Missing Pages

A couple months back my buddy Como mentioned an add-on for Firefox called 'Foxmarks'. Basically, it keeps a copy of your bookmarks online so you can keep them the same on multiple computers and have a backup should you do something stupid and lose them all.

Fast forward to me doing something stupid and losing them all; I installed the newest beta of Firefox over the old one, found that it wasn't compatible with some things I already use, and removed it. But when I uninstalled, it took all the preferences, including my bookmarks from the old version with it.

I've remembered about half of the bookmarks and managed to find them again, I guess the other half weren't important enough to remember anyways.

Now I'm using Foxmarks.

Also, thanks to Christielli I found out that this weekend coming is apparently the May long weekend already. The May 2-4 being a full week before May 24th is about as logical as the placement of religious holidays. No idea what I'm gonna do. Well, some idea.

Picture Show

Fin.

Capitalizing on the Spirit of X-Mas

After looking on and off at Digital SLR cameras for over a year, and moreso since the dollar hit parity with the US, I couldn't pass up the deal on my new Digital Rebel XT.

For the most part I had done all the research comparing the entry level SLR models months ago, so it only took a little more reading, and an assuring e-mail from px about the performance of his, albeit higher end, but comparable camera.

Also impressive was that I got the camera in the mail one and a half business days after I confirmed purchase online, despite the number of units (1000 of my camera model alone) they must have been shipping out. Mark one in favour of the efficiency of a big box chain I suppose.

I've barely scratched the surface on its function use so far, and have been extremely impressed. I've expertly captured (lucked into) some nice shots already, but I'm sure there will be plenty more to come, so I'll hold those back for now, and wow you all with some outstanding birthday shots on my old camera.

Despite only a few of the people 'maybe attending' showing up, the birthday was a blast. Rounds of shots, with not a single prairie fire consumed, NTN trivia, a rumble in the streetside garden 5 feet from the bar, and a scarf not more than 6 hours old (a gift from the girlfriend no less) lost and presumably donated to a homeless man. The hangover didn't even really bring home the fact that I was another year older this time around.

X-mas around here was, as expected, a low key affair. But New Years is going to put an end to all the relaxing, a trip to a friend's cottage for a few days ironically is going to be the least relaxing part of my holidays. Though it should provide some great opportunities to play with my new toy. A lengthy photo post here should follow.

Happy New Year.

Coon Lake

After the funeral on Monday, and some running around on Tuesday, Carolyn and I took off to meet up with some friends camping on Tuesday night. As it was we made great time for the typical four to four and a half hour drive to Algonquin, making it to the site near the far side of the park in a bit under 4 hours.

Driving the winding highway 60 in the rain after dark though was cause to slow down, and infact the two does that we had to stop for in the middle of the road ended up being the largest wildlife we saw the whole time we were up there. On my two previous trips into Algonquin park, there had been no shortage of moose sightings, but they managed to shy away from Carolyn for 5 days.

Despite a cool, windy and rainy weather system blowing through most of the time, we got enough of a break to get in some hiking and kayaking, and huddled around the fire with drinks to keep warm at night. Eventually the rain and wind was enough to start showing leaks at the seams, but having taken the van, I was able to clear out enough space in there to sleep comfortably. It ended up being so comfortable infact, that any similar car camping trips in the future will find me sleeping in the back.

There's a lot to be said for being properly prepared for a camping trip, and this time around was a much better experience than the previous struggle, but now its back to the reality of family drama in dividing an estate 12 ways, and finishing some semblance of a thesis.

Of course Carolyn noticed that this tree was well hung.

 

Old Lane Sign?

I've managed to deflect plans from going to Niagara Falls for New Years, which I had neither the money, nor particularly the energy for, to relaxing around here, playing some games, enjoying fondue, and drinking with friends. Getting smashed with friends is after all the point of yet another arbitrarily set holiday. New beginnings, resolutions, blah blah blah, there's really no significance to the day anyways, except that its the day of the Rose Bowl. And that's not til 5 which means I'll have plenty of time to clean up and sober up before I watch Michigan show that they really should have been in the title game.

In other news, the sasquatch has invaded the wooded areas of the Waterloo moraine. Sasquatch's girlfriend appears to enjoy taking pictures of sasquatch's moss stained crotch, and hitting him there with knees, or foosball table handles at every available opportunity.

Sweet Sweet Freedom

The exams are gone, the lab work is done until the new year, with me pretending to ignore all the problems that have crept into that situation. The x-mas shopping got squeezed into a one day affair yesterday, despite having to fight with my 'pimpmobile' and its frequent stalls, and with the obscene number of people who take holidays from work just to get shopping done. Those kind are the worst, with their over-eagerness to throw away money, while pushing around and running into as many people as possible with their oversized bags of crap.

This year I pretty much managed to have a list of what I wanted to pick up for everyone on my list before I went out. The most difficult of course was shopping for the girlfriend; leave it to the holidays to really reveal your shortcomings as a guy and your ability to read subtle hints/remember details. The first idea that came to mind was the requisite gag gift. For whatever reason, my Simpsons boxers are quite amusing to the girlfriend, so I was going to try to find some Simpsons underwear for herself. Of course I was unwilling to spend much time milling around the ladies undergarment section of any store that might carry such things, and there's a distinct lack of gimmicky stores in the malls around here anymore, so I first turned to the internet.

Try typing in 'Simpsons panties' without the proper use of search strings in Google and see what comes up. eBay had a poor selection, and all the items were across the border which generally means risking a long wait on delivery. So it was off to the mall, not only in search of the gag, but a decent 'real' gift, as well as picking up the other items on my list. I found most of my list without issue, but of course the one item I decided on for the girl was nowhere to be found, and cursory searches of the women's intimates were fruitless. By cursory, I mean actually walking through the department, and looking for anything with cartoons on them, but not spending much time.

With the van stalling 4 times in the same parking lot, I decided it was time just to get my piece of shit ride home and wait for another set of wheels. I managed to regroup in the evening and pick up the outstanding items on the list, plus a new gag gift, thus concluding all my x-mas shopping in one day. Not quite down to the one hour dash like some, but I'll take it.

As for the panties, it turns out my girlfriend and I were on the same wavelength, as for my early birthday gift last night, I received none other than...well okay, not Simpsons panties, but, some shiny polyester Simpsons boxers. Between that and this glorious weather (see picture above and the distinct dominance of the colour green), I couldn't ask much more for the birthday. That said, there is still the birthday drinking to participate in tonight.