Gregg's Occasional Chaos

Back again, did you miss me ;-)

2009-10-30T09:24:00.004-04:00

Well, a long overdue post after a crazy summer. Thankfully everything is mostly under control again. Like it ever was, ha ha ;-)

Big news in the last couple of days:

This was supposed to be Dad's last day at Finning Tractor! In the eleventh hour, however, they announced a buyout for early retirees. Luckily his official notice hadn't been submitted so he can work Nov and Dec and now get the buyout!

Our friends Harold and Kathy are having a baby. The announcement is hilarious, so I'm including it below:

And lastly, one of my favourite pieces of real estate is now up for sale!!! Chris Czajkowski located the spot by topo map and managed to get a lease from the BC government. She build the cabins by herself with a chainsaw and a come-along. It is hard to describe the remoteness of this place and the stunning beauty!!

Her website:

http://www.nuktessli.ca/

The real estate posting:

http://www.fsbo.com/ListingDetail.aspx?id=121316

Google map satellite image showing location:

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=52.038102,-125.549081&spn=0.002587,0.004823&t=h&z=18

All for now!

GDC

Farrah and Michael

2009-06-26T08:07:00.004-04:00

Both dead. Farrah from cancer, Michael from apparent heart failure, though the autopsy is still in progress. She was only 62, while he was only 50.

Update:

Connection?

GDC

Quote Collection

2009-06-25T16:06:00.020-04:00

Thanks to a word limit on Facebook I'm continuing my quote collection here on my blog.

"If the circus is coming to town and you paint a sign saying “Circus Coming to the Fairground Saturday”, that’s advertising. If you put the sign on the back of an elephant and walk it into town, that’s promotion. If the elephant walks through the mayor’s flower bed, that’s publicity. And if you get the mayor to laugh about it, that’s public relations. If the town’s citizens go to the circus, you show them the many entertainment booths, explain how much fun they’ll have spending money at the booths, answer their questions and ultimately, they spend a lot at the circus, that’s sales. And, if you planned the whole thing, that’s Marketing!"
-Unknown
(this one brazenly stolen from the website of the company my cousin Jeff works for)

Confusion is always the most honest response.
- Marty Indik

Writing is like getting married. One should never commit oneself until one is amazed at one's luck.
- Iris Murdoch

"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood."

- Karl Popper

We are here on Earth to do good to others. What the others are here for, I don't know.
- W. H. Auden

I can win an argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this, and steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great respect, they don't even invite me.
- Dave Barry

He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.
- Chinese Proverb

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
- Theodore Roosevelt

As we know, there are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns. That is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns, the ones we don’t know we don’t know.
- Donald Rumsfeld

Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Confusion is always the most honest response.
- Marty Indik

The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised.
- George F. Will

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
- Arthur C. Clarke

Humor is also a way of saying something serious.
- T. S. Eliot

Skiing combines outdoor fun with knocking down trees with your face.
- Dave Barry

The English language was carefully, carefully cobbled together by three blind dudes and a German dictionary.
- Dave Kellett

Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through.
- Jonathan Swift

"Racism is a grown-up disease and we must stop using our children to spread it."

- Ruby Bridges

This is science: the process of playing with rules that enables one to reveal previously unseen patterns of relationships that extend our collective understanding of nature and human nature.

- Blackawton bees
P. S. Blackawton1, S. Airzee1, A. Allen1, S. Baker1,
A. Berrow1, C. Blair1, M. Churchill1, J. Coles1, R. F.-
J. Cumming1, L. Fraquelli1, C. Hackford1, A. Hinton
Mellor1, M. Hutchcroft1, B. Ireland1, D. Jewsbury1,
A. Littlejohns1, G. M. Littlejohns1, M. Lotto1,
J. McKeown1, A. O’Toole1, H. Richards1,
L. Robbins-Davey1, S. Roblyn1, H. Rodwell-Lynn1,
D. Schenck1, J. Springer1, A. Wishy1,
T. Rodwell-Lynn1, D. Strudwick1 and R. B. Lotto2,*
1Blackawton Primary School, Blackawton, Devon, UK
2Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London,
11-43 Bath Street, London EC1V 9EL, UK

I am nobody, nobody is perfect, therefore I am perfect.
- Bumper sticker on way to work

On the right project, some bad rust looks better than some good paint.
- imakeprojects.com

More to come as I find worthy quotes!

GDC

Testing, testing...

2009-06-15T22:37:00.002-04:00

Posting via my new HTC Magic. So far I'm quite impressed! Lots to learn yet.

GDC

No more crunches!!

2009-06-04T13:56:00.001-04:00

Ha ha ha.

http://international.equmen.com

Guess what I'll be getting for Christmas!!

GDC

White roofs and PPA electricity

2009-05-28T09:13:00.002-04:00

Noticed a couple of green ideas that are interesting.

The first is painting your roof white or at least making it as light a colour as possible. Simple, and supposedly if everyone did it, it would help counteract global warming. But that seems to be debatable and the likelihood of everyone doing it is pretty slim. Still, it makes a lot of sense that a white roof should reflect the UV and keep your house cooler.

http://www.climatechange.ca.gov/events/2008_conference/presentations/2008-09-09/Hashem_Akbari.pdf

The second idea has a clear benefit. There are a couple of companies in the US setting up residential solar power purchasing agreement. Basically you get solar panels on your roof for zero down. The power generated offsets up to 90% of your utility power. When you send watts into the grid you pay the company for that amount. This is how they make money on the deal, after 15-18 years you own the panels free and clear. Unfortunately, I haven't seen anything like this in Canada.

http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/003737.php

GDC

First US face transplant

2009-05-06T10:52:00.002-04:00

Absolutely amazing!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8035316.stm

The before and after photos are absolutely incredible:

Yahoo News Photos

The fact she survived the gunshot is astounding.

GDC

Feel like some Tetris?

2009-04-20T21:01:00.005-04:00

Got some time to kill? This should take you awhile:

http://sovietrussia.org/f/src/tetoris.swf

Ha ha!

GDC

Oh, the good old days!!!

2009-04-20T13:31:00.003-04:00

Dug out this gem over the weekend! The plan was for both of us to look like we were bored but I copped out while Kelly stuck to plan!!

This was taken at the PNE on the old wooden rollercoaster. Built in 1958 it reaches speeds of 45 mph. The cars are pulled to the highest point and then the rest of the ride is all gravity driven. The beauty of the coaster is the noise it makes plus the rough and unpredictable ride.

GDC

All-terrain skateboard

2009-04-09T11:08:00.002-04:00

Wow, this thing looks pretty amazing!!!

Scarpar Prototype 3

GDC

Funny picture in April Fool's Day Toronto metro newspaper

2009-04-06T15:12:00.003-04:00

This cracked me up:

I don't know if metro intended it to be funny but what's with the guy sneaking into the isolation chamber??? The other two guys probably wouldn't be so jubilant if they knew they were going to be stuck with him for 105 days!!!

(sorry about the poor quality scan...)

GDC

Lord Stanley's Cup!

2009-04-06T10:36:00.003-04:00

While Rachael attended a yoga conference, Chloe and I played tourists in Toronto from Thursday to Sunday. We took in the AGO, the ROM, and the HHOF! Also, lots of swimming in the hotel pool. Chloe can now swim around in a life jacket without clinging to me!!

Here's a sweet photo of us with the Stanley Cup:

Chloe also loved taking shots at the digital goalie thing they have. You shoot five pucks at a screen showing a goalie and his net. It measures your average speed and accuracy. Most of Chloe's pucks reached the screen but didn't set any records ;-) I was impressed that she could connect with the puck!!! She'd really only held a hockey stick and handled a ball/puck once before this.

Oh, and she really enjoyed eating M&Ms in the little stands they have to watch all the other people trying out the hockey skills tests.

Seeing everything through 3 year old's eyes is very entertaining.

GDC

Another poem that strikes a chord with me...

2009-03-30T10:22:00.003-04:00

Meditation on Ruin

by Jay Hopler

It's not the lost lover that brings us to ruin, or the barroom brawl,
or the con game gone bad, or the beating
Taken in the alleyway. But the lost car keys,
The broken shoelace,
The overcharge at the gas pump
Which we broach without comment — these are the things that
eat away at life, these constant vibrations
In the web of the unremarkable.

The death of a father — the death of the mother —
The sudden loss shocks the living flesh alive! But the broken
pair of glasses,
The tear in the trousers,
These begin an ache behind the eyes.
And it's this ache to which we will ourselves
Oblivious. We are oblivious. Then, one morning—there's a
crack in the water glass —we wake to find ourselves undone.

From: http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2009/03/27

GDC

WOW!

2009-03-18T12:51:00.001-04:00

Do not let this man valet park your car...

GDC

Audrey...

2009-03-11T10:58:00.003-04:00

So our cute little Westie/Bichon has left us. Well, actually, we decided it was time for her to move on.

When we got her about 4 years ago, she was a great little puppy. Tons of energy but could also be cuddly. Then we had Chloe and she got an attitude. Especially when it came to potty training!! Very annoying to say the least. Also, she didn't like Chloe around. She generally slept somewhere on our bed and when Chloe came in in the morning she would start to growl. We never got the feeling she would bite Chloe but she sure resented her being around.

Despite all that it's hard to see her go!!

She came from a breeder in Forest Grove, BC, near my hometown!!
(If you follow the link and search the page for "Audrey" you will see her picture.)

My favorite Audrey incident:

Rachael named her after Audrey Hepburn. Not long after we got her we went to a doggy weekend at the Westin in Whistler. I took her out for a bathroom walk and when I got on the elevator to go back up a middle aged couple got on too.

Them: "Oh, what a cute little dog! Is she a Westie?"
Me: "Yah, she's a Westie/Bichon cross actually."
Them: "What's her name?"
Me: "Audrey."
Her: "That's my name."

The remainder of the ride was spent in silence!!

Au revoir Audrey! They're not all bad memories ;-)

GDC

The Hofmeister Kink

2009-03-08T12:35:00.001-04:00

News to me!!

The Hofmeister Kink: A Lasting BMW Design Detail

GDC

Facebook scam!!

2009-03-07T19:29:00.002-05:00

I use Pidgin to IM via Facebook and Gmail. So this afternoon I'm futzing around and up pops a friend from our Massachusetts days who now lives in the Bronx. I've pasted in the chat record:

(2:54:39 PM) MA friend: Hey Gregg
(2:54:55 PM) Gregg Cameron: hoy!
(2:55:20 PM) Gregg Cameron: you need help? (this was obvious from his status: "needs urgent help")
(2:55:27 PM) MA friend: i'm stuck in london
(2:55:30 PM) MA friend: was robbed
(2:55:43 PM) MA friend: cash and credit card were stolen off me at gun point
(2:55:53 PM) MA friend: i need help getting out of here
(2:56:46 PM) Gregg Cameron: i yi yi
(2:56:50 PM) Gregg Cameron: nasty
(2:57:02 PM) Gregg Cameron: london on
(2:57:05 PM) Gregg Cameron: tario
(2:57:06 PM) Gregg Cameron: ?
(2:57:03 PM) MA friend: yes
(2:57:08 PM) Gregg Cameron: or UK?
(2:57:10 PM) Gregg Cameron: wow
(2:57:13 PM) Gregg Cameron: crazy
(2:57:10 PM) MA friend: UK
(2:57:20 PM) Gregg Cameron: ahhh
(2:57:39 PM) Gregg Cameron: what kind of help?
(2:57:37 PM) MA friend: i need your help please
(2:57:44 PM) Gregg Cameron: sure
(2:57:56 PM) MA friend: i need to get a plane ticket back home but i dont have enough money to get this
(2:58:03 PM) MA friend: i need you to loan me some money
(2:58:10 PM) Gregg Cameron: sure
(2:58:12 PM) Gregg Cameron: how/
(2:58:13 PM) Gregg Cameron: ?
(2:58:11 PM) MA friend: will refund you as soon a si'm back home
(2:58:15 PM) MA friend: i promise
(2:58:32 PM) MA friend: you can wire it to me via western union since i still have my passport
(2:58:39 PM) MA friend: go on www.westernunion.com
(2:59:07 PM) Gregg Cameron: ok
(2:59:30 PM) MA friend: it's explanatory
(3:00:10 PM) Gregg Cameron: yah
(3:00:10 PM) Gregg Cameron: it is
(3:00:13 PM) Gregg Cameron: how much?
(3:00:22 PM) MA friend: all i need is $950
(3:00:30 PM) Gregg Cameron: ok
(3:01:29 PM) Gregg Cameron: umm 950 pounds?
(3:01:50 PM) MA friend: no.. $950
(3:03:06 PM) Gregg Cameron: US?
(3:03:08 PM) Gregg Cameron: sorry
(3:03:15 PM) Gregg Cameron: have to get it right!
(3:03:24 PM) MA friend: yes
(3:03:33 PM) MA friend: 950USD
(3:03:46 PM) Gregg Cameron: OK
(3:03:54 PM) Gregg Cameron: just a sec I'll use my US cc
(3:04:18 PM) MA friend: ok
(3:04:31 PM) Gregg Cameron: you weren't hurt I trust!!??
(3:04:41 PM) MA friend: no..i'm ok
(3:05:15 PM) Gregg Cameron: rattled I'm sure
(3:05:18 PM) Gregg Cameron: nasty
(3:06:30 PM) Gregg Cameron: I'm not sure how to send you $US from Can to $US in UK
(3:06:52 PM) Gregg Cameron: I can try using their 1-800 #
(3:06:52 PM) MA friend: well then
(3:07:05 PM) MA friend: can you go to a store to wire it?
(3:07:21 PM) MA friend: look up the site, find an agent location
(3:07:43 PM) Gregg Cameron: working on it
(3:07:53 PM) MA friend: ok
(3:09:09 PM) Gregg Cameron: do you have your cell?
(3:09:19 PM) Gregg Cameron: are you at the airport?
(3:09:24 PM) Gregg Cameron: hotel?
(3:09:34 PM) Gregg Cameron: I'm just wondering if I can buy your ticket for you?
(3:09:39 PM) Gregg Cameron: instead.
(3:10:29 PM) MA friend: it's a long protocol... since the billing name is different from the passenger, it will take couple of days before i can get board on the plane
(3:10:39 PM) Gregg Cameron: ahhh
(3:10:42 PM) Gregg Cameron: yah
(3:10:53 PM) Gregg Cameron: sorry it's just that Rachael's working and Chloe's napping right now
(3:11:01 PM) Gregg Cameron: so I can't run out immediately
(3:11:19 PM) MA friend: that's why is better if you get the cash to me and i buy the ticket at the desk here
(3:11:34 PM) Gregg Cameron: sure
(3:11:36 PM) Gregg Cameron: I get it
(3:11:41 PM) Gregg Cameron: I'll try phoning them
(3:13:05 PM) Gregg Cameron: did you lose your cell?
(3:15:04 PM) Gregg Cameron: still there?

At this point I'm pretty sure something is fishy so I start calling his cell number and his bosses to see if I can get confirmation of what is going on. Around the boldface text I started to get a bit suspicious because even given the suggested situation this is pretty out of character!! Sure enough he answers his cell after a couple of tries and is totally confused by what I tell him though he catches on quickly!! Sometime during this I finally do a Google search ;-) and sure enough it's already been blogged about. Pretty much the exact same story. So I go back onto Pidgin and his status is idle and he never comes back. I send some text letting them know their scams been detected which on hindsight I probably shouldn't have done yet. My friend asks me to try and login to his Facebook account and sure enough, can't be done. Also, when I look for him in my friends he's no longer there!!! I do a general Facebook search for him and he's still there but I'm no longer his friend. Ha ha!! Pretty smart, they cut you out as soon as you're on to them, that way you can't go in and warn the rest of his friends via a post on his wall.

Pretty entertaining all in all but a big pain for him to lose his account on Facebook. Hopefully no one goes through with the money transfer!!!

Bottomline, keep those passwords secret and make them trickier than 1234!!

GDC

Symmetry cat

2009-03-06T13:19:00.002-05:00

Fun with Flickr pictures...

Click for large version.

Acetonitrile shortage

2009-03-06T08:59:00.003-05:00

Since my work doesn't involve HPLC I hadn't heard of the acetonitrile crisis until I stumbled on it yesterday. Seems that the olympics in China and Hurricane Ike both conspired to bring this on. Not really related to the recession like I immediately suspected...

GDC

Halliburton bailout?

2009-03-05T09:28:00.002-05:00

Sometime last night it occurred to me that possibly the hardest bailout to sell to the American people would be that of Halliburton!! And you can throw in Blackwater and KBR too. After the cost of a tragic, fruitless war in Iraq that would be unreal.

GDC

Still here...

2009-03-04T10:53:00.004-05:00

Yes, it's been awhile!!

Interesting things happening right now:

Obama has allocated funds for Autism research. Finally!
Where's Hillary Clinton?
The new Cellomics HCS system should be delivered and setup in early April.
A bit late but interesting, Hans Beck, the father of Playmobil died February 2.
I have rediscovered TrackMania and it's just as addicting as the first time!! I think Chloe really likes it too ;-) The game is free though it has ads!! Pretty funny to see McDonalds billboards beside the track. The graphics are fantastic. Get it.

I'm going to start carrying a notebook with me. I now understand the fascination I see online regarding the 'moleskin' notebook! I'm hoping this helps me do a better job of logging life!

GDC

Here's a poem for you...

2009-02-24T08:11:00.002-05:00

I'm a big fan of Garrison Keillor's "The Writer's Almanac". Everyday he has some significant historical events, usually related to literature and he reads a poem. Yesterdays was one of the more interesting I've heard:

What She Was Wearing

by Denver Butson

this is my suicide dress
she told him
I only wear it on days
when I'm afraid
I might kill myself
if I don't wear it

you've been wearing it
every day since we met
he said

and these are my arson gloves

so you don't set fire to something?
he asked

exactly

and this is my terrorism lipstick
my assault and battery eyeliner
my armed robbery boots

I'd like to undress you he said
but would that make me an accomplice?

and today she said I'm wearing
my infidelity underwear
so don't get any ideas

and she put on her nervous breakdown hat
and walked out the door

Brilliant!!!

(Hopefully I don't get in trouble for putting it up here ;-)

GDC

Google searching is good for your brain! Maybe.

2009-02-20T13:13:00.002-05:00

With the usual caveats that this is preliminary, exploratory data, this paper suggests that doing Google searches can expand your mind.

I'm glad to hear that ;-)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19155745

GDC

Obama has a Beaver Tail!!

2009-02-20T08:18:00.003-05:00

It looks like Obama's trip to Canada including a sampling of our best cuisine...

Hopefully his lunch was more extensive!!

See here for more photos of his visit to Ottawa:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/photogallery/working-with-canada/

GDC

Friday the 13th!!

2009-02-13T08:56:00.002-05:00

Ooooh, scawy!

Some news of the day:

Dave now has a 40 point lead on me in the hockey pool. There was a stats issue at Pool Expert yesterday and when I checked this morning, 40 points!! I think there must still be a problem. Maybe I have to do all the calcs myself.

A US Federal Court has ruled that there is no causal connection between the MMR vaccine and autism. This site has a summary of the ruling:

http://baby411.typepad.com/baby_411_blog/2009/02/mmr-vaccine-has-its-day-in-court.html

A Bombardier plane crashed into a house near Buffalo last night. A lady on board lost her husband in the NYC 9/11 disaster!

We're heading to the Muskoka's for the weekend! By the looks of this page we should have a good time:

The Rosseau, A JW Marriott Resort & Spa

GDC

Already!?

2009-02-11T13:36:00.006-05:00

Chloe has started school. At the tender age of 2.868...

OK, it's just 2 days a week but it still seems so sudden and way too soon.

I was hoping Rachael would take a picture but the battery in the camera is dead so I'm putting up this one that Alana (Hunter) took just last month:

Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana!!

Oh, for posterity, here's the link for the school:

www.georgianoaksacademy.com

And a map of the walk from our house (for Rachael's benefit until she has her license). A bit twisty but supposedly in the summer you can shortcut along that pond that is east of Ferndale Dr.

View Larger Map

GDC

My current daily ritual

2009-02-11T11:48:00.009-05:00

Sometime during my day I do the following:
- check my hockey pool on www.poolexpert.com
- check and purge Gmail
- check work e-mail and read rss feeds:

ALA Global LabAutomation News
Lab automation equipment and robotics lastest news on Laboratorytalk
LabAuto Lounge
lrig-discussion at Yahoo! Groups
Baby411 Blog
blogTO
CBC World News
craigslist Barrie all jobs search
Engadget
Giveaway of the Day
Google searches: "better place" shai agassi, "integrated diagnostics" leroy hood, "winning brands" wnbd, abeome, aquinox pharmaceuticals inc
Lifehacker
MakeUseOf.com
ASCB iBioSeminars
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Biology in Action
Bitesize Bio
business|bytes|genes|molecules
Delicious/c2cbio
Discovering Biology in a Digital World
Expert Reviews: Expert Review of Proteomics: Table of Contents
FierceBio Front Page News Posts
JCVI: Publications
nosugrefneb
Quirks & Quarks
Systems Biology - FriendFeed
The Life Scientists - FriendFeed
The Windows Blog
White House.gov Blog Feed

- check Kelly and Janae's blog for updates, www.kellyandjanae.blogspot.com
- check Janelle and Gerard's blog for updates, janelleandgerard.blogspot.com
- check the popular bookmarks on delicious.com
- check Quotes of the Day on the Fun Stuff tab of my iGoogle page
- check Pages tab of Interesting Items for You on the Fun Stuff tab of my iGoogle page
- update Chromium
- check "Daily" links
- update podcasts on iPod
- check Zinhof for new downloads
- check Facebook friends for updates and new photos
- check Yahoo! News most popular

Obsessive? Yes, I know!

GDC

More to follow

2009-02-11T10:36:00.001-05:00

Hi.

Yes, there will be more to follow.

For now, this is what I look like. Without giving too much away. Ha ha.

GDC