Winter has arrived

Last night the freezing rain started. Then I banged up my foot. Then the snow started. Then my foot swelled. This is not how I wanted to start the winter. This global warming thing sucks. At least that's what appears to be going on. Everybody agrees (at least that's what I've been told) that man has caused this. Well if it's true, y'all need to quit driving SUV's and start walking. This weather is becoming annoying. This is the kind of snow that I grew up with back in Michigan, Heavy and wet. While it wouldn't be so bad, but Saskatoon is incapable of dealing with it. The city has a policy of not plowing the secondary streets. Most winters here that's not a problem since the snow comes down in small amounts and gets pounded down by the traffic. Today we have a couple of inches that is sitting on top of ice. Makes for a miserable drive. Maybe its just as well that I banged my foot up. I can just wait it out.

Windy Prairie

Yesterday I decided, for no particular reason that I wanted a new phone. So instead of wasting $700 on a new device I just installed Cyanogenmod on my old one. Not just any version but the unofficial ICS port. Really freaking cool. There are reports that this significantly improves battery life. I'm not seeing that.  But then again I use my phone alot. I have noticed that the Bluetooth sound is better and the overall responsiveness of the phone is noticeably better. I also enjoy the fact that the keyboard gives a nice buzz when pressing the keys. The feedback seems to make it easier to type. I am noticeably more accurate on hitting the keys then with the Gingerbread keyboard I was using. Or the LG mock Apple keyboard that came with the phone. (Side note: I fail to understand how people think that keyboard is useable. )

I write this post while the winds gust to 80+ km/h. Makes driving uncomfortable to say the least.

Stupid Criminals

I find it amazing how stupid people can be when committing crimes. Today a young man made the mistake of attempting to 'tag' several garages in my neighborhood.  Had it been more selective and patient, he most likely would have gotten away without being noticed.  But as all criminals get greedy and push their luck, this young man was no exception. He had already spray painted a garage in the alley to the south of mine. I found out later that he had  vandalized city property earlier that morning. Had he stopped with the previous garage he wouldn't have had a neighbor of mine witnesses him doing mine. Of course we have cameras on our property and he was observed anyway. 

At this point had he just dropped the can of paint and ran he most likely would have not been caught.  But continuing in the tradition of being stupid he retained possession of the incriminating paint. When he was apprehended he still had the paint in his hand. It was also revealed that the young hooligan had turned 18 today.

So I ask (rhetorically) why didn't he do this yesterday? Why didn't he do it at night? And why after being caught in broad daylight by a witness would you stick around with the evidence?

The Cylons are among us!

Today while running through the news that Google see's fit to show me, I came across an article in the Washington Post. The thought of this makes me wonder if Ronald D. Moore knew something when he wrote the final episodes of the Re-Imagined Battlestar Galatica. The Sci-Fi concept is simple, aliens with similar, but not exact, DNA settle on earth and disperse themselves into the native population. While this is hardly conclusive evidence that Admiral Adama existed or that an angel named Kara Thrace helped him reach this planet, it does give one pause.

The mythos of originally created by Glen A. Larson and re-imagined by Ronald D. Moore is a fascinating concept and it is articles such as appeared in the Post that make you hope for even a small part of it to be real.  Food for thought at any rate.

Why bother

This article from PC World claims that not one but two Meego phones will be coming out this year. Really? This is too little too late. In a world where iPhone is King, Android is Queen and Windows (what ever they are calling it this month) is a court Jester, there is no room for a OS that nobody cares about. The once dominant Blackberry can't bring their resources together to save the company fast enough. I say, "Go away, come back when you something to get excited about. (and a $15 million patent portfolio).

And so begins the end

This will most likely be the last time I visit this institution.  I'm sorry to say that that I am not impressed with the education here. Or any school in North America for that matter. I am personally of the opinion that by the time they leave this school they the students should have a grasp of calculus. Instead they spend way to much time socializing. 

I think phone companies are run by marketing

Phone companies should fire their marking department and and just use a simple  pay for what you use plan instead of wasting time with promotions. I personally believe that a straight forward approach would be so radically different from the competition that people would flock to their service.  I know I would.

A sort of Graduation

Today Brendan's class is having a graduation ceremony. This will be the end of Grade 8. Next year High School.  Hopefully he'll be a better teen then I ever was. Personally I dread long drawn out ceremonies.