditional moral codes in place so their children could have a chance at the raft. But many younger evangelicals — and some old-timers — take a less fatalistic view. For them, the born-again experience of accepting Jesus is just the beginning. What follows is a long-term process of "spiritual formation" that involves applying his teachings in the here and now. They do not see society as a moribund vessel. They talk more about a biblical imperative to fix up the ship by contributing to the betterment of their communities and the world. They support traditional charities but also public policies that address health care, race, poverty and the environment.
From the New York Times Article
The Evangelical Crackup
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
Published: October 28, 2007
From the New York Times Article
The Evangelical Crackup
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
Published: October 28, 2007
Monday, June 9, 2008
Another Juice/Tea Combo
Recently, I have been reading the book Skinny Bitch. Ouch, if the title doesn't scorch your ears, the content will. Let's just says it uses much more colourful language than I am accustomed to. That aside, it is an interesting expose on 'we are what we eat' and a reminder to be more intentional about what we consume.
When life gets busy I have an unfortunate tendency to be less intentional about my meals and grab for the quick and easy 'junky' snacks. That has happened a bit too often lately -- so I made a point of stocking up on some healthy groceries for the week. My quest for a replacement for my fave and now extinct Zen Blend Iced Tea is ongoing. Today I am trying out Trader Joes Pomegranate Green Tea. I still prefer POM's Pomegrate Peach White Tea - but the Trader Joe's Tea has a friendly price tag. I am thinking it might actually make a good base liquid for a fruit smoothie. I'll let you know how that works out.
When life gets busy I have an unfortunate tendency to be less intentional about my meals and grab for the quick and easy 'junky' snacks. That has happened a bit too often lately -- so I made a point of stocking up on some healthy groceries for the week. My quest for a replacement for my fave and now extinct Zen Blend Iced Tea is ongoing. Today I am trying out Trader Joes Pomegranate Green Tea. I still prefer POM's Pomegrate Peach White Tea - but the Trader Joe's Tea has a friendly price tag. I am thinking it might actually make a good base liquid for a fruit smoothie. I'll let you know how that works out.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Surf Diva
This weekend my friend Jac became a certified Surf Diva!
I grabbed my camera and parked myself at the beach during her lessons and acted as groupie, paparrazi and cheerleader. It is fun watching the look of determination as the grommets paddle for their first waves and are rudely tossed about by the chop. Ahhh, but there is nothing like that feeling of jubilation when you stand up and ride for the first time. Brought back great memories of my Surf Diva initiation.
If Jac is able to find a board and wetsuit -- by Saturday we will be bobbing up and down in the waves together.
Jac, standing tall and riding the waves
Wave of Victory
Official Surfing Diva Portrait
I grabbed my camera and parked myself at the beach during her lessons and acted as groupie, paparrazi and cheerleader. It is fun watching the look of determination as the grommets paddle for their first waves and are rudely tossed about by the chop. Ahhh, but there is nothing like that feeling of jubilation when you stand up and ride for the first time. Brought back great memories of my Surf Diva initiation.
If Jac is able to find a board and wetsuit -- by Saturday we will be bobbing up and down in the waves together.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
What's all the ruckus about some Hockey Song?
I hung out at the beach this morning and watched a friend's surf lesson. Afterwards as we walked on the beach she asked me about - some controversy in Canada swirling around a hockey song?!? Apparent, NPR and Yahoo news have been runing stories about it.
Ah, yes, earlier this morning I was reading on CBC.ca that the beloved trumpet fanfare/Intro to Hockey Night in Canada may have played for the last time.
Canadians are pretty passionate about their hockey and with 40 years of passion and tradition associated with HNIC - they are not going to let the theme song slip away without a fight. Many have even nicknamed the theme, the second national anthem
In fact one Ottawa paper reported that, "Conservative Heritage Minister Josée Verner must defend one of Canada's most famous musical traditions and do everything possible to ensure the CBC continues to broadcast the theme. The Hockey Night in Canada theme is a part of Canada's culture that goes beyond sport," Coderre said. "If the minister wants to show that she cares about Canadian heritage, this is her chance."
Wondering what all the fuss is about. Below is a YouTube clip of the HNIC opening.
CBC now has a blog page where you can share your special memories of the HNIC Theme song?!? Click here to read. The Toronto Star did the below Man On The Street piece about Toronto's reaction to the demise of the theme song!
Ah, yes, earlier this morning I was reading on CBC.ca that the beloved trumpet fanfare/Intro to Hockey Night in Canada may have played for the last time.
Canadians are pretty passionate about their hockey and with 40 years of passion and tradition associated with HNIC - they are not going to let the theme song slip away without a fight. Many have even nicknamed the theme, the second national anthem
In fact one Ottawa paper reported that, "Conservative Heritage Minister Josée Verner must defend one of Canada's most famous musical traditions and do everything possible to ensure the CBC continues to broadcast the theme. The Hockey Night in Canada theme is a part of Canada's culture that goes beyond sport," Coderre said. "If the minister wants to show that she cares about Canadian heritage, this is her chance."
Wondering what all the fuss is about. Below is a YouTube clip of the HNIC opening.
CBC now has a blog page where you can share your special memories of the HNIC Theme song?!? Click here to read. The Toronto Star did the below Man On The Street piece about Toronto's reaction to the demise of the theme song!
Friday, June 6, 2008
Twit-ter
I have a couple of weekly Geek indulgences. I subscribe to the following weeklyTiVo-casts: DLTV, Cranky Geeks and David Pogue's NY Times Tech Review.
All of these shows have been debating the merits of a new service called Twitter.com. I love the Twitter tagline -- 'Real life happens beteen blog posts and e-mail'. Twitter is kind of like a collection of micro blog posts that answer the question 'what are you doing?'.
Listening to the debate I have been intrigued but not enough to actually sign up. Well today, twitter was featured on the Ross Blog. So I finally decided to check it out! You can find me on twitter by searching for thetippiecanoe.
Speaking of Geek TV. David Pogue did an interesting piece today on Free Voice-Activated Phone services. Click here to enjoy!
All of these shows have been debating the merits of a new service called Twitter.com. I love the Twitter tagline -- 'Real life happens beteen blog posts and e-mail'. Twitter is kind of like a collection of micro blog posts that answer the question 'what are you doing?'.
Listening to the debate I have been intrigued but not enough to actually sign up. Well today, twitter was featured on the Ross Blog. So I finally decided to check it out! You can find me on twitter by searching for thetippiecanoe.
Speaking of Geek TV. David Pogue did an interesting piece today on Free Voice-Activated Phone services. Click here to enjoy!
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Quote Of The Day
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
-Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 - 1968)
-Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 - 1968)
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Welcome?!
A road sign from my drive home this evening.
What could possibly be afoot that I needed to avoid the area near my home.
Once home, I found the following e-mail from UCSD. The menacing road sign is our way of welcoming the U.S. Open to town!
Hmmm...
I wonder if I can use this note as justification for a 10:00 am - 2:00pm work schedule next week!
What could possibly be afoot that I needed to avoid the area near my home.
Once home, I found the following e-mail from UCSD. The menacing road sign is our way of welcoming the U.S. Open to town!
We want you to be aware of a major event in June that will impact traffic around the campus. The U.S. Open Golf Tournament will be held the week of June 9-14 at the Torrey Pines Golf Course and is expected to significantly affect transportation and roads surrounding our campus.
It is recommended you allow extra time for your travels that week. Approximately 50,000 persons are expected to attend each day. The profound impact of this on many people in the vicinity of the campus cannot be over stated. Peak hours for arriving traffic are 7:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and peak exiting hours are 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Hmmm...
I wonder if I can use this note as justification for a 10:00 am - 2:00pm work schedule next week!
Monday, June 2, 2008
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Double Dippin' Sunday
Today was double dippin' Sunday.
I have been off on my weekend Eliz-adventures and it seems like ages since I have been in town on a Sunday. It was good to be back home at LJCC today.
The theme of this morning's service was humility. There is nothing more humbling than to be reminded that a mere 45 minutes from where I live in affluence, there are people struggling day to day in abject poverty. Building a home is such a small drop of help in an ocean of need.
I arrived at church this morning as the following song was being sung.
Gloria (selected lyrics)
by Paul Colman
We all walk the same earth
We all breathe the same air
We all feel the same rain that falls
We all have the same heart
Beneath our skin the same blood
Flowing from our maker's hand
All God's children, all God's children
Sing Gloria, sing Gloria
All creation, come before Him
Sing Gloria, sing Gloria
After church I took what I thought would be a 15 minute power nap. Wow, I was out cold for 5 hours! Fortunately, I woke up just in time to scoot up the freeway and catch the Come Build Hope celebration service at SBPC .
Out on the patio was a wall filled with our build team pictures and several family biographies. It was fun to meet up with several members from my team, stand in front of the wall, and share our memories of the weekend.
Our trip celebration and highlight video. Enjoy!
Slowly, our online photo album is being built out here.
I have been off on my weekend Eliz-adventures and it seems like ages since I have been in town on a Sunday. It was good to be back home at LJCC today.
The theme of this morning's service was humility. There is nothing more humbling than to be reminded that a mere 45 minutes from where I live in affluence, there are people struggling day to day in abject poverty. Building a home is such a small drop of help in an ocean of need.
I arrived at church this morning as the following song was being sung.
Gloria (selected lyrics)
by Paul Colman
We all walk the same earth
We all breathe the same air
We all feel the same rain that falls
We all have the same heart
Beneath our skin the same blood
Flowing from our maker's hand
All God's children, all God's children
Sing Gloria, sing Gloria
All creation, come before Him
Sing Gloria, sing Gloria
After church I took what I thought would be a 15 minute power nap. Wow, I was out cold for 5 hours! Fortunately, I woke up just in time to scoot up the freeway and catch the Come Build Hope celebration service at SBPC .
Out on the patio was a wall filled with our build team pictures and several family biographies. It was fun to meet up with several members from my team, stand in front of the wall, and share our memories of the weekend.
Our trip celebration and highlight video. Enjoy!
Slowly, our online photo album is being built out here.
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