Journal of a Sysadmin

Misc. noteworthy bits and bobs.

DST happened, earlier than it did before. I really hope it saves money on energy and doesn’t just end up getting reverted and causing us a ton more pain. We’ll have to see.

It was warm over the weekend. +16C or something yesterday, and almost all the snow is gone. Really nice out. Last night it rained, March 12th and it rained not snowed. That in itself is note worthy.

jhb and little J get home on Wedensday, in the early afternoon. I miss them so much. I bought jhb a book (I guess for me too), and a book for little J, and a magazine for jhb

I cleaned the house this past weekend, upgraded and repaired the PVR (long standing technical broken part issue), upgraded jhb’s machine and made GL work properly.

I also tried out secondlife for the first time (omg, another social networking disaster that will end up not scaling and wasting peoples lives). I have to say it has potential though… maybe, but at this point it is pretty well completely useless and a time sink. I’ll play a bit more with it before I decide for sure and report back.

It is spring

Yesterday was the first day this year that I could tell it really really is spring. The air was spring like, the grass is starting to green in places, I thought I could smell flowers, it has been raining.

We have emerged from winters great flurry into a world of colour, smells, warmth, screen doors and water where soon it will be warm patio weather beneath a sky of cobalt blue and buzzing insects. I loved snowboarding this past winter but (with the exception of maybe one more go) it may be time to put away winter activities, get on my bike and once again explore the Calgary streets and pathways.

Summer is on its way and with it we will bring a new life. Another season of ever changing time.

Autumns Quiet Rage

Today was November 11th which I think may be a marker for me. I cleaned up the back yard in preparation for winters decent onto the prairies, felt somehow angry (perhaps at the final passing of the summer) at everyone and everything, and had a shiver for most of the day…

It’s not that it was cold today (we’ve had colder days already) but it was something else… I can’t wait for boarding to start (officially today at sunshine) but still I resent that the winter is coming and will force us to be cold, bundle up, stay inside, not go for long bike rides or sit on the deck and sip our beers or pick raspberries or mow the lawn. All these things I love to do in the summer months when it’s warm and the days are much longer.

I noticed the long shadows on the grass while working in the yard today: at one thirty in the afternoon. The days are so much shorter already. It’s going to snow come monday they say and it just may be the last time the snow has fallen then melted this fall and most of the ground was left uncovered in the end.

jhb has finally gotten a work permit and her AIP and maybe she’ll have her PR status soon. That would mean all the waiting would finally be over. When she received her work permit she started working almost the next day and has been so much happier since! It’s wonderful to see. I know she’s been feeling down about that (not being able to work and help contribute) but she has been contributing so much daily she really doesn’t need to feel like this. Not only at home btw, but also at the Red Cross, Alzheimers Society, and other charities with offices around the city.

What else has been happening? I’ve been biking to work which means that my odometer is now at 1111km (a total of 1330 km this year) without going for a decent ride since September. The bike rides are nice but sometimes I wish they were longer and that I had more time for
them. I hope at some point in the future to be able to buy a lighter frame as well. This one, although it’s strong enough is lead heavy. Maybe in the next couple of years, at least I can look forward to being able to work a lot less and go a lot farther.

The snow (as I mentioned before) is already down in the mountains and it is getting very deep there! We are hoping (or at least I am) that next weekend we will be able to go and snowboard on Saturday at either Sunshine or Lake Louise. This is yet to be seen but, we are hoping it happens but time and finanaces will tell.

Our little puppy Missy is not so little anymore. She’s over a year old now, very spotted, very red, and very pretty. She loves to snuggle on the bed, or on the couch either with a pillow, a cat or us which I like to think is her preference.

At any rate, our little corner of the world is good. Getting colder and darker but it is still good. Autumn creeps up on us and next thing we know it’s spring again and with it flowers and grass and beer on our deck.

Once I’m tired of snowboarding or seriously injured, I’ll be impatient for spring to arrive again.

Bike and dog walk

Went from home to Elbow River Pathway, through downtown to Edworthy park, up that big f’ing hill (and jhb did it too! YAY Jaime!) then home. This pathway is a great ride.

Total Time 2:01:02
Total Distance 31.12 km
Average Cadence 68 rpm
Average Speed 15.4 km/h

Weather was beautiful. It was 22C for a high here today. Along the Elbow river the trees are starting to leaf out and you can already smell the sap in the air, it’s one of my favourite smells on earth!

Tonight, a 45 minute puppy walk with jhb and Miss Puppy Fantastico (aka, Missy Monster).

Bike: North Glenmore Park/26th ave./45th st./home

Went from home to north glenmore park, up 14th-ish to 26th ave. over to 45th st then home again.

Total Time 1:06:59
Total Distance 18.05 km
Average Cadence 65 rpm
Average Speed 16.1 km/h

Weather was overcast but ok. It’s warm out and green things are starting! =)

Pseudo Spring

it’s supposed to get up to 17C today (63F) which is spring weather. problem is, it’s March… This means that we’ll still have some cold weather, likely in April if not sooner.

It was an amazing bike ride to work though.