Sparky's_and_Sandy's

and Pretty Soon

The conversation at around midnight...

"So give me a time frame--what's 'soon' and what's 'pretty soon'..."

"Well, I'm going to be 40 'soon', and I'm going to fall asleep 'pretty soon'"

"That doesn't help!"

Sandy's looking for more of a definitive time-frame to distinguish what I mean by 'soon' and 'pretty soon'--I won't go into why she wants me to narrow it down, but it has something to do with sparkly.

"Well, you're wondering if 'Soon' is sooner than 'Pretty Soon' or if 'Pretty Soon' is sooner than 'Soon'. It's more arbitrary than that. Sometimes I say 'I'll be there soon' which means 'I'll be there within 15 minutes', or I'll say 'I'll be there pretty soon', which also means that you can expect me within a quarter of an hour. Sometimes there's no difference..."

"Still not helping!"

So the conversation goes on, this time Sandy just lets me ramble on whilst she reads her Bridal magazines (she's good that way)--

"Notice when you say 'soon' over and over again, it kinda loses all significance--soon soon soon soon soon soonsoonsoonsoonsoon... Actually, most words said over and over again somehow get separated from any meaning whatsoever. Soon soon soon... Pretty soon soon pretty soon..."

(it's amazing what conversations one can have at midnight)

"Actually, sounds like a good family name--The Soon family. With Papa Soon, Mama Soon, and little baby soons all over the place!"

pause

"And if they had a daughter, her name would be 'Pretty Soon'"

K, it was funny last night!

Since we were, indeed, speaking of it...

"tis a little difficult to explain, so I'll give you an example--go have a listen to "Funeral for a Friend" by Elton John. The song comes in at around 10 minutes, so you'll have to book some time to listen to it. Hear the first half of the song? Notice anything?

Yep, no lyrics. No singing at all.

Now grab just about any Supertramp album, throw on the last song and have a listen--same thing. Fools Overture is pegged at around 10:43 and I think there maybe about 2-3 minutes of actual singing (I'll even throw in Churchill's speech with the lyrics...)

I have an appreciation for these types of songs. Maybe it alludes to my appreciation of classical music, in which, besides the very occasional choir or soloist arrangemnt, features no lyrics at all.

I also think that, for a rock musician to pull off most of a song with no lyrics is a major feat--there aren't that many songs that are mostly 'just instrumental-no lyrics'.

I mean if it was easy, I guess everyone'd be doing it.

Eh, I wanted a quick post today and this looks to be it. I will say this--I started playing 'Funeral for a Friend' before I sat down to write this little expatiation and we're still not to the 'words' bit.

Oh wait, almost here--

"The roses in the window box Have tilted to one side..."

Wow.

Reginald, keep up the fantastic work.

and the hits just keep on comin'

So we saw Journey this week, which was great. Today I was perusing some dark dusty corners of Sparky's and Sandy's Space. You might not see how these two things are related,but wait and see...

So over on my 'Biography Page', which was originally written about a 'coon's age ago, I stated--

"Music: Supertramp, Elton John, Bach, Michael W. Smith, Chris de Burgh, Pink Floyd, Mozart, Abba, Journey, Beethoven, Arlo Guthrie, Vivaldi and most other music, except Rap"

As well, over on my 'Links' page (which I can see needs some serious updating) I happened to say, at least as far back as the last millennium--

"The question is, how could I have been so negligent in my homepage endeavours? I mean, everyone who has a homepage has their musical preference. Ahhhh, Musical Preference--it's such a fickle thing. Anyway, I can listen to just about anything ('xcept RAP!!! Put a 'C' in front of it people and call it what it is!!!! (Not that I'm overtly opinionated on it or anything, but we are talking about music here, not quick talkers)). So, with little fanfare and much hoopla, Dave's Links o' Music.

First, and foremost, is Supertramp. The first album I ever bought was "Crime of the Century". It's well played. Thank goodness CD's came out. By far my most favourite group (one thing that hasn't changed--consistancy is important sometimes)

Chris de Burgh has always been there for moments of inspiration. Sometimes I wonder why he isn't more famous than he is because his music is just beautiful.

Bryan Adams is just a great Canadian singer. What more needs to be said?

There are lots of other people and groups I listen to and appreciate, such as Journey, Pink Floyd, U2, (of course) Elton John, the Beatles, and the list goes on. If you want to hear some real music, go pick up Johann Strauss (the younger one)--His waltzes have such depth. Another composer that I listen to a wee bit is Beethoven..."

So I revisited the list(s) of music that I deemed good enough to write down. Both lists state Supertramp in the number 1 position--basically has never changed since age 7, nor will it probably.

But that's not what I came here to talk about--I came to talk about something else entirely.

I've been pretty fortunate (without really even trying) to see most of my favourite musical artists in a live venue. I purchased tickets about 3 years ago to see Supertramp at the Molson stage in Toronto--that was wonderful. I also got to see Elton John at Copps Coliseum in downtown Hamilton a few years back--just him and a piano and about 25 thousand of his closest Canadian fans. I was in the 6th row from the stage and was blown away for about two hours bythe sheer talent of the one man up there.

Bryan Adams I was fortunate enough to see way back when at the Aud in Buffalo--fantastic Canadian musician. Michael W. Smith I have seen a variety of times--once when a bunch of us from the local young peoples went to see Billy Graham at the SkyDome--70 thousand people in one place--I've never, in my life, been in one spot with that many people around me.

I've also attended various symphonic events through my life--from the small string quartets to the large 50+ orchestras with choirs--All inspiring and moving to be sure.

I don't think I'll be fortunate enough to see Pink Floyd in concert, but I also beleive that this is no big loss for me. Far greater would be to never see Chris de Burgh in concert--I've listened to his music for many years and I would love to see him live on stage somewhere. Lastly, I hardly expect to see Arlo Guthrie at any point in my life--Kid, that's gonna be a bit of a disappointment. smile

So, at the end of it all, I say that it really doesn't matter the genre--it's the talent--the committment to perfect the craft--that all these people show that most moves me, that cuts me right to the soul. Whether it was my friend Lisa at her viola recital at the Toronto School of Music, or Journey last week at Casino Rama--the music moved me, so much so that my eyes became misty and there were tears.

I don't think that we choose the music we like, but that the music chooses us. Music cuts to the very center of who we are and, as Bob Seger would sing--it 'moves the soul'.

I love that. I really do.

Fraserburg United Church, Fraserburg, Ontario

St. Paul's Anglican Church, Washago, Ontario

Knox Presbyterian Church, Gravenhurst, Ontario

Trinity United Church, Gravenhurst, Ontario

Sculpture

I love taking pictures of churches and putting them up here for (hopefully) everyone to enjoy the workmanship, love and caring that people put into their places of worship. I am, however, running out of unique things to say about each church. So I'll just let the pictures do the talking for me.

Any way you want it...

I heard on the radio, probably way back in May, that Journey was going to play at Casino Rama on August 24th. Seeing as how we were pretty excited about it, Sandy and I ordered tickets, got them in the mail, put them up on the fridge and basically forgot all about it.

Until this Wednesday.

So we head up to Orillia--got a little lost--but eventually found 'Lost Wages' a.k.a. Casino Rama.

We were in row 'K' and close to the center. Let me tell you, probably the best seats in the house--not too close where you're looking up at the stage, and not too far away where you can't see what's going up on the stage.

We happened to be exceptionally early, so we did some people watching. As people filed in, we pegged the average age of the Journey Concert goer to be around--well, older than us. In the seats around us, there were what looked like grandparents--50 years+ people looking excited about this concert.

A little after 8 p.m. Journey hit the stage.

A little before 10 p.m. Journey left the stage (after 1 encore)--those two hours contained the best concert going experience I've ever had.

It was like 'the best of Journey' with a few new songs from their new album thrown in. They played 'for the audience' and the audience just loved it.

Many people have stated that the average concert goer wants to hear the songs as they are on teh albums--Well, on the biggest hits, the group on stage did, at least from my ears, a note for note-lyric for lyric copy from the appropriate albums--Open Arms, Don't Stop Believin', Faithfully, Separate Ways--very true to the originals. Other 'lesser known' songs, the band had fun with--longer intros, bigger guitar solos, lots of drums, etc. For me--fantastic.

I hesitate to use the term 'lesser known songs' for most of the audience was singing all lyrics to all songs thru the entire show.

So then comes the encore--the lights are out, the band has left the stage and out comes the lighters and the clapping's just getting louder--more hooting and hollering--and then 'Any Way You Want it!'

THe crowd is just loving it! Sandy and I are looking around, seeing 60ish year old couples dancing a little jig to the music a few rows in front of us. Everybody's clapping and singing...

That song ended, a little pause whilst the screaming audience simmers down a bit. One band member pulls out an harmonica and starts playing what sounded like a little blues tune. I didn't recognixze it at all (and I'm a pretty big Journey fan)--the base guitar joins in after a bit--getting really bluesy now. The Drummer starts--we're about 5 minutes from the harmonica beginning, and all the band members are playing a really neat R&B rift, and it goes right into 'Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin''. Then the band takes that song and stretches it out to probably double the length of the original. They're having fun, then they get the audience to do a little singin' and we're just singing our hearts out.

Fantastic!

The song ends, the crowd just cheers and claps for a very long time, the band members start throwing drumsticks and guitar picks into the audience, and shaking the hands of all the people at the front, then they leave the stage.

The lights come up.

I feel the corners of my eyes--they're a little misty. Could be from the fog machine, but I don't think so--I was absolutely moved by the music I heard for those two hours. Music that brought me back to my teenage years--my high school career--my longing to have a girlfriend and remembering 'Don't Stop Believin''. Brought me back to my early dating experiences--getting my heart stomped on and listening to "Faithfully" and wanting to have that song mean something deep down and personal in my life. Then I look to my right and there she is--'Open Arms', baby--Open Arms. That's when the misty eyes really started--I just felt so... together at that moment.

I've always had a 'soundtrack' to my life and I appreciate many different genres of music. Music means something to me, and, at this concert, seeing that this particular music meant something to Sandy as well--just perfect.

K, all that said--the absolutely fantastic concert going experience at Casino Rama--there was one downside--during the first half hour the instrumentation was a little too loud and we couldn't really hear the lyrics well. That's really about it.

In the end--the music was perfectly Journey.

They said that Jouney has been together for 30 years--Sandy deduced that this is why the age of the average concert goer was so high--most of them probably started listening to the gorup back in high school back in '75. Made sense to me--my first Journey album was purchased in 1980--not so long after.

30 years of 'Journey'ing? Thanks for keeping it together, and here's hoping we get to see you again on stage!

Magna Doodle 'BotCam

Hopefully, straight forward as you can tell from the pictures--LEGO Vision Command on top, pointing down and the Magna Doodle board and 'bot at the bottom. Really, not much more than that.

The very simplistic micro-motor pen moving assembly

Nice Racks! They move the 'bot through the X and Y axes

The erasing magnet mechanism

When the pen is in the up position, it can move the magnet mechanism back and forth

That's about it, really--no magic! It's not one of my better built 'bots but it gets the job done.

The programming was pretty easy as well--motor A output on the RCX was used for the X axis, motor B for the Y, and motor C for pen up/down. Throw some timing into NQC, and you pretty much have it. Add WebBrick or WebRCX to your server and you're pretty much good to go.

What else...

Oh right, for those that want to know, I'm using WebCam 32 as my video streaming software. It's a little dated but still does the job.

So try it out--

RoboCam Page for Internet Explorer

RoboCam Page for Firefox and other browsers

Anyway, if you feel like commenting on the RoboCam'Bot, or you have any suggestions, please post!

So the letter began...

"Dear Occupant..."

Turns out that Hydro, in 'the continuing effort to provide better service', decided to cut power to our abode for 5+ hours. sad

Basically pretty much bringing our little webserver down for that amount of time. I really should invest in a UPS, but eh, no cash.

Anyway, as you can see, after the power was restored, the webserver came back up--no intervention needed! (Which is the good bit that I really appreciate smile )

Beyond that--didya miss Sparky's Space today???

'Cause I'm a 'We' now...

and a major part of my life for the past 13 years has been this website, and now I have no reservations in sharing it with my significant other.

I told her just the other day that it was about time that I started to get serious about our time together and the future. If I'm not putting the effort I believe a relationship deserves, tehn what's the point?

Anyway, on a less 'intense relationship' note, she's just as much part of Sparky's and Sandy's Space as I am--she's overseen (some of) my recent blog entries and encourages me to take pictures for the website.

I hope that, with her name 'spray painted' on the banner that she'll post more, but I'll leave that completely up to her.

I'll endeavour to get a better looking banner title for the both of us smile

And they came together very nicely

I was seriously considering building Serenity out of LEGO bricks, but, after seeing this Firefly class starship made with LEGO bricks, I don't think I'll bother.

The builder captured many nifty details of the ship as seen from the short-lived series--the shuttles, the rotating engines--even the little hatch on the bottom!

Chris Doyle, the builder, did an exceptional job on it. If you have the time, click the link and have a boo at the pictures!

Normally this would be a post on LUGNET

But not today

Friends of Sparky's Space!

You are the first to see the unveiled new 'Dave's RoboBot'!!

Actually, I don't think it's as impressive as my previous 'bot but that's neither here nor there...

Anyway, I would usually post this at LUGNET, but I thought I'd let the people who read my blog know first.

So have a boo--

RoboCam Page for Internet Explorer

RoboCam Page for Firefox and other browsers

At this time, the pen up/down command works, but you may have to push the buttons twice--I didn't set the time properly on those.

Other than that, have fun!

If there are any issues, drop me a line or post here.

The latest image from the RoboCam'Bot--

Port Carling United Church, Port Carling, Ontario

I absolutely loved the plants and flowers around Port Carling United Church (as did the butterflies). I also appreciated the whole 'church on the hill', as seen in the last picture.

Well...

In May of 1998, I took it upon myself to buy my very own b-day present. I was working a pretty good gig at the time and had a few surplus dollars. Always wanting to get into photography, but having done nothing in that general direction since being yearbook editor way back in high school, I decided to look at getting myself a camera.

Now for those that remember all the way back to 1998, it was the year that digital cameras just started to be, well, not commonplace, but at least not unheard of. A little research--which basically entailed me heading over to my favourite computer store and harassing a very good looking--I mean dedicated--salesperson, Paula--and asking her for info about digital cameras lead me to consider a Kodak product. In the history of photography, Kodak has pretty much been up there for quality and such, so I was leaning towards that company over any other.

Turns out that for a measly 1000 bones (including taxes) I could have a Kodak Digital Science 120 camera in my hands! She had it there at the shop! I was thrilled and purchased it. A whopping 1.2 mega-pixel (but really, 824 k) with 2 meg built in! 3 times optical zoom! Hey, at the time this was bleeding edge!

Turns out that, after turning the camera on and finding that someone had already taken pictures on it, that it was used. Paula then ordered me a new one--did I mention that it was my favourite 'puter store? smile

Anyway, few days after my birthday, I get a brand new (no previous pictures) digital camera.

I, and many of my friends, then proceed to take 13000+ pictures using the mighty DC120 over the intervening years.

Now before people start jumping to conclusions, I did not get rid of the Kodak--it's at home, quite comfortable in its carrying case. That said, we went on vacation last weekend and the only camera that made the trip was hers--some really not good Sony 4.1 megapixel whatever digital camera razz

I actually wanted to use her camera for the trip, to see how good a pic it could take. Turns out that it does take quite the remarkable picture.

So for the first time in my website history, a whole page of pics was posted, and none of those pics were taken with the DC120! shocked

I think that, in the future, you will be seeing more and more pics from the Sony posted here. Eh, times change, and I should really think about changing with them.

New Hope Free Methodist Church, Bracebridge, Ontario

I loved the wonderful wheelchair accessibility ramp--very well done. The non-flat front also appealed to me. Me thinks, however, the roof may need some rapair.

319,564 km on the Mighty Dodge

So the mighty Dodge was in the shop the other day--the brakes needed a little tuning. I called up my mechanic today to thank him for his efforts--the truck was running pretty smooth. He lets me know that he took it for a spin around the block for a 'road test'. "Unbelievable!", he lets me know, "the truck still runs like a top!" He tells me that the truck, should I still 'baby it' and take it in for routine maintenance, could still last me for another few years.

Pretty good investment for 500 bones.

So, even beyond the epic run-in with the MTO, the truck is still on the road and still running 'like a top'.

But the body is rusting away. Even though I'm loathe to get rid of the thing, I don't want to keep on patching and painting.

Ahh, the trials and tribulations of owning a vehicle that's pretty close to 20 years old.

I will state, on the record, that, whilst driving to the mighty Mr. and Mississauga today, I found myself thinking that I love driving the Dodge moreso than the previously owned Honda(a)--gasp! Many friends o' mine are now blown out in their back yards by that, but it's true--the Dodge Dakota is the best ride I've ever had. It's so choice--If you have the means, I seriously recommend it.

Beyond that, as I stated a long time ago in a previous blog entry (actually it was a Press article) that my mechanic was surprised that I called him up to thank him for a job well done. I dunno--every once in a while that's kinda needed is my thought.

But that's a story for another time.

there are worse things to be...

My dad, since my earliest recollection, has one defining policy regarding 'stuff'--if it isn't used in, say, the last 6 months, out it goes (whatever it might be). Whether given to the church sale, or just taken to the curb, any object sitting dormant for a while gets the boot outta the house!

For example, dad owned a boat. Not a great boat to be sure, but it was enough to get the boys to a divesite--a 16 foot aluminum with a 35 hp Johnson on the back. Well, dad basically gave up diving at one time, and there the boat sat in the back yard. Since it was somewhat more expensive than most things around the house, it got to stay for a few years. But after a bit, dad got rid of it--sold ot to a buddy for a little dough (just when I got both my dive licence and drivers licence, but that's neither here nor there)

So that's what dad does, and its what I got used to over the years from him--"What happened to [insert thing here]? I could really use it right now", says I. Pops would often reply, "Oh that thing sat around in the basement for a while--I finally got rid of it." Finally I stopped asking for things 'cause I knew they'd be gone.

Me, on the other hand--I was quite the pack-rat. I've kept books, papers, mementos, computer parts (especially computer parts) for years--hidden away in nooks and crannies, boxes and bins. I betcha there were things that I haven't seen, yet alone used, dating back to my grade school days, that I've had to move numerous times (as I think I discussed in a previous blog) every time I got a new place to live.

Note how I said 'there were things...'.

Yep, today marks the official 'Dave-becomes-his-dad' day. Out they went! Boxes, bins, papers, whatever--if it didn't relate to my present circumstances--to the back of my truck they went! Off to the dump (or the nearest disposal/recycle bin more than likely) for their final destination.

I threw out (almost) all of my old Commodore computer crap that I started amassing at age 16. Boxes of disks, peripherals, spare chips, joysticks--all gone, baby!

I thought about eBay for, oh, point 2 seconds--didn't want the hassle and I have absolutely no idea of the operability of most of the equipment, nor do I care--if someone wants a Commodore 64, download an emulator!

I had scores of old PC equipment as well--286's, EGA monitors, ISA cards, SIMM chips.... Just crap. Plain old crap that was sitting around, occupying space in our house. Well, no more. I should have thrown these thiongs out years ago. I neither have the time or the inclination to actually sit down and use any of it.

Out of everything that I've acquired through the years and, as of now have gotten rid of, I've kept two things--both related to computers:

A Commodore PET 4032, for it is the first computer I ever touched and was the catalyst for where I am today. It still works! I had it on a few months back and played 'Multi-Invaders'--"Take Off, Eh!".

I also kept a Radio Shack PC3--that small little calculator size computer with a whopping 2.2 k of memory--it still works and is so small that I don't mind keeping it.

Beyond that, I think I'm going to be more like my old man--clutter is starting to get to me. The more stuff one has the harder it is to find anything.

Oh, one thing that I've never thrown out--books. I love books. Occasionally, when I'm in a particular jaunty mood, I go through the shelves and grab a random book to read when I'm *gasp!* bored of Asimov or Eddings. I have a book printed in 1894. It's the sequel to 'Three Musketeers' by Dumas. I loved reading that one--the smell of the paper added to the 'historical setting'. I was at an estate acution once and picked up a few boxes of hard cover mysteries, most printed before 1930. They're a fun read as well.

Anyway, that was a tangent.

And that about wraps this up for me.

Due to security concerns

In my continuing efforts to thwart the idiot hackers and spammers, I do loads of research and such on the internets. Lately I've come to realize that the Apache Web Services probably shouldn't be running under the administrator account, for a clever hacker could probably take administrative control of the entire system that way.

By following some 'simple' on-line directions, I've got the server now set up to the point where the administrative acocunt is no longer runnining the Apache web server. I've set up a 'less than user' account and assigned the proper security permissions to the proper directories/services(I hope), and, if you're reading this, I've hopefully done a good job doing it.

That's why the website was down for a few hours today--I tested this on my backup server and it went in without a hitch. Unfortunately, my on-line server didn't take kindly to the new implementation and offered me much grief.

In the end--again, hopefully--I have emerged victorious. I've tested most bits of Sparky's Space, and everything seems to be functioning properly.

So there you are.

Just for the masses...

Visiting the discussion group for Greymatter (the blogging software I've chosen for 'Sparky's Space'), I asked about 'TrackBack' addons. Starting this thread, a few folks replied.

One JonathanMurray (who appears to have an interest in AOD, so, like, that's good for me--It's a trick! Get an axe!) posted a mod (modification) to display trackbacks right on the page.

I tried it his way, and it didn't work. However, as I stated in that thread linked above, a few tweaks and I'm good to go!

So if you do any trackbacks to Sparky's Space, hey, I'll display them--unless, of course, your sending spamming trackbacks, in which case--no soup for you!

Oh, to see an example of this new wonderful feature (since I don't get many trackbacks...)

A Nifty Little Train Bridge

Scroll down--you'll see the Trackback entry--neat, eh!

Anyway, that's the effort for today.

the masses cower in fear...

I've been thinking lately about starting a series of blogs (intermittently distributed amongst other blog postings--y'know, as I get inspired and all...) about how I would run things should I find myself in a position of politcal power.

See, I've also been thinking lately, after listening to and watching politicians for years, that our country needs--not necessarily a radical change to fix things--but at least 'non-political persons' running for the various seats in the various hierarchical political systems in Canada. Whether it be on the local municipal boards, or the provincial legislature, or even federally, I believe we need 'Joe Canada' representing us instead of 'Political Pete'.

See, if, hypothetically, I run for a political seat and go under the premise that it doesn't matter if I get re-elected in 3-5 years, and just do the job to the best of my ability for the good of the constituents ('the good of the people'), I believe that would be better than what we have now. What we have today is politicians posturing politically to get points for re-election, and (hardly) anything productive for 'Joe Canada' gets accomplished.

So I'm going to start laying out a 'campaign platform' in this, as well as future blogs. Now understand that these are all thoughts and ideas in the throes of development--Under scrutiny (of mine and others), various political ideas and ideals of mine can undergo change should new information be made available to me. In other words, discussion of these ideas is definitely warranted and appreciated--it's a 'democracy' around here smile

So to begin--if elected...

(let's start with a not-so-easy one...)

I was listening to CBC Radio 1 this morning en route to work. The commentator was discussing the laws regarding child porn, child 'luring', and other aspects relating the the sexual exploitation of kids.

In Ontario, if it is discovered that there is child porn on a computer, the owner faces a few months 'incarceration'--usually entailing 'house arrest'. The commentator was speaking to a legislator from the state of Arizona where there is a much harsher law for the posession of child porn in place. Each picture depicting acts of child pornography nets a mandatory minimum of 5 years in prison. These are stackable, so if there are 4 child porn pics on your PC, you're looking at 20 years minimum in prison.

Now the legislator went on to say that there is leniency, but there are strict rules for the defendant--no access to computers at all unless permission is obtained, and then only under strict supervision, cannot be in posession of childrens toys, clothing or related parapheneilia, must undergo regular interviews to make sure that the rules are followed and obeyed, etc. Now that is, well at least by my understanding, slightly more 'harsh' than our current laws here in Ontario.

Good or bad for Joe Canada? Well, this is why you elected me, isn't it? to make these tough calls?

So what's 'my law' regarding child porn? Well, there shouldn't be any. That's the easy part. If you want a detailed explanation why there shouldn't be any, I'll go on about it. But for now, for here, I'll just state that there shouldn't be any as a basic premise. At this exact second, I'm leaning towards Arizona over Ontario right now. 5 year minimum for every piece of child porn found in someone's possession, whether a magazine, computer, whatever. If you are caught with the intent to seduce a child sexually in a 'sting operation' also a 5 year minimum. I also would have the other ideas--the convicted felon would, even after released from prison, be barred from interacting with children.

This isn't a 'we must protect our children at all costs even if it means stomping o nthe Charter of Rights and Freedoms!' law--this is a 'I've listened to various pshrinks and other people 'in the know' and they say that people who sexually exploit children are a serious risk to re-offend. So just like you don't offer a recovering alcoholic a vodka martini, you don't put child molestors around kids--I think that's as simple as it gets. Put the ankle tracking bracelet on him or her. Start the regular interviews to make sure they're complying with the terms of the release. The person can be a productive member of society--I do believe in the redemption of a person--without being around kids--again, just as a recovering alcoholic doesn't need to hang around bars in order to be a productive citizen.

All that said, it is a more complicated issue than stated here, but it's a beginning--what we have currently is less than a 'slap on the wrist'.

Anyway, a shaky start to my political career, but, hey, I started.

What are you thinking?

I found out through a friend on-line that friends of ours--a couple--are going thru a nasty divirce at this time. Turns out that the husband has been spending lots of money on a stripper. I'm told that the husband was interested in a particular stripper and was hoping, by the sounds of it, that the stripper would take a 'good' interest in him and the two of them would live 'happily ever after'.

To start, I'm going to put my Christian morals aside and state the blatantly obvious--hey buddy, you already have a wife that, for some strange reason, thought that marriage to you might have the chance for the 'happily ever after' bit--or at least a start to build a foundation for a lifelong committed marriage to work things out.

But no, a stripper, who is probably good at selling her, shall we say, more exotic wares to men, and probably more than able to feign interest towards the aforementioned males, thus generating more revenue for her pocketbook, is the person he suddenly shows interst in.

Sometimes I feel like slapping people around and yelling, "What the h-e-double-hockeysticks were you thinking?"--but I pause and the feeling passes.

Here's the thing--if you just happen to find yourself in a marriage, then chances are that the person you find yourself married to just might of, at least at one time, put some thought and consideration into committing the rest of his or her life with you (unless you were slovenly drunk one night in Vegas and found yourself married, kinda like Homer and Flanders in that one episode...). Doncha think that idea of committment deserves just a little more than "I'm throwing my money at a stripper in the off-chance that she really wants to be with me"? And, just in case I didn't state this in that previous line--it isn't even "my money", it's "our money", as in both the husband and the wife's money.

So what you are, indeed, doing, is taking the hard earned money from both you and your wife, and blowing it on a woman who is profficient at selling herself for money.

K, I really have nothing more to say about his at this time, besides the old stand-by--marriage takes work. It isn't something that you can take for granted or throw away on a whim--I think trying to 'get a stripper' is pretty much a whim, no matter what she says.

As a tangent, I have a 'strip joint' story--I'm not known for frequenting 'institutions of ill-repute' but I have actually stepped foot into a few--blame it on youthful indiscretions and time spent at college (Mohawk, not Redeemer).

Anyway, I'm in my very late teens (like all of 19) and my friends call me up--"Wilcox is playing at 'The Hunt Club'". Now thru my life growing up in Winona, I've heard various stories regarding 'The Hunt Club'--an 'exotic dance club' in Grimsby, Ontario--I've even rode my bike past it a few times--it was right down there on Casablanca beside the Fifth Wheel--it was torn dwon a while back and is just a parking lot now, but I digress...

So here I am, thinking about going to see David Wilcox at the Hunt Club. Wilcox is known for playing in small 'bar-type' venues, so the Hunt Club should be perfect for him.

Friends and I pile in a car and head off to the metropolis known as Grimsby. We get to the club and walk in. Turns out that 'the girls' are upstairs doing whatever girls do in strip joints, and there's a bar in the basement--great for roving bands.

To fill in the story--we get there at like 9:30 p.m.--the basement's just packed (mostly kids from the local schools--I recognized many former students) and we're all standing around waiting for Wilcox. This is also the heady days of the '80's, in which the idea of taking smoking outside--well, not so much . So we're packed in like sardines, the room's all smokey, people are getting all drunk and stuff, and there's strippers upstairs--probably cannot think of any place that's further from who I am and what I want from my life than that.

It's getting noisier, the buddies (and basically everyone else) are getting drunker and drunker, and at around 11:30(ish), Mr. David Wilcox, some guy on base, and a drummer, take the stage--all looked moderately smashed. Perfect.

So the music begins. Now I will state right here and now that I like David Wilcox's music. That night, however, with the smoke, smell of booze, the packedness of the people, and the loud--extremely loud--music played by intoxicated musicians... well, I started looking for the exit pretty quickly after 11:30.

Said 'bye' to my buds, went outside, found a payphone and called, well the only place I could call that late at night and expect someone to answer. I probably should have thought a little more about it, however, for here's the conversation on the phone--

"Hi dad, can you come pick me up?"

"Sure son, where are you?"

-pause- (this is the point that I should have thought about)

"Um, the Hunt Club..."

Anyway, to wrap this part up--Pops came and picked me up, and he didn't mention the locale from which I happened to need a ride from--which was good for me.

Actually my father assured me that, no matter where I might find myself at any point in my life, he would, if needed, come and pick me up. I still remember that bit with fondness. The loud music, the smoke, the smell o' beer (and a faint whiff of 'upchucking')... not so much.

So there you are.

Second Season

4 episodes into it and it's just getting better. As my friend Rick stated once--'I'll forgive anything as long as they don't contradict themselves in future episodes' (Star Trek was notorious for that--one ep. it's almost a death sentence to do a time travel thing--shotgun around the sun or whatever, and then in 'First Contact', Geordi modifies the deflector dish (which was destroyed during the movie, btw) and they just 'hop' thru time--no problem!) Anyway, this isn't a rant about the 'wrongdoings' of Star Trek, so I'll stop now)

So I'll not find fault with the idea that Starbuck and Helio hopped in a hummer and drove off a few episodes back when BSG supposedly takes place in a 'galaxy far, far away'.

In the latest episode of BSG, there were three things that just made me smile--one, Richard Hatch made an appearance (again), but more importantly for 'throwbacks' to the original series--there was a home-made 'regulation Pyramid court', and--what I found really fun--the shuttle from the original series (the shuttle was also used in 'Buck Rogers', but that's neither here nor there) was there in the landing bay. They used the shuttle as well in the pilot movie of the new series, but it wasn't really shown in full.

Anyway, I'm just appreciating this series more and more. Hope the producers keep up the phenominal effort--it's definitely appreciated by this fan

battlestar1 (62k image)

Tom Zarek, Priest Elosha, Lee (Apollo) Adama, and the President of the Colonies, Laura Roslin, walking towards a '70's style shuttlecraft

Ottawa, Ontario

It's 1:30 a.m.

Just letting anyone know who may take the trip to our fine capital city, either fill up on the 401 or hope you have enough gas to make it to Ottawa.

Trying to find an open gas bar along the 416 at 1 in the a.m. is not easy. I took 3 different exits that had the little gas pump sign, but well, not so much on the open bit when I got to the actual gas bar. I may have even released a few choice words on finding the third closed gas station.

I was running so low on petrol that the gas gauge needle was bending beyond the 'E'. Thankfully the mighty Sunfire is good on gas.

As soon as I got to the 'burbs of Ottawa, I thankfully found a 24 hr station, and put 50+ bucks into the tank.

Other than that, I'm winding down from the 4+ hour drive, and will be crawling into bed momentarily (momentarily means both 'for a moment' and 'in a moment'--such as 'I shall join you momentarily' meaning 'I shall be there shortly' or 'I am with you now but will be leaving shortly'--may cause confusion so I shall clarify--I will be stopping my little expatiation in a moment, and I will be then going to bed, at which time I shall be sleeping, hopefully, for a few hours.)

Just thought I'd clear that up.

As an aside, happy birthday Diana and Leanne!

'Night

Harry Potter

and the Half-Blood Prince

I bought it last week, started reading it at the mall, and really had difficulty putting it down.

Well, just finished it now, and let me just say to the naysayers of this book--seriously, take a back seat--you really don't have a clue. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Price was a brilliant bit of writing! From the get-go, with Dumbledore visiting the Dursleys, right up until the climax--all flowed amoothly and logically.

As well, the 'whining Harry'--"Why me?"--from the previous book had disappeared. In his place was a more mature, more sure-of-himself Potter who finally seemed to accept who he was and what happened to put him in the position he finds himself in. Harry Potter stuck to his convicitons and beliefs stoically through this book, contrary to what others wanted from him.

There are those that 'disagreed' with the 'couples (matchmaking)' set up in this volume. I agree with J. K. Rowling--these relationships were hinted at right from book 1.

But I won't give away any details or plot points, so I'll sign off here.

One last thing needs to be said, however--I'm really looking forward to the next, and supposedly last, one. Ms. Rowling--keep up the fantastic work!

Celebrate good times!

Two years ago on August 1st, my lawyer gave me the keys to my abode (after 5 p.m. when he stated that he'd have 'em by morning, thus keeping me and my cleaning/moving crew indisposed for better than 8 hours, but that's a story for another time). I'm sure it amazes most people who know me that I've (thus far) managed every single mortgage payment, and with nary a worry to be found. So I got that going for me.

8 months ago on December 2nd, a wonderful woman showed up for dinner, thus making that dinner our very first date. Also thus following Napoleon's two part battle plan, which I both admire and try to follow every step of my life--so that was all good.

Four months ago on April 3rd, that very same wonderful woman and I decieded that wouldn't it be wonderful if we were together 'full-time', and she moved into the abode mentioned at the top of the list.

Now some might say that April 1st would be the day she graced me with her staying at the abode, but people forget that we went away for the weekend to Maryhill and really weren't together at the house until we got home from our quick jaunt to the Bed and Breakfast. (If we follow this line of reasoning, as well, we get away from 'April Fool's Day' as the beginning of us living together, but some others might think that date is rather appropos, but I digress...)

August 3rd--the 4 month anniversary of us living together, coincidentally, is the day I picked for my 'other' birthday. See, when I was younger--so much younger than I am now--my real birthday (some time in May) would fall on some school day, and since May is known for tests and exams, I pretty much disliked my calendar birthday. My big brother, on the other hand--his birthday is July 1st. Guess what the family was always doing on his birthday? If you said camping, swimming, watching fireworks, having a grande ol' time--you'd be spot on. So one day, when I was about 8 or so, I told my mom that I was moving my birthday from May to August. I chose an arbitrary date of August 3--it's usually a long weekend, and that was good enough for me.

Anyway, 3 days in a row of significance in August. Pretty great if you ask me.

What do these people know that I don't?

I mean, it's bad enough that I get spam e-mail messages almost on a daily basis stating that what God blessed me with may be insufficient, but now these guys are spamming my website!

No less than 10 different websites, all with 'enlargement' or 'enhancement' of that uniquely male body part in the domain name, are flooding my website with hundreds of requests today!

Thankfully, after a quick tweak of mod_security, all requests are stopped at the door.

I'm quite happy with what I have, thank-you-very-much. I don't need any medication or devices to help make what God gave me any bigger or 'more potent'.

To keep this 'family friendly' ('cause I'm pretty much mindful of the youth and want them to feel welcome on my site--it is a 'family friendly' site, after all...), I'll stop right there--

Except one last thought.

The more you spammers try, the more I'll lock you down. First it was just access to my stats page and my blogs--now it's access to my entire website--DENIED!

Next!

On another note (just to keep this going for a sec), what spammers also fail to realize is that there are friends of Sparky's Space who check out the site every once in a while and notify me when they see something that may not be appropos. They send me e-mails, raising their concerns, and I (hopefully promptly) work on the issues and delete/ban/add-to-deny-list the offending party(ies).

So pretty much, eh, you're just wasting your time.