girls are like apples...

Girls are like
apples on trees. The best
ones are at the top of the tree.
The boys don't want to reach for
the good ones because they are afraid
of falling and getting hurt. Instead, they
just get the rotten apples from the ground
that aren't as good, but easy. So the apples
at the top think something is wrong with
them, when in reality, they're amazing.
They just have to wait for the right
boy to come along, the one
who's brave enough
to climb
all the way
to the top

of the tree

Yahoo! Answers... what a crock of s&^$*!

" Excuse me, but why does your website 'claim to be taking a break' when someone has a asked a question and may be getting a response, and then only to find that - the real reason is that perhaps the person may be deleting the question? I was midway through an answer, when I rec'd this taking a break, and went back in my history only to have the question disappear - don't allow people to retrack questions period. this website if full of stupid questions, its really just another social network - I mean how many people ask questions about personal health details that would indicate some illegal activities happening with this person - its all not right at all."

This was a comment I sent to them about some message I received while trying to respond to one of the many useless questions these morons ask on this website. I can't believe it appears on google, its all nonsense, and I am concerned by some of the questions be posed by these 'young' people. Questions about pregnancy, rape, stealing, diseases, you name it.. it's there. I don't know what Yahoo! is playing at, but this type of forum can be damaging to some who may come across this as a result of a google websearch.

the problem of shopping online

I was one of many people who sat by their computers on Christmas eve - 8pm - hoping to get in on Future Shop's Boxing Day sale. Among the items up for grabs and one that EVERYONE was talking about was the HD DVD player for $99. I was looking for a HTIB to go with the new LCD tv I purchased - so I had my eyes on either the Pioneer or Sony system. I didn't want to spend too much either.

Anyhow... 8pm arrives, and after searching the site (using previously bookmarked items that were on sale) - got to check out - and.... waiting, waiting, ...tick tock tick tock... and then from out of the blue - I was booted off the site. Too busy to access. I was p/o'ed. I wasn't the only one (judging by the comments in both Future Shops boards and RedFlagDeals forums). It was a complete f/up on Future Shop's side.

Needless to say, I did manage to get the system - and it would be sent to me via Purolator. I expected to wait a week for the deliver, but surprisingly, it arrived yesterday - in a HUGE box! Holy, it was taller than me! Hey, if I ever loose the roof over my head, I could use this box as a makeshift home :-)

I started to unpack the thing - and after wiring everything up, looked at all the connections and wires, I thought, holy shit, I can't figure this out. I get no sound - I have all kinds of connections and wires but haven't a clue how to hook the thing up. Why the hell do they make these things so hard? I have the television, the HD digital box, the HD DVD player and the receiver thingy. Making them all work properly was something else. Even the tv - trying to figure out the settings is too confusing, the picture size is never the same - prompting me to change from stretch, zoom, normal and different inputs and holy crap, I am getting fed up with it all.

As I sat last evening thinking about it all, when it comes down to the bottom line, I really don't care about resolution, size, sound - so I packed that stupid thing up and am sending it back. The HD box is going back as well - even though they shipped it out to me - and I made a big deal about having to spend a day dragging the old box to Rogers Video - and their bloody system were down by the time I arrived there. Anyhow, this whole experience has left a bad taste in my mouth. I am beginning to think I should have just been content with my old tv and regular cable.

ALEXTEL and other pre-tech toys of mine

ALEXTEL [From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]

Alex was the name of an interactive videotext information service offered by Bell Canada from 1988 to 1994.

The Alextel terminal rented to customers was a NAPLPS terminal with a standard modem for use on regular phone lines. The service could also be accessed with a personal computer with the appropriate terminal software.

Using the service could cost as much as 0.30$CAD per minute, and many users terminated their subscription upon receiving their first invoice.

The advent of the World Wide Web contributed to making this service obsolete. On 1994-04-29, Bell Canada sent a letter to its customers announcing that the service would be terminated on 1994-06-03. In that letter, Mr. T.E. Graham, then Director of Business Planning for Bell Advanced Communications, stated that "Quite simply, the ALEX network is not the right vehicle, nor the appropriate technology, at this time to deliver the information goods needed in our fast-paced society."

The Alextel terminal is reportedly usable as a dumb terminal for VT100 emulation.

Holy schmokes, I HAD one of these things (twice I'm sure!). The first time must have been 1989 or something, and the second time in 1992. I can't remember how much I paid for it on a monthly basis, but I remember talking with some Bell reps from Montreal (they were moderators for the some of the chat rooms). The chat rooms were a step up from the 'party lines' of the late eighties. My cousin and I used to go on them all the time, and met some interesting people out of them. My technology needs seem to have been met throughout my life. [UPDATE: I was saddened to learn that my cousin passed away on her birthday last September, and had missed an opportunity to visit earlier in the summer. I will always have such wonderful memories of the summers we shared. edit: July 28, 2018]

Other tech needs...

I remember using a cell phone in 1991, one of those big humongus ones, then another one - slimmer, smaller, in 1994, buying our first computer in 1995, an IBM Aptiva. That was a major purchase for the time. Hello, AOL! and an introduction to web spaces and chatrooms. Later on in the 90s introduced me to "Eurotrip.com" and travelling abroad solo... 

More another time...

My Space

I am addicted to MySpace. I've neglected doing my own web page, now I spend all my time looking for 'friends' people who interest me - share interests, and what's really great about this is I am really starting to 'know me' - or rather have a clearer understanding of who I am and what I want.
I read all these profiles and I think,g~d this is too weird, I am not the only one or someone else out there likes the same things. its been tremendous in relieving stress from work, I get stressed, I logon, and suddenly I am among 'friends'. Okay, so its a bit stretched - for now, its better than spending money i don't have on ebay or amazon.