30.1.06

Sleepless in Seattle

Everyone remember last year's remix of The Shining into a sappy chick flick called Shining? Well, they've done it again... This time with Sleepless in Seattle - and now it's a horror film. Enjoy the preview!

Enough links in one post? Yeah, I thought so.

25.1.06

Gord is not a Hamburger

Was just cruising around Blog-land and found the funniest blonde joke I've seen in a while. I'm not usually one for teasing bl... who am I kidding? I love blonde jokes... >clicky<

Lawyers who I'd be proud to know


Believe it or not there are some good, thinking lawyers out there! Click here to find out more.

19.1.06

Swim report

So, today's swim...
started off with 16 lengths, then took a breather for a few minutes. I did eight more, then treaded (trod??) water for ten minutes, and finally four more lengths. So that's 28 lengths... 700 metres plus ten minutes treading water... a good start!

I had a good day at work today, even though I was half an hour late getting out. Spent most of the afternoon fixing a critical computer that decided it didn't want to load Windows anymore... I don't blame it, frankly!

Right now my hands are kinda shakey because I'm so tired... so I think I'm gonna head to bed!
Stay well, everyone.

17.1.06

Swim or die!

So today I went swimming for the first time in far too long. At least two years. By swimming, I mean doing lengths at the YMCA.
Back in high school, when I was getting ready to sail on the tall ships, I was required to be able to swim 2 kilometers, then tread water for ten minutes. I used to do that twice in once session, once I'd worked up to it. But let me tell you something that's blantantly obvious. If you don't swim for two years, you can't do the same things that you did when you stopped! I think I did about a dozen lengths this morning and my heart was pounding and I was dizzy enough that I needed to stop. It's going to be a bit before I have the stamina that I had before. But I'll get there!
In the last few weeks I've been dealing with insomnia, and I think it's very likely that the cause of it is that I haven't been getting nearly enough exercise. I get a fair amount at work going up and down stairs, carrying heavy computers around, but it definitely isn't enough. So, as of today I'm going to start swimming a minimum of three days a week. Dave and I are going before work on Tuesdays and Thursdays as it stands now, then I'll probably go again on Saturday. Eventually I'd like to work it up to Monday, Wednesday, Friday, then add Saturday, then make it six days a week for an hour a day. We'll see how that goes. My goal is to be back to doing 2 km + ten minutes of treading water before the end of March. No real reason, just because I need a goal to work towards! I'll try to keep track and post updates on my distances here, to bore you with thoroughly! :)


Last evening I had a good chat with my friend, Dan. He and I both became single at about the same time, in much the same circumstances. It gave me a lot of hope that he was feeling much the same way about things as I was, in that we're both healing, but slowly. I read an article that said it could be up to a year before a person is back up to 100% after a relationship ends. I feel that I might be shorter than that because I had a "good" (if there is such a thing) breakup, but I'm definitely not going to rush it. I still feel lonely a lot of days, and I definitely miss Meg. But for the grace of God go I...


Tonight I got together with a local minister to talk about diaconal ministry (what I'm hoping to do eventually) and to talk about the differences between that and ordained ministry. It really set a lot of things in motion in my mind about how much I want to be a minister. I'm feeling that pull, and even though I'm worried about some aspects of it (like, how am I going to afford 8 years of school!?), I'm sure that things will come together. God wouldn't have it any other way!

Peace, dudes and dudettes.

15.1.06

A little help for those who are undecided...

Yes, it's election time. Yes, I'm going to encourage everyone to vote. Here's a nifty little website that I stumbled upon this evening which will give you an idea of who you'd agree with most in the election.


Post your results in the comments, if you'd like to share! :) It doesn't include the Green Party, which is kind of annoying, but what can you do?

12.1.06

Why am I not flying?

Here's a post by a fellow who goes by the name of "Schlem" on avcanada.ca (a Canadian pilot forum... probably the main place for pilots in Canada). If you've every wondered why I never followed through with the whole flying thing, this will explain it to you.
If you want to see where the post came from, click the link in the title of this post.

Quote:

Here's a brief outline of our industry...

1. The average cost of the training required for a commercial licence with a multi-engine instrument rating is upwards of $50,000 not including the cost of an associated 2 year aviation diploma or 4 year degree.

2. 95% of those teaching the new and aspiring pilots at the flight schools are the least experienced and are paid the least of any professional pilot.

3. After landing that most elusive first operational flying job, which many never do, the pilot is paid anywhere from $3/hour or a yearly salary of $12-20,000 dollars until they gain experience while at the same time trying to pay off their $50,000 plus loan. This is after they start actually flying an airplane which is usually following 6 months to 2 years working on the ground as a ramp rat or agent for the same company in northern Canada somehwere.

4. Once the pilot gains enough experience and hours he/she becomes a Captain and then starts to finally earn a decent living... this is after at least 3 years in some cases.

5. Once the pilot decides it's time to make a move to the airlines he/she will take a large paycut, using Air Canada as an example, from making in the area of $65-75,000 per year at their previous job as a senior Captain to $37,000/year at Air Canada with a move to Toronto.

6. Overall in this indusrtry, the least experienced professional pilots are flying the lowest tech and least reliable equipment with the least amount of regulation governing them while the most experienced pilots are flying the highest tech and safest equipment with the most regulation.

That's about it in an nutshell...

Good luck!

9.1.06

Spin

This is a video I caught tonight while surfing around. It's supposed to be a comedy, but I think it's pretty philosophical when it comes down to it. Enjoy! :)

8.1.06

Apply today!

I'm now taking applications for one (1) applicant to accompany me on a trip to Europe. The successful applicant will pay for all their own (a) plane fare, (b) accomodations, (c) train fare, and (d) meals. For a limited time conversation with myself (the traveller) is included at no charge.

So, I'm seriously considering going to Europe this spring. It's all contingent on my job situation, but three weeks is what I'm thinking. If you're interested, let me know. I've been speaking with Rune, in Denmark, and he thinks he'd be up for the trip... give me a holler!