Summer Vacation
July 18, 2010
I am finishing up my last day of a mini-vacation, having taken three days off from work. Between my regular work and contract stuff, I have been pretty flat out for a month or so, so it was nice to take a break. We managed to take the kids to Magic Mountain and Magnetic Hill Zoo on a beautiful sunny day. It was our first time there, and everyone had a really good time. Samantha loves the waterslides and Luke really liked looking at the animals at the zoo. And Samantha got to enjoy a pony ride! We also zipped out to Green Gables at the national park, as we've been reading the book to Samantha. She got to meet Anne and eat ice cream right out of a traditional church. The weather has been awesome for my days off; really sunny and warm. In fact, last night we retreated to the basement for movies and playtime because it was getting so warm in the main floor. I got out for a few runs too, although they were kinda grinding because of the heat. Pushing Luke around in that big running stroller doesn't make it any easier either!
I'm all geared up for the release of Starcraft 2 later this month. I've gotten a bit of playtime in with the beta, and it feels really natural. The computer AI is quite good as well, so even playing solo will become a challenge. I can't wait for some of my friends to come online when the retail copy is released so we can get some matches going. I generally prefer the cooperative play over the competitive play, but sometimes it's fun to match wits with a human player. But I really can't wait for the single player game, as I am very interested to see where the Starcraft universe is headed.
I've got the art bug again recently, and really want to carve out some time to get some artwork done. I have been pretty good to get a few pieces done each month for an online group I am part of, but I want to do more. If I take too much between pieces, I find I get rusty with certain things and have to start over a square one. I've really taken to digital painting, and am not too bad with a stylus and Photoshop. I would prefer to work with real paints, but it is so much easier and neater to work digitally. When I'm retired I'll take up the real stuff!
Almost time for bed. Back to work tomorrow and my inbox already has several big-ticket items in it. Gonna be a busy week!
Randy
Fear the Swarm!
May 31, 2010
Whew, another busy month behind us. Work has been busy as we're trying to clear out as much project work as we can in preparation of a major re-write to our flagship software. I've been knee deep in X-Cart and Drupal for a while, learning the intricacies of each application. Drupal in particular is an insanely powerful content management system, but comes with a virtually impenetrable wall of technical lingo and jargon. Once you understand some of the core concepts, it gets easier to tease out the elements you need to do some amazing things, but the learning curve is pretty steep at first. Thankfully there is a very active Drupal community that has written all kinds of helpful documents!
I've managed to get out to a few races this month, although I haven't gotten as many training runs as I would like. The races have gone pretty well so far, and I am getting less conservative in my approach. I ended up with a pretty painful hamstring pull after the last race, so I am taking it easy for a little bit. There is another race this weekend, so I probably won't run until that day. Most of the races are at the 10k distance at this point in the season, which is a nice distance to get a little endurance test in without being too far. I'd really like to step up my mileage in the coming weeks. I seem to keep saying that over and over, without actually being able to do it!
I managed to score a spot in the Startcraft 2 closed beta, so I've been sampling a little bit of the game before its release in July. It feels just like the original game, just more polished and with nicer graphics. That's exactly what fans of Starcraft wanted though, s o you'll hear no complaints from me! The new units are varied, but feel like they've always been there. And the Zerg continue to be the most awesome race ever! Screw you Terran!
Tammie and I have been talking about a potential trip to Niagara Falls this year. We haven't been on a big trip together since before the kids were born, so we're itching for a major change of venue. As always, the big kicker comes in finding the money, as maternity leave is not the time for extra spending. I think I am going to drum up some contract work to try and squirrel away enough to get us there. We'll have to see over the next few weeks. It'd be a pretty cool trip though and I think everyone (even Luke) would enjoy it.
Speaking of Luke, he is growing super fast. He's almost as big as most one-year-olds at the age of six months! Samantha is turning three soon and is super fun. She has so much energy and enthusiasm. You can't help but feeling like you are having a second childhood when you're playing with her. It's awesome to see how they change each day, and it makes all the extra work of being a parent worth it.
Randy
My Balance is Impeccable
Apr 9, 2010
It's a little rainy and windy today, but thus far we've had a pretty nice April. I don't want to say that winter is completely behind us, but it's looking more and more like that every day. The kids are able to get outside and play more often, and the spectre of springtime yard work is looming overhead. Not to mention the cleanup Tammie and I are going to have to perform on our basement. Things really piled up down there during the fall and winter.
So not much running this month so far. I got a bad cold a few weeks ago, and then bashed up my knee. I think I've cleared up both little mishaps, and am ready to start back into the routine this week. I missed the first big local race of the year (the Bunny Hop), and am a little disappointed about that. But there are plenty more races ahead, and I hope to get out to as many as possible. Work has been really busy, both during regular hours and with contract work, so I have to admit I haven't been quite as keen to get out and pound the pavement. Just not enough energy left some evenings. But I think as the temperatures come up and the days get longer, it'll be easier to find that motivation.
I've been able to sneak in a few nights with Dragon Age: Origins recently. The game really delivers for us old-school RPG fans. The story is great and the characterizations are fantastic. It has a nice pace to it, pulling you along through the plot. Right now I am playing as a squeaky-clean warrior type, but I can't wait to play through it again with a more sinister character. There are so many parts that I want to see played out with a little less emphasis on scruples. And as I mentioned before, the Starcraft 2 beta marches along, teasing me with coverage on a daily basis. I should start stockpiling Pepsi now so I can make it through the late game nights when that thing is released.
Tomorrow is gymnastics day for Samantha and I. We enrolled her in a toddler gymnastics class, and I take her each week. It's pretty fun, and Samantha loves to be around the other kids and trying out the different equipment. She enjoys the trampoline more than a child should enjoy anything, but I'll concede that trampolines are pretty awesome. So I best be off to bed so that I'll have lots of energy for the uneven bars!
Randy
Spring Has Sprung
Mar 14, 2010
March has been a beautiful month thus far, with fairly warm weather and lots of melting snow. I have started to get out and run again regularly, which I'm pretty excited about. My longest run has been 8k, so I haven't really tested the old legs yet. It'll take a month or two to get back into form and be ready for the spring race season. I am not feeling super-competitive this year; I just want to run in the races as something to get out and do. This year is a half-marathon year on the PEI Marathon race weekend (I alternate between the 10k and half-marathon race every two years), so that means my mileage will probably be a little higher than last year. I'd also really like to do the 25k Harvest Festival run in August, as I always love that tough course. Anyways, I am getting ahead of myself as there is a lot of training runs to do before I can tackle the 20+ k courses.
We had our family trip to Moncton and it was fun. Samantha loved Crystal Palace and all the rides. Luke travelled well, although he was definitely fed up with his car seat and stroller by the time we got home. They both slept surprisingly well in the hotel room, which was a real treat for Tammie and I. Our next trip will probably be to Fundy in the spring, but we'll see how things work out. We had a really good time there two years ago with Samantha, and I think she'd enjoy it even more now that she's older.
Tammie and I snuck out of the house to see "Alice in Wonderland" over the weekend, and we both quite enjoyed it. The weak spot of the film was actually Johnny Depp. The actress who played Alice (Mia Wasikowska) stole the show and was excellent in her part. The special effects were excellent and the whole world was a nice update from the Disney cartoon original. Definitely worth a look. I was also recently subjected to "Alvin and the Chipmunks" and "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" this week as well. Ahh, Alvin... he is a king among rodents. What more is there to say?
Work continues to be very busy with lots of different projects on the go. Have been working a bit with overlaying custom content on Google maps using Haversine formula to restrict the data set. It's a neat little challenge. I also wrote my first Flash file uploader (kind of like the image uploader you see on Facebook), and that was a great learning experience. Web technologies have come so far in the last ten years, and it's amazing how people have come to take for granted to incredibly complicated data exchange that occurs to make these things run. Google Street View for example... madness!
Haven't had much time with any games recently, although I polished all the songs and challenges off in Beatles Rockband. The music games are fun, but they lack staying power if you aren't playing them with people. I really hoped Tammie and I could play it together when the kids get to bed, but she hits the drums so hard that she wakes them up. I bet she could give Tommie Lee a run for his money! The Starcraft 2 public beta has been ongoing for a few weeks, and I have been addicted to coverage of it. That game is going to be so awesome that it may warrant a vacation day on release! Nah, I'm not that crazy (or am I?).
Well, there is a kitchen yearning to be cleaned in my house, so I best get to it before it gets too late. I already lost an hour to the time change! Yay, even less sleep!
Randy
How Many More Weeks of Winter?
Feb 10, 2010
February ushered in a pretty brutal cold snap, which has thankfully abated for now. Our newest team member, Luke, is adjusting well and being fairly easy on his parents. He sleeps most nights and doesn't cry continuously for no reason, which is pretty much the best you can ask for with a baby. He continues to grow very fast, and we're kind of hoping he'll slow down. If not, he could be walking by the time he's nine months old! Tammie and I are hoping to take the kids for a little out-of-province trip next week. Not very far, but just enough to change the scenery. We haven't nailed down the details yet, but we want to do something that is simple and we can all enjoy. Samantha has historically travelled pretty well, but we haven't had Luke very far yet. He's normally easy-going, so we'll keep our fingers crossed for the same trend.
No running yet this year, which is kind of a bummer. I'm starting to get antsy to lace up the shoes and get out, but the timing just hasn't been right yet. I walk to work every day, so I am at least getting a little bit of exercise. I was looking at my last year's running totals and ended up with 525km for the year. Contrasting that with 2008 where I ran 700km for the year, it isn't my best year. If my logs can be believed, I ran almost 1400km in 2006, so definitely not getting the mileage I used to. I'm hoping to at least get out for more races this year, starting with the Freeze Your Gizzard run in Montague in a few weeks. I will be totally out of shape walking up the start line, but maybe it'll get my butt in gear to get back into a routine.
I have been playing Dragon Age: Origins here and there, and it just gets better and better. Awesome game, harkening back to the original Neverwinter Nights. A lot of people say it's like the rebirth of the Balder's Gate series, but I actually like Neverwinter Nights better. Planescape: Torment is still my favourite RPG for the PC, but Dragon Age is quickly becoming something special. I've resisted the urge to play either the first or second Mass Effect, but it kills me not to pick them up. Can't justify getting them when I already have two huge games to work through!
Work has been very busy, but we managed to get the latest revision of our flagship software out the door. So far it seems to be working pretty well, so that's a relief for all of us on the team. It is shaping up to be a very packed spring and summer as well, with many different projects on the go. Yesterday I worked on tourism reservation software, an online store, a 10000 image photo library, and a Flash-powered localization of Google Maps. Variety is the spice of life, they say!
I finally got to see "Avatar", after several attempts. It is a great movie and James Cameron is the master of making big things look BIG. It certainly isn't my favourite movie ever, but I really enjoyed it. Tammie and I were kind of squished into the first row of the theatre, so I may go back again just to see it from a little better vantage point. There are definitely moments when you forget that 90% of the movie doesn't exist anywhere except inside a computer. Fantastic synchronization between the cast and their digital counterparts. We saw "Inglourious Basterds" a few days ago as well. It sucked, so not much more to say on that one. I somehow also ended up in the theatre to see "Up in the Air", which also sucked. But my faith in film was restored by watching Pixar's "Up". I loved that movie way more than I imagined I would, and it is probably my second favourite Pixar film after "Finding Nemo".
Oh yeah, I suppose this is going to be the first official post on the revised DigitalWanderer.net, which makes it kinda special. Not sure what I'm going to do with the place this time around, but it was time for a fresh coat of paint. Check back for new additions as I get the place tidied up!
Randy