Don't Panic! This is still Musings over Coffee :)
I've decided to try something a bit different with my Musings over Coffee. I've been sitting on this blogger site for a long while now and decided to give it a shot. I was able to import all my posts on my Wordpress site into Blogger and it seems to be working just fine.
I'm going to make a go of this again to see how it goes. For now, I will be going through my old posts (all 475 musings) and making some adjustments and making sure all the formatting imported properly. Hopefully with a little luck, I'll be able to get back on track :)
Until next time...
Cheers,
Al
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Musing over Coffee v42.6: August What?
Howdy folks,
I can't believe it's been three months since I posted last. I was reminded about my lack of writing lately by the fact that November is NaNoWriMo. No, I don't think I'll be taking part in NaNoWriMo this year; I just don't seem to have the time to actually dedicate myself to the word goal.
Anyway folks, just a quick post to let everyone know I'm still here :) I seem to be having an issue with Word Press through Firefox right now which is making it VERY difficult to write. I'm not entirely sure what it is, but it seems to be causing my browser to "stop responding" in the middle of typing randomly which is starting to get really annoying.
I will write again soon; I promise :)
Cheers,
Al
I can't believe it's been three months since I posted last. I was reminded about my lack of writing lately by the fact that November is NaNoWriMo. No, I don't think I'll be taking part in NaNoWriMo this year; I just don't seem to have the time to actually dedicate myself to the word goal.
Anyway folks, just a quick post to let everyone know I'm still here :) I seem to be having an issue with Word Press through Firefox right now which is making it VERY difficult to write. I'm not entirely sure what it is, but it seems to be causing my browser to "stop responding" in the middle of typing randomly which is starting to get really annoying.
I will write again soon; I promise :)
Cheers,
Al
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Musing over Coffee v42.5: "Socially" Acceptable
"Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out." - John Wooden
There's nothing like a good storm to get the inspirational juices flowing. Especially when the power goes out and you lose access to all of the "life distractions" that seem to inhibit inspiration. On Tuesday this week we had an impressive thunder and lightning show here in Halifax which lasted for a good 8 hours in total. I have never seen or experienced anything like it before. There were times during the storm where I was sure my apartment building was going to cave in on me because the thunder was so loud. I lost power at my place a couple of times, but it only lasted for a minute. It got me thinking though: how would society cope if our access to data, news and social media was abruptly cut off?Monday, July 25, 2011
Musing over Coffee v42.4: Getting Things Done?
Hey folks,
Our office hosted a little seminar today on David Allen's Getting Things Done work-life management tool. I must admit, I was a bit impressed/inspired by it all. There are definitely some parts of the system that I could apply to my day-to-day life that would help quite a bit to ensure I get things done properly. As I was listening to the session, I was trying to put it all together in my head; how to make it work in both my work and my personal life. Unfortunately, with the way we do things at work, there is no easy way to bridge the gap technically. I was thinking a smart device like a Black Berry or iPhone must just do the trick, and it may if I could get my hands on one. I have a Black Berry for work now, but due to the security policies on it, I'm not able to do anything with it except make phone calls and read/send corporate emails.
The first part of the seminar we were asked to grab a sheet of paper and write down everything we had in our heads that are things we need to do. For example, I wrote stuff like:
These are things that are constantly on my mind and when they start to add up, you have a greater chance of forgetting things. The whole idea behind GTD is to write it all down so you don't have to remember it. This way you can take the things you need to do and categorize them into buckets or areas. You could create some lists like "Home" and "Work" where you could list things you needed to do for each. You could have another list called "Call" where you could list all the people you had to call for whatever reason; include the telephone in the list so if you're using a smart device like an iPhone or Black Berry you can easily dial out while looking at the list. These are great things you can do while driving in traffic or when you have a few minutes waiting for something. Been putting off calling the garage to get your car in for maintenance? Add it to the call list so you don't forget it.
Of course this whole idea of lists and writing things down is pointless if you don't review it. The guide to GTD has guidelines on when to review lists; some are daily while others are weekly or monthly. This way you are only focused on the things that are most important while the other things can be followed-up on less frequently. The idea is clearing your mind from all the unnecessary "remembering" and taking the things you need to do and getting them done by organizing them. It really is an interesting system, but it will only work if you invest the time to do it properly. If you're interested in learning more about GTD, I highly urge you to head over to David Allen's site and read about it.
Well folks, just a quick update for now. I will definitely be adding "blog on my favorite blogging site" to my list of Getting Things Done :)
Cheers till next time,
Al
Our office hosted a little seminar today on David Allen's Getting Things Done work-life management tool. I must admit, I was a bit impressed/inspired by it all. There are definitely some parts of the system that I could apply to my day-to-day life that would help quite a bit to ensure I get things done properly. As I was listening to the session, I was trying to put it all together in my head; how to make it work in both my work and my personal life. Unfortunately, with the way we do things at work, there is no easy way to bridge the gap technically. I was thinking a smart device like a Black Berry or iPhone must just do the trick, and it may if I could get my hands on one. I have a Black Berry for work now, but due to the security policies on it, I'm not able to do anything with it except make phone calls and read/send corporate emails.
The first part of the seminar we were asked to grab a sheet of paper and write down everything we had in our heads that are things we need to do. For example, I wrote stuff like:
- Pay Power Bill
- Pay Cable Bill
- Do Laundry
- Wash Dishes
- Sweep Floor
- etc.
These are things that are constantly on my mind and when they start to add up, you have a greater chance of forgetting things. The whole idea behind GTD is to write it all down so you don't have to remember it. This way you can take the things you need to do and categorize them into buckets or areas. You could create some lists like "Home" and "Work" where you could list things you needed to do for each. You could have another list called "Call" where you could list all the people you had to call for whatever reason; include the telephone in the list so if you're using a smart device like an iPhone or Black Berry you can easily dial out while looking at the list. These are great things you can do while driving in traffic or when you have a few minutes waiting for something. Been putting off calling the garage to get your car in for maintenance? Add it to the call list so you don't forget it.
Of course this whole idea of lists and writing things down is pointless if you don't review it. The guide to GTD has guidelines on when to review lists; some are daily while others are weekly or monthly. This way you are only focused on the things that are most important while the other things can be followed-up on less frequently. The idea is clearing your mind from all the unnecessary "remembering" and taking the things you need to do and getting them done by organizing them. It really is an interesting system, but it will only work if you invest the time to do it properly. If you're interested in learning more about GTD, I highly urge you to head over to David Allen's site and read about it.
Well folks, just a quick update for now. I will definitely be adding "blog on my favorite blogging site" to my list of Getting Things Done :)
Cheers till next time,
Al
Friday, July 1, 2011
Musing over Coffee v42.3: Canada Day
Just a quick note to say Happy Canada Day to my friends and family in Canada. It has been a nice day here in Halifax (for a change) and there are a lot of tourists and families around the city taking in all there is to offer on this National Holiday. If you're working today, I feel for you. I had to work this morning but was lucky enough to get away for the afternoon to enjoy the nice weather.-slurp-
Please don't drink and drive and have a safe and fun Canada Day!
Cheers,
Al
Friday, June 24, 2011
Musing over Coffee v42.2: That was close
Morning folks,
-slurp-
I realized this past week that I had inadventantly allowed my domain to expire. I had a couple emails from the registrar reminding me about it, but I would read them and immediately forget about it. This week I got yet another reminder, but this one told me that the domain has expired and they would modify my DNS so the domain would redirect to an alternate site; if I didn't pay to renew the domain, it would be sold off to one of those domain holding companies after 30 days. Needless to say, I promptly logged in and renewed it for another year.
-slurp-
I'm still waiting for summer to get here. I'm not sure what the weather is like in your area of the world, but Summer has definitely been late in arriving here in Halifax. Our temperatures have been low, it is has been raining non-stop and I think I've even picked up a viral upper respiratory tract infection. It isn't uncommon for people get "catch" a cold during the transition from spring to summer but since it doesn't really feel like summer around here, I can't say that is the reason :) While technically Summer started this week, I can't help but feel a bit robbed of the nice weather. I can count on 1 hand the number of nice days we've had in the last month and even then, spectacular they were not.
-slurp-
Well folks, work beckons and I must heed the call. I have a lot of work to get done today so I can relax this weekend and not have to work (like I do most weekends). Working in IT was not my career choice when I was younger, but at least it pays the bills (almost :) ). I need to approve a bunch of time sheets (which hopefully are submitted on-time), I need to put together a spec document for a new project my development team will be working on and I need to clean up some old tasks that have been lingering around. I should be able to get it all done today if I put my head down and actually work, but it's Friday and we all know how motivating that can be :)
Take care everyone and I hope you all have a safe and happy weekend! If you plan on having a drink or two this weekend, have one for me :)
Cheers,
Al
-slurp-
I realized this past week that I had inadventantly allowed my domain to expire. I had a couple emails from the registrar reminding me about it, but I would read them and immediately forget about it. This week I got yet another reminder, but this one told me that the domain has expired and they would modify my DNS so the domain would redirect to an alternate site; if I didn't pay to renew the domain, it would be sold off to one of those domain holding companies after 30 days. Needless to say, I promptly logged in and renewed it for another year.-slurp-
I'm still waiting for summer to get here. I'm not sure what the weather is like in your area of the world, but Summer has definitely been late in arriving here in Halifax. Our temperatures have been low, it is has been raining non-stop and I think I've even picked up a viral upper respiratory tract infection. It isn't uncommon for people get "catch" a cold during the transition from spring to summer but since it doesn't really feel like summer around here, I can't say that is the reason :) While technically Summer started this week, I can't help but feel a bit robbed of the nice weather. I can count on 1 hand the number of nice days we've had in the last month and even then, spectacular they were not.-slurp-
Well folks, work beckons and I must heed the call. I have a lot of work to get done today so I can relax this weekend and not have to work (like I do most weekends). Working in IT was not my career choice when I was younger, but at least it pays the bills (almost :) ). I need to approve a bunch of time sheets (which hopefully are submitted on-time), I need to put together a spec document for a new project my development team will be working on and I need to clean up some old tasks that have been lingering around. I should be able to get it all done today if I put my head down and actually work, but it's Friday and we all know how motivating that can be :)
Take care everyone and I hope you all have a safe and happy weekend! If you plan on having a drink or two this weekend, have one for me :)
Cheers,
Al
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Musing over Coffee v42.1: Stalagmites in my Freezer
Howdy folks,
-slurp-
Today was much like any other day. I got up, got ready for work and headed into the office. I worked. I came home, ran a few errands, came home again and decided to have a glass of Pepsi. I opened the freezer door and stopped. I couldn't help but notice all my ice cubes in my ice cube tray had little ice spikes sticking out of them. It was the oddest thing and initially I thought something was wrong. Why the hell would my ice cubes have stalagmites sticking out of them?
-slurp-
Of course I had to look this up and apparently it isn't uncommon to see ice cubes with stalagmites sticking out of them. I bet you're all wondering how this is achieved? I examined the ice cubes for a few minutes, but I couldn't figure out exactly how it happened. Did someone break into my apartment and fashion these out of ice? Was there water dripping down from inside the freezer in precisely the exact spot where my ice cubes were? Are there microscopic organisms living in my freezer who can only survive in sub zero temperatures and they build these structures to live in?
-slurp-
After a quick search on Goggle, the answer finally presented itself to me. This strange phenomenon happens to ice cubes when they freeze from the outside in. Since water expands when it freezes, there is no where for the liquid to go - but up - when the ice starts to form. Seems so simple doesn't it?
-slurp-
On the gaming side of things I've started playing WoW again. This time I've decided to start up a little Blog to record some of the adventures and to just talk geek about WoW. Initially I had the domain wowgeek.com registered, but I let that domain expire and go away, so I've decided to use my old domain fiendz.net to house the new blog. If you head over to http://www.fiendz.net you can check it out. I don't have any content there right now, but I'm slowly building the site up and plan on doing some posting there soon.
-slurp-
Anyway folks, time to head out for now. I hope everyone had a great day today!
Cheers,
Al
-slurp-
Today was much like any other day. I got up, got ready for work and headed into the office. I worked. I came home, ran a few errands, came home again and decided to have a glass of Pepsi. I opened the freezer door and stopped. I couldn't help but notice all my ice cubes in my ice cube tray had little ice spikes sticking out of them. It was the oddest thing and initially I thought something was wrong. Why the hell would my ice cubes have stalagmites sticking out of them?-slurp-
Of course I had to look this up and apparently it isn't uncommon to see ice cubes with stalagmites sticking out of them. I bet you're all wondering how this is achieved? I examined the ice cubes for a few minutes, but I couldn't figure out exactly how it happened. Did someone break into my apartment and fashion these out of ice? Was there water dripping down from inside the freezer in precisely the exact spot where my ice cubes were? Are there microscopic organisms living in my freezer who can only survive in sub zero temperatures and they build these structures to live in?
-slurp-
After a quick search on Goggle, the answer finally presented itself to me. This strange phenomenon happens to ice cubes when they freeze from the outside in. Since water expands when it freezes, there is no where for the liquid to go - but up - when the ice starts to form. Seems so simple doesn't it?
-slurp-
On the gaming side of things I've started playing WoW again. This time I've decided to start up a little Blog to record some of the adventures and to just talk geek about WoW. Initially I had the domain wowgeek.com registered, but I let that domain expire and go away, so I've decided to use my old domain fiendz.net to house the new blog. If you head over to http://www.fiendz.net you can check it out. I don't have any content there right now, but I'm slowly building the site up and plan on doing some posting there soon.
-slurp-
Anyway folks, time to head out for now. I hope everyone had a great day today!
Cheers,
Al
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