Well, that was quite a week. For those who were unaware, Chris aka tugger was down to Halifax for a week long visit. All in all - we managed to accomplish most of the things that we set out to do. Of course there were many things that we didn't do. We did get to go to paintball with the CS/Fenwick crew. I must say that it was a lot better than I had imagined. I was a bit reluctant at first, not really knowing what to expect. But the time that I had (and not to mention the BBQ) were well worth the $20 to go. And if I drank, it would have been even better, as the keg provided much enjoyment to those who partook. I must say that it may have been a bit better with maybe fewer players, but you can't beat the price that we got as a large group.

That was on Saturday (29th) and after we returned, we watched Minority Report - my second time. I must say, I am definitely impressed with that movie. I seriously enjoy it. Sunday was uncertain to begin with - as was most of the week. We had planned to visit my place (and the new pool my family put in just a week ago), and catch the drive-in movies: The New Guy and Spiderman. If there is anyone out there that has not been to the drive-in before - well - that is one experience that you are missing out on. I really recommend that you go at least once. If anyone wants to go this summer and can spare a weekend, you can certainly come home to my place and I'll take you. Let me know.

What did end up happening on Sunday however, was that we went downtown... listened to some of the DJs playing down there... diabolo'd/yoyo'd a bit... and generally got burnt. The one day that I forget to wear my sunscreen is the day that I am out in the sun all day. The worst part is that I can feel the burning. It is terrible knowing that if you have to walk somewhere in the sun, there is little you can do to stop it. Even walking home would have burned me. :) And believe me - if I could find a decent hat that fit me I would definitely wear it. My life quest to find a hat that fits my huge head :P And when your hair stops covering your forehead, you can realize the absolute importance of a hat. Damn frustrating.

I could go on forever, but maybe I'll hold out for a night or two... and try not to scratch my itchy forehead :P

(CB)rhuvok out.

I'm not the type of person to jump on the whole pop culture band-wagon - but good lord! Avril Lavigne is HOT. That is a picture of her I currently have on the left side of the page. I would like to thank Chris for uploading her music video to /var/tmp (it should still be there for a couple days) and completing my life. After some brief research, I have determined that she is Canadian, which is cool. For those interested, you can download her song "Complicated" [dead link removed].

Back in my real life, I am going through a hellish busy time at work. Speaking of work, there is a situation whereby my colleague would like to work days from July 25 until Aug 16. This of course is up to me. I don't mind, except, I am going away on the long weekend in Aug, and I am going home the weekend after that, so I need that time... and I also hear that there is a banquet that I am going to be attending on the 25th. :P Anyway... that is one issue. I also have just selected my classes for the fall and I am still quite uncertain as to what I want to do for COOP.

And in other news, I am slowly weaning myself off of shoes... and I am going barefoot. I must say that it is pretty good and there are societies that actually promote and inform on this topic. Mike has witnessed my shoelessness a couple of times. The actual comfort of walking without shoes is not an issue because it really is quite pleasant, it is the social stigma of being outside in a city... barefoot that I am having trouble dealing with just yet. For that reason I carry sandals in my backpack when I go out. It is better at night - fewer people about and often too dark to see what you have on your feet. (or don't have on your feet). Maybe I should talk to Dr. Cash and see what his thoughts are at this point... :P

I'm off... Cheers. rhuvok

Well I have officially reached the point in my summer where I have lost all ambition to do anything and just spend my time becoming better acquianted with a host of movies. Actually I have a list that is perpetually growing of movies that I have to see. Luckily I am making a dent in that list as can be seen by the steadily changing list of movies that have made it to my "recently watched" list. I have also started giving a little review of the movies that I have seen, especially the more obscure ones. There are a couple of the movies in the list that link to a movies.php - those ones have a write up with them. Soon you will be able to see all of my movies that I have seen - not that most people will care, but I thought since that has become such a major part of my life I would try to integrate that into the other half of my life - this website.

I have given up on my Avril Lavigne obsession. I realized that chances are, I will never meet her in person - and even if I did, I am pretty sure I am not her type. (and she is only 17). That being said, I don't regret buying her CD - it is pretty good. I also bought A Beautiful Mind on the weekend. Blockbuster has a buy two used movies and get another one free deal going on so I will probably end up buying three more DVD's - effectively doubling my DVD collection. I think I am going to get Black Hawk Down, Thir13en Ghosts, and probably Serendipity - a good mix of war, horror and romantic comedy.

Oh, if anyone is looking for a new snack to try, pick up a can of Spicy Cajun Pringles - especially if you can find one of the new design cans - they seem to be spicier. I am really addicted to them.

I am going home this weekend, which I am very much looking forward to. My family has installed a pool since last I was home and I look forward to certainly a more exciting weekend than I would have here. I don't miss home per se, but during the summer, I certainly enjoy going home every now and then. I guess the nice weather allows me to get out of the house and the fact that school is out for my brothers means that everyone is in a more enjoyable mood. Plus the Lobster Carnival is talking place - which may sound hick-ish - and it is, but it has been a big part (Midway) of my life for many years. And for the Karen amoung us, Slainte Mhath is playing on Sunday night. It should be fun and I will keep you updated as things happen :)

After a long day at the office, it just feels good to go home and take a nap or watch a movie and not move or think about anything. This is my life right now. This may explain, although not excuse my recent hiatus from updating this page. Clearly I am not at a shortage of words, as my recent trip home had provided me with many comments not to mention the events of this coming weekend. So without further ado, I will dive in now.

First of all, let me tell you that having a pool in your backyard on a hot summer weekend, is quite possibly the coolest thing ever. And also the most dangerous. Nothing is more relaxing than just floating around under the sun in a blissful ignorance of the rest of the world. !WARNING¡ There is a huge ball of incandescent hydrogen out there with a real hatred toward the skin on your body. That's right folks, wear sunscreen. And if possible a shirt. And have an umbrella. And a body suit. Damn. There is nothing quite as annoying as an itchy stomach. Unless you consider the constant itch from the tiny injections of poison under your skin. But seriously, I had a great weekend. Not only that but I managed to avoid anyone that I used to know from high school. You'd think that after 13 years of seeing some of these people every day, that I would have made friends with a few of them. Nope. With the possible exception of Lil J, I am quite content to live separate from that part of my life.

And the thing this weekend is that my brother is in the city. Which actually completes the cycle that in less than one week, all five members of my immediate family have spent a night in my apartment. My mom on Sunday when she drove me back to Halifax. My Dad and two youngest brothers stayed Wednesday night for the sheer sake of visiting me. And now my other brother. So that is just one difference this weekend. The other is a cheerleader camp or something - basically 200+ cheerleaders from around eastern canada will be staying on campus (and practicing on Wickwire field). This is the reason that my brother is here, I'm sure. "Sure Colin, I'm here to visit you...". Yea Right. :P

I did end up buying three movies, and I was close with my prediction. I ended up with Black Hawk Down, Serendipity and Spy Games. And I rented a few more too, which unfortunately haven't made it on to my list yet.

They have made some serious progress on the renovations at the SUB so far this summer. The Royal bank machines are now inside where previously there had been a wall (behind the info desk). The info desk is temporarily on the second floor and the Scotia bank machine which is going to be beside the new Royal bank machines isn't operational yet. I believe that the SUB is going to be 24 hours in the future so don't worry about your late night banking needs. The new Grawood is coming along too. It is really hard to explain what is going on, but Tim Hortons is still open, so the building tenants (including myself) continue to tolerate the extra noise and airborne particles.

That being said, I must get to work staring at the phone. :P Cheers. rhuvok out.

Well, my brother and his friends have returned home and things are back to a comparative normality. Tuesday was the only day last week that was normal in the sense that I didn't have any family members at my place in the morning or at night. But let it be known that this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Of course, I did spend a lot of money - on food - while my brother was here. We ate somewhere different for every meal I believe. And now that that is over, I think I am going to take up going to the gym again. I need to do something to get me more energy.

Speaking of energy, I am a little bit excited about the Elektrik Dreams Music Festival that Massive is planning. Visit ravehalifax.com for more details. It is a two day, indoor/outdoor event. The first night is at Reflections - which I will likely skip for the fact that unlike many of the other attendees, I will not have a endless supply of "energy" to keep my going, so I will need to rest up. The outdoor part, for which a venue hasn't been chosen to my knowledge will start at 2pm on Saturday Aug 17 and end 8am on Sunday the 18th. All told, that is 18 hours of music. At $28 though, it is a bit pricy - for an outdoor venue anyway. I'll see if I can pull some strings and get a cheaper rate. I also plan to use this even to meet the woman of my dreams - my Elektrik Dreams :P (bad). But seriously, it can't hurt to try. Unless it does. Oh man.

And speaking of women... or I guess... girls, I did get a chance to see the cheerleaders on Sunday. Under the guise of playing frisbee on the quad, my brother, his friend Tyler and I went up to the Wickwire area, where lo and behold there were 200+ cheerleaders sitting there. So we threw the "sport disc" around for a while and when we looked over again, they were doing pyramids and other cheer related activities. Oh man, I know some of them were too young for probably even my brother, but wow. *sigh* [so alone]

Well, I just had someone on the phone tell me that if I were a girl he'd say that he loved me. I don't know if that makes sense or not. He was from Isreal, and I guess I'll take it as a compliment that I have done a good job. Oh course my ability to change his arrival and departure dates really had nothing to do with me, but I don't think he cares now. :P

The picture that I have included is to say that I guess my brother isn't the only person to use canned photos if you know what I mean. You can see his version at b2 NETsolutions. :P

I guess that it for now. I'll keep you all up to date on what Colin is up to next time. :P Cheers, rhuvok out.

And why not? It is the end of the week and I don't have to work tomorrow. Or the next day. So I can sit at home in front of the computer (like at work) and NOT talk on the phone. Or watch movies. I still have three that I haven't watched that are due back on Monday... so I have my evenings this weekend pretty mapped out. If anyone is interested, I ordered some CDs from TripleDecks.com. They have free shipping to Canada. They sell Electronic music only, so if that doesn't rock your boat, don't worry about it. The CDs I ordered are: Trance Files 2002 v1.0, Bitchin' by Subsonic Chronic, and T-Funk by DJ Rowan. I can't wait.

I have also noted that this might be the last weekend that I spend in my current apartment. This brings mixed emotions. Excitement and anxiousness about moving downstairs into the bachelor. Frustration with amount of crap that I have that I need to pack into boxes or something to bring downstairs. Sadness that I have to leave the apartment that brought with it so many good times - and some crazy times as well. That's about it. The dominant one is definitely anxiousness because I really like moving - I like changing my environment from time to time to stimulate creativity. Yea alright.

I had a really good time at the Shad Valley banquet and variety show last night. The dinner was good and the talent that the Shad participants possess is quite phenomenal. I also had the great pleasure of meeting Dr. Brian Crenna from the Physics (Atmospheric Science) Department. It has been a long time since I have been able to just talk about computers and programming at any depth with anyone. Even if I was able before, it has been even longer since I have actually done that. It was quite refreshing and it definitely added to an already great evening.

It seems to be my week for making computer related connections. I have been in charge of organizing software demos for new reservation software that we are hoping to decide on. In fact one of those companies is Seattle Technology Group, whose "canned photo" I had on my site earlier. If you find their site a little slow, don't be alarmed - they know it is and I believe that they are making steps to fix that. :) But I have been talking a bit with Ryan Hamilton from that company and although we haven't had much time to speak, Ryan is one of the programmers and again - good to have contact with other people in the field.

I guess the only other thing is that next weekend I am going to Saint John with my Dad and the weekend after that I am going home for my brother's birthday. That is why I say that this is the last weekend that I spend in my apartment - I won't be in any apartment those weekends. I actually move down sometime around the weekend of the 10th of August... so I guess I have a bit of time left to sort out my stuff.

Anyway... that about sums up what is going on with me. I hope everyone has a good weekend.

Cheers, rhuvok.

Well, well, well. I had finally changed the header for my website - and about time too - over 5 months with the same look. That is forever in Colin website standards. And before anybody says anything, the carnation is merely temporary - it will be changing to various other photos periodically as I feel like it. I think that the helicopter from across the street will be next. I may also be changing the way certain things look and what not over the next little while, as I am currently in my housecleaning mode. So if there are any changes or suggestions you have, let me know now so that they will likely get done.

I'm not sure if everyone has heard, but I am getting the ball rolling so to speak on preparing echo! for distribution. I haven't decided if I want to distribute it as solely a weblog system, or as a general content management system. I have a fair bit more work to do on it yet either way. I was looking at getting echologs.com for this, but I think I may go with echopowered.com. I guess, I'll wait and see - maybe I'll get both. So that is my duty for the next month or so is to get that ready and hope that I can make some money from it.

My weekend went reasonably well - no visitors, no excitement, no new couches, watched a couple movies, cleaned the bathroom... that sort of thing. I really don't have much to report at this time actually. Still getting excited about the big move downstairs. I know, I know... it is a long way, but I don't think I'll have too much trouble adjusting to the new culture. I'm pretty flexible in that way you know. But apart from the limited time I have left as a non-basement dweller, I don't have much else to rant about.

Except that I don't think that TripleDecks.com has sent out my order yet. How is it supposed to get here by this weekend, if it hasn't been sent yet. I swear... some people. But as I said before - free shipping, so I'm not going to bite the hand that feeds me, considering that they have already charged the credit card. I will definitely keep people up to date on the status of my order as it changes.

Cheers, rhuvok