CMac's Exciting Life

It's been a while....

noreply@blogger.com (CMac) — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 00:03:00 +0000

"Lately it occurs to me what a long, strange trip its been"

It's been over a year since the last update. In fact, I'd pretty much forgotten about this thing until I got an interesting comment on my of my previous posts. Thanks for that, Miss (Mrs.?) Anonymous, it's really made me think.

Updates:
I'm no longer a grad student, I have real job now. And the best thing is that it is in the same vein as all of my years of school! I'm working for Agilent Technologies as a Field Engineer, still in Halifax (though my "area" is all of the Atlantic provinces). Which means I get paid to fix up other people's machines when they break. It's a great job: no desk-work, just sweating over broken instruments, and seeing lots of different labs. As a massive science nerd, I love it! Some of the great perks are a company car and traveling a lot for training (I've spent 3 of the last 10 months on the road in such exotic locales as Delaware, Atlanta, Toronto, Montreal and Germany).

And because of the new job, I've just bought a house. My closing date isn't until mid-March, but the excitement is building. It's a 3-year old semi-detached house in Catamaran Ponds, in Spryfield (insert joke here). It's just me, so the 3-bedrooms will be great for visitors wanting to come for a visit! The only cost is a smile (and maybe a nice wine). I've got so many projects running through my head that are possible with a house that I OWN, so it'll be a fun and busy first year. Friends should expect an invite for a housewarming party in the spring.

So, it's taken me a while for the updates, but I figure those two bombshells were worth the wait. I eagerly anticipate some great comments and questions, and I'll be back on this thing for real this time!

You've been subpoena'd!

noreply@blogger.com (CMac) — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 22:13:00 +0000

Sadly, the story isn't nearly as juicy as it could be. Back in October, I witnessed a minor fender-bender while on Dal campus, between a taxi and a van. The van failed to yield to the taxi, so they collided in the middle of the intersection. Shitty thing is that two friends and I were right in the path of the carnage (aka rolling cars), and I had to yell at them to get out of the way because they weren't paying attention. One guy almost got run over by the van. That's Grad Students for you, probably dreaming about bond angles and rotational constants. Luckily, no run over pedestrians, no broken bones, no whiplash.
So, why the subpoenae? One of the drivers didn't have insurance. Oops. Should be an easy charge to make stick, but apparently they're fighting it, and so I have to go to court as a witness for the Crown. Funny thing is, I can't tell from the name if it's the taxi driver (a man) or the young woman driving the van. I guess I'll find out when I show up.

TV on the radio

noreply@blogger.com (CMac) — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 02:39:00 +0000

So, it's once again to check in with what I'm listening to these days! I know you all care so much, but with 1 hour commute plus an hour or two of downtime at work each day, I listen to my radio a lot. And by radio, I mean my MP3s on my PDA. Sure, I'd get an iPod (heck, I won an iPod Nano at a company presentation last month), but I need something that will keep me from being totally clueless when it comes to my schedule, so the calendar on the PDA is a must-have.

ANYWAYS, onto what music I listen to. Actually, it's kind of lame, I don't listen to a lot of it. My one constant source of music is the CBC Radio 3 podcast, which is a weekly hour-long show that highlights the best independent Canadian music. Because you probably aren't going to hear enough new/good Canadian music on your local Top 40 station.

Besides CBC Radio 3, my player is full of other podcasts, namely: The Penn Jillette Radio Show, The Sound of Young America, Wiretap with Johnathan Goldstein (podcasted by yours truly), This Week in Tech, Quirks and Quarks, Grammar Girl, NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me!, Security Now and The Onion Radio News.

If I'm calculating it right, that adds up to about 11 hours of audio per week, and my free radio-listening time is right around the same, so I'm always just getting up to speed before the next week starts.

So, as a sciencetitian wanting to hear cool new music, and all around nerd, what other radio/music should I be listening to?

My life is a romantic comedy, minus the romance

noreply@blogger.com (CMac) — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 01:51:00 +0000

So, picture this: I go out to a party to meet up with some friends from high school (and beyond), and at the end of the night, I'm chatting with this nice young lady, and get up the courage to ask her for her phone number. Even more surprising than that is that she gives it to me, even though she has been speaking with me for a while, and even knows I live with my folks (hey, I believe in being up front, even to a fault).

Not wanting to seem too desperate, and plus to give her a chance to jump off a bridge for what she's done, I don't call right away. I figure the number is safe on my phone, and will be ready when I am. I decide to wait from Sunday until Tuesday. It turns out, Tuesday night I go up to Kartbahn, because it's their 9th anniversary party, and I know there will be lots of fun things going on, not the least of which will be crazy drunken go-karting. Of course, I take part (but not so much on the drinking part). Problem is, I didn't empty out my pockets of important things like my wallet and CELLPHONE!! Low and behold, after about 3 laps around the track, someone holds something up and says, "Is this yours?" Turns out it is mine: it's my cellphone. I sorta laugh, and then get it from him. It's only a free Pay-as-you-Go cellphone, so I wouldn't be too sad if there's a scratch or two on it. Well, it turns out, some joker (probably me) ran over the damn thing, and now the LCD screen is totally pooched! It looks like a rainbow of fruit flavours, but not nearly as nice. I can't see a damn thing on the phone, including retrieving my saved phone numbers. Including the girl's! The first time in years I ask for a girl's number, and this shit happens! Clearly Xenu has it out for me.

It turns out the girl is a friend of a friend of a friend, and I've managed to track down her email address, so I wrote her right away explaining the situation, but I still haven't heard back from her... I guess it was never meant to be.

What's new, pussycat?

noreply@blogger.com (CMac) — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 00:26:00 +0000

First off, sorry for my lack of production. I mean, there are probably only two people who read this thing, and I'm one of them. And the other one is a jerk. But in case they don't know what's been going on in the 'Fax, let me tell you:

I witnessed a pretty decent car crash last week. It was right in front of the Student Union Building on the Dalhousie campus. It was a simple "not stopping at an unmarked intersection", with both drivers thinking they had the right of way and not slowing down. The cars collided and actually rolled right toward my friends and I. Apparently they hadn't been looking, because my, "Heads up, car crash" saved the life of one of my friends. OK, maybe not life, but definitely fancy leather shoes. I called 911 for the second time in just over a year*, and helped some of the folks out. One of the vehicles was a cab with a couple of passengers who were visiting on a cruise ship. "Welcome to Halifax! Here's some whiplash, now get the hell out!"

Which brings me to why the heck am I hanging out on Dalhousie campus. Well, that's because I'm working there now! But, not in the traditional "exchange of services for payment" type of work, it's more my services, and less of their payment... I'm working in the lab run by one of a former grad student from U of A, Alan Doucette. He's a couple of years older, so that makes me feel not quite as pathetic. But to be honest, it's been great, because I'm learning some great new instruments and techniques, and making some great connections with industrial people, which is where I plan on ending up after I graduate. Sure, I'm not making much cash, but my expenses are non-existent, so it all balances out.

So, that's all the news fit for print. Now that I'm in the lab, and more motivated, I'm writing more, and that means more updates/rants here, too. I know you're all so excited!

*First 911 call was in Edmonton, when I managed to turn my barbeque's propane tank into a fancy flamethrower, and couldn't get close enough to turn it off. Luckily, the firemen had these fancy devices called "gloves" that they used to accomplish what I couldn't.

No, I'm not dead!

noreply@blogger.com (CMac) — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 11:19:00 +0000

But I have been pretty busy lately. I started "working" at Dalhousie, in a Chemistry lab. I say "working" because I'm doing everything the rest of you suckers are, except I ain't getting paid to do it. Who's the sucker now? But the good thing is that I'm getting lots done in the lab, and even learning a few things along the way. And the good reference letter at the end of it will definitely help with my next job.

Since I last posted, our soccer team had our last game of the season. It was a complete shit show. We had two guys get sent off (one for fighting, the other for biting!!), and another 4 yellow cards. I guess it was because we were so close to winning the entire thing: our record was 1-18-1 (that's 18 losses)... Oh well, when I wasn't stopping guys from fighting, I had a good time, and I managed to lose 10 pounds, so that's OK. The team might be playing indoor this Fall/Winter, so we'll see if I stick with it. I'm just not sure how long I'll be in town. The proteomics community in Halifax is pretty tiny, and I don't know if any of them are retiring any time soon.

All for now, see you soon!

Blood: It's in you to give/sell

noreply@blogger.com (CMac) — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 21:05:00 +0000

So, I am feeling pretty good about myself, because I finally went and gave blood for the first time today. I'm not sure why I waited so long, but it probably has to do with my previous mortal fear of needles (aichmophobia to us learned folks). It was so bad that when I was a little kid (well, younger, not much littler), I punched my doctor in the face when he has trying to give me a needle. And then required 2 manly nurses to hold me down. Those ladies were hot.

Anyway, the whole donation process today went pretty quick (in and out within one hour) and I even got cookies and milk at the end of it. Not a shabby deal, but I am jealous of all those folks in the States that get paid to donate blood. If I ever move there, I am all over that. Same with all my other non-essential fluids. And if I can somehow pre-sell some organs to some rich old dude, I'll be laughing! Sure, that'll mean yet another person hoping for my demise, but I can live with that.

At the same time as I donated, I signed up for the Bone Marrow Registry, which is a national (and international) database of bone marrow donors that can be matched up against folks who are in need (mainly cancer patients). The thing I get a kick out of is that if I ever donate my bone marrow to someone, they'll start producing blood with my DNA in it! So then I can go on some crime spree, bleeding everywhere, and then blame it on them. Screw you, CSI!

Finally, since you won't need your eyes or heart after you die, you should think about becoming an organ donor too. This website has some more information for you.

According to the info on the Canadian Blood Services webpage, only 4% of the population have donated blood (and less than 1% are in the Bone Marrow Registry), so consider this a big "I'm a better person than you are!" to the rest of you. Unless of course you have already donated blood and/or bone marrow, then I say, "You are not a jerk like the rest of these people".

What the heck is the name of that song?

noreply@blogger.com (CMac) — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 00:36:00 +0000

Have you ever heard a song on the radio, or remembered a line or two from a song, and wanted to buy it (aka, download it illegally from the internet), but not know what the heck it was? Well, me too, weird person talking out loud to a webpage! Fear not, I've found some pretty cool tools that should help you out!

First off, if you know some of the lyrics, your first stop should be Google. You should do a search with this in the search box: lyrics "Skinnamarinkydinkydink Skinnamarinkydoo".

If that doesn't work, or you don't know any of the lyrics (or it doesn't have any), you should head over to SongTapper. This great website was put together by some Simon Fraser University students, and is super-cool. What you do is tap the beat of a song out on your space bar, and tells you what song it is. It's not perfect, but the more people who use it, the better it becomes!

Finally, if you've already called up your friends and bugged them but still can't figure it out, you can try this final method I've found, called Tunatic. It works using your computer's microphone. You can try singing it, or if you hear it on the radio, run the free program (Mac or PC) and it will try and match it up against its database. Fido cell phones have the same type of service (called #DJ, but it costs money after the first one.

I tried the last two methods in an attempt to identify a classical song I couldn't figure out, and the Tunatic program actually got it for me! I was looking for the "O Fortuna" movement of "Carmina Burana" by Carl Orff. Its a good song to get you pumped up before a big game, or before your spaceship explodes. Or so the movies would tell us.

PS. I had a pretty busy weekend: I went and saw "Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Electric Boogaloo", and was pretty disappointed. And then my night got even worse when my friend Erin beat me in pool 10 straight times. I'm lucky I didn't decide to end it all right then and there! Because watching Italy beat France in the WC Final was pretty sweet, and the party that night was awesome. Forza Italia! Forza Azzuri!

Videos from Montreal

noreply@blogger.com (CMac) — Tue, 04 Jul 2006 01:15:00 +0000

In addition to too many pictures, I managed to grab a few videos while I was in Montreal as well. Here are a couple, and you can see all the rest at my eyespot page. Enjoy!

Chris Pfeiffer showing off his motorbike skills

Formula One Burn Out at the BMW Pit Lane Park

The 10-car pileup in the Star Mazda Series race on the same afternoon. After getting checked out at the hospital, no one was seriously injured.

News from the East Coast

noreply@blogger.com (CMac) — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 21:40:00 +0000

Wow, lots going on lately out here.

Firstly, Happy Canada Day! The weather is beautiful here in Halifax today, which means a nice BBQ, and then out to watch the fireworks. It should be a beautiful night. Happy 139th birthday, you beautiful country, you!

Second of all, I have some upsetting news to report. Brazil managed to lose to France today, and are now out of the World Cup. Not ironically, the last team to beat France in a World Cup was France back in 1998. This makes me, and the millions of booty-shaking Brazilian hotties, very sad. Germany, Italy, and Portugal are the other teams left in it, with the semi final matches to take place Tuesday and Wednesday, with the 3rd place match Saturday, and the final Sunday.

Finally, I just got back from a great trip to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix. I flew up Wednesday evening, and had a great time hanging out with the ART crew (Lucas, Kevan, Ingo, and finally met Philip and Norm), and was happy to have Chris N and my brother Andrew drive down from Ottawa for a few days as well. And Steve D. made the trip down from Saint Jean for the weekend as well. All in all, it was loads of fun! In addition to the Formula BMW series (during which 17-year old Philip made a very respectable showing, finishing 11th and 8th in the two races), there was a Ferrari Challenge race, a Star Mazda race (highlighted by a 20-car pile-up), and of course, the Formula One race Sunday afternoon. That race was won by Fernando Alonso of the Renault team. I took tons of pictures of the pit area, because that's where I spent most of my time on the weekend, so please check them out, and feel free to comment!

Back from the dead!

noreply@blogger.com (CMac) — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 22:56:00 +0000

Well, not quite, but it has been way too long since I've updated everyone on my exciting life. You guys are so lucky I take time out of my busy schedule to let you in on the big things going on in my life. People ask me all the time, "Chris, what are you up to these days? Last I heard, you were in grad school!" Well, my friends, I am living the life! I've moved back home with my folks, in the same bedroom I had when I was in junior high school, have no job, and cry myself to sleep every night. Like I said, living the life! Don't hate the player, hate the game.
Anyways, now that I've got that off my chest, here's some things that you might care about...

My good friend Lucas has been on the road almost constantly for the past month, and will be for the next 3 as his team competes in the Formula BMW USA series. These cars are only a step below Indy cars, so they kick some serious ass. He is the engineer for Atlantic Racing Team, based out of Halifax. Right now, they've got one driver (Philip Major, age 18), and for a new team/driver combination, they are doing great! Their next two races are in Montreal, coinciding with the Formula 1 race to be held June 25th. I'm hoping to head up for the weekend too, it should be a blast. I got to help him out when he brought the cars to Nova Scotia for some testing and managed to snap some pictures. I could live in their trailer, which comes complete with satellite tv and internet, and full kitchen and desk space. And room for 3 to sleep in the truck!

Besides wishing I was on the road with the race team, I've been playing a bit of soccer lately. Our team is brand new this year (Kartbahn United), so we're still working out the kinks, but I'm having lots of fun, and being my usual loud self on the field. I need an excuse to run around like a goof for 90 minutes, so soccer seemed like a good idea. Plus, the local slopitch teams weren't paying me enough to play, so I decided to pass.

Don't forget, the World Cup started today, and runs for the next month. My pick, seeing as Canada still hasn't made it, is Brazil. It's tough being the bad guy when your best friends are German and Italian, but since I can't win at life, I may as well try and win at sports predictions! But seriously, with fans like this, it's tough to root against them!

That's about all I've got to update for now, but I'm sure I'll be able to bore you with more stories soon enough. Stay tuned to this same bat channel for more info later!

Happy to see me go!

noreply@blogger.com (CMac) — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 01:49:00 +0000

You know how sometimes a company is happy to see you stop being a customer? Perhaps if you really take advantage of the unlimited salad and breadsticks at your local restaurant, or you drive your rental car 1000km in a day because you have unlimited kilometres? Customers like that really drive down their profits.

I can't help but think that Shaw is really glad I moved out of Edmonton, and here's why: Below is the internet usage for the cable modem at my old place. I shared the hookup with two other people, who still live there. In fact, someone else has moved in in my place. Based on the chart, can you guess when I moved out?

Yup, you guessed it, October 1st, 2005. After I left, the bandwidth usage fell from 120GB per month to 30GB per month. The average while I was there was 115GB/month, and the average now is 26GB/month. I can only imagine what kind of party they had at Shaw HQ to celebrate my departure.

Unfortunately, I don't have any usage data from my current ISP, but the great thing is that there are absolutely no caps on the amount you can download or upload per month, so I have no fear of getting that dreaded phone call or letter telling us/me to cool it on the bandwidth consumption (which happened a few times in Edmonton, including getting shut down for a week).

Little Bastards.

noreply@blogger.com (CMac) — Sun, 16 Apr 2006 20:54:00 +0000

No, I'm not referring to the kids down the street, I'm talking about these assholes:

Don't let their cute appearance fool you, these little shit disturbers are pure evil. Let me tell you a story...

In the summer of 2004, my parents noticed these cute guys hanging around our house. They were a cute little diversion, and add to the wildlife we see around here, including a few deer, and lots of birds. Well, after a while, my folks starting here some funny sounds coming from above the garage, and "in" the front wall of the house. After some investigation, they found that there was an entire family of racoons living in the soffit at the front of our house! Not so cute anymore. They ended up having to hire a pest control guy to come and remove the mother and babies. Except, they weren't able to catch all of the babies, so they had to come back at least once to pick up the orphans. Oh, and just so you know, they didn't kill the little buggers, just released them into the wild, away from our house. The family hasn't come back since, and all is well...

OK, fast forward to Decemeber 2005. There is a bathroom in the front of the house, on the upper floor. On a particularily cold day, I noticed that the water wasn't flowing, and the floor was very cold. We put a heater in there, and things got flowing safely within a few hours. Fast forward to January 2006, and the same thing happened again! Well, thinking it was due to the racoons who had been living in the soffit directly in front of the bathroom, I decided to climb up there and check it out. Well, it turns out the racoons has decided to pull out fibreglass insulation to use as material for a nest. There was a 4'x4' square of outer wall with NO insulation! After the weather warmed up, I did my best to patch it up with some new insulation, and thick tarp, to cut down on the wind. And we had made plans to get a pro up there to perfect my shabby job (Skelhorne knows all about my excellent handy work).

ANYWAY (holy crud this is long), before anything was done, we had another cold snap, and this time, we were not so lucky. A pipe froze, and then burst. Unfortunately, it happened during the day, when no one was home.

The water was flowing down from the upper floor for 2 hours, at full force. It managed to soak my dad's office (luckily, no computer), and then down into the basement, and totally ruin the entire downstairs. Every shred of carpet was soaked, some walls were ruined and lots of things we had stored down there was soaked as well. Thank goodness for insurance, as the repair costs were about $20,000! Here is a shot of the basement after tearing up all of the carpet and sub-flooring, and with some serious dehumidifiers running.

Just this past week was when things were finally moved back after the carpet was replaced. All told, the whole event took 2 months from accident to resolution.

Like I said, those assholes are pure evil, and if I ever see them again, I'm going to punch them in the face.

Laff!

noreply@blogger.com (CMac) — Sun, 16 Apr 2006 20:42:00 +0000

I just found this is my folder of Hawai'i stuff. I got a kick out of it, hope you do too. I censored the name to protect the stupid...

ps. I'm heading to the season premiere party for season six of The Trailer Park Boys tonight. Hopefully I'll have lots of pictures and fun stories from that. I'll be sure to update y'all asap. And I've got some other good posts in the works. Back on the writing horse, I am.

Junos Week Wraps Up

noreply@blogger.com (CMac) — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 02:00:00 +0000

Well, in case you didn't know, the Junos were held in Halifax this week, culminating in the televised awards tonight. I didn't end up going, seeing as the only tickets available were from scalpers looking for $200+ each...

BUT, I did go to the free concert held in the Grand Parade Thursday night. Me and 15,000 of my closest friends! I headed down with Annie from undergrad chem, and our friend Lisa. We showed up during Jimmy Rankin's set (unfortunately, we missed Garrett Mason, the opening act). Eventhough I'd never heard any of his songs (except his closer, the Rankin Family hit, "You Feel the Same Way Too"), he was great, and did well to keep the crowd pumped up as the sun went down.

After Jimmy, Joel Plaskett took to the stage. He was great, and probably my favourite act of the night. That guy loves his job as a performer, and that love really came out in his act. Plus, he played my most favouritest song by him, "Love This Town". I managed to grab a short clip of it on my camera.

The next group was Matt Mays & El Torpedo. They played the great "Cocaine Cowgirl", and plenty of songs that were new to me. Another great band, and by this time, the crowd was plenty rowdy (for good and for bad). A few crowd surfers, and plenty of people drinking and smoking, but still lots of fun.

The headliners of the night were The Trews. Another damn fine group! These guys were rocking to a very enthusiastic crowd, and did not fail to deliver. Unfortunately, we were getting tired and sore from the big crowd, so we headed out before they finished their set.

The Juno fun didn't stop there, though. Friday night was the Juno Cup, an annual hockey game between the Rockers (music industry folks and musicians) vs. the All-Stars (former NHLers and local stars). I headed down to the Forum with Annie and Lisa and Lisa's sister Janine. The cup is held as a charity event for MusiCan, to ensure music programs are available in Canadian schools. Michael Lansberg (TSN) and Chris Murphy (of Sloan) were the MCs of the event, and kept a constant, sometimes uncomfortable, running commentary throughout the game.
The highlights for me were the celebrity coaches: Mr. Lahey and Randy for the Rockers team, Julian for the All-Stars team (all three of Trailer Park Boys fame, and they were complemented on the ice by Ricky and Bubbles, both playing for the All-Stars). Another highlight was Measha Brueggergosman scoring a penalty shot goal, though she could barely skate. That really got the crowd going! And who knew Bubbles was such a good player? He scored one, and could have scored a few more, had Alan Doyle (of Great Big Sea) and Sami Jo Small (member of the Women's Gold Medal winning Hockey team) hadn't been in nets for the Rockers. But sadly, the All-Stars ended up winning the game 12-11, to increase their undefeated status to all 3 years the JunoCup has been played.

Well, in case you hadn't noticed, I had a great time at these extra-curricular events to the Junos, and that's because I really love Canadian music. And a big part of that is CBC Radio 3 and their weekly podcast (here's a good one to start with, host Grant Lawrence's Best of 2005). Before I started listening to it almost a year ago, I had no idea there were so many incredible musicians in Canada! If you have any interest in discovering some great independent music, ranging from acoustic to rock to rap, and all things in between, check out the site and podcast. Also, New Music Canada has thousands of independent musicians and their best songs all avialable for free! I've spent many a night just throwing together some kick-ass playlists of songs from the site. And for those of you who like live shows, might I suggest Just Concerts, now called the Concerts & Sessions section? Another great music resource, that has just recently changed over, but will be expanded soon.

ps. Check out my Junos pictures by depressing a mouse button while hovering over this series of text.

March 15th is Eat a Tasty Animal for PETA Day

noreply@blogger.com (CMac) — Wed, 15 Mar 2006 00:28:00 +0000

So, I've only just heard about this, but luckily it was in time!
Wednesday, March 15th is Eat a Tasty Animal for PETA (EATAPETA) day. It started a few years back by someone who was disgusted with the advertising that PETA was using, mocking the Holocaust. I mean, come on people! They are completely different. It's still a small protest, but it is growing in strength every year. I've already added it to my calendar for next year!

I know I'll be doing my part by having some tasty bacon and sausages for breakfast, a nice burger or donair for lunch, and then going out for a steak and some chicken wings.

Here's a look at PETA thanks to the "Penn & Teller: Bullshit!" show, of which I am a big fan. May not be safe for work, has a few adult words and images.

Speaking of BS!, the new season starts in a few weeks (April 3rd). It's only shown on Showtime in the US, but BitTorrent is your friend. The first 3 seasons are on DVD, and I'd suggest checking them out. They take on various pseudoscientific and other topics, and debunk them. Things like bottled water, seances, creationism, etc.

Can't wait for tomorrow! Too bad I don't own a leather coat and pants (actually, probably a good thing), or else I'd be wearing those out to eat, too.

You've waited long enough

noreply@blogger.com (CMac) — Sat, 11 Mar 2006 00:19:00 +0000

Well folks, you've been patient enough with me, so it's time I pay up.
From the 1500 pictures we took while on the family trip to Hawai'i, I've put up the best 300 or so on my flickr account.
The main premise for the trip was that my Dad and I were going to Pacifichem 2005, where my dad actually presented a poster, and I was just a lowly observer. My mom and brother got to tag along. It should be noted that our family is not much of the "lay around on the beach and tan" type: we'd rather be out hiking and exploring, especially because my dad is an avid birdwatcher, always on the lookout for new birds to add to his life list.

Our first week in the state was spent on the island of Oahu, the biggest draw being Waikiki Beach, a small district of the capital city of Honolulu. This is the typical tourist place, with beautiful, long white sand beaches, full of tourists tanning, swimming and taking beginner surfing lessons. We spent about a day on the beach, while the rest of our time was spent exploring the rest of the island. Among the highlights of Oahu are Diamond Head, a crater left over from a volcano; the North Shore, with the best waves in the world during the winter (there was a series of World Cups on while we were there); and some beautiful botanical gardens throughout Honolulu and the island, yielding some great pictures of beautiful and unusual birds and flowers.

The next week, we flew to the island of Hawai'i, more commonly known as the Big Island. While here, we spent the first few days (including Christmas) on the East coast, in Hilo. We used this as our basecamp while exploring the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, and along the Saddle Road to the Onizuka Center for International Astronomy. The second half of the week was spent in Kailua Kona, on the very dry West coast of the island. If you've heard of Kona, then you've heard of the incredible coffee grown there. We made sure to stop by and sample the brew at no les than 4 estates, and also made sure to head to the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut plantation for some treats. Though I'm not a fan of most nuts (I don't gag on them, however), "mac nuts" were a surprise hit with me, and I brought back a few packages of them, consumed all too quickly. Good thing they ship worldwide!

Our final week was spent on the island of Kaua'i, known as the Garden Island. This island has been made famous through scores of movies being filmed in the exotic locations on the Na Pali Coast, as a stand-in for undiscovered lands worldwide (Jurassic Park being its most famous). While there, we also spent some time hiking beside the Waimea Canyon. Nicknamed the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific", this breathtaking landscape is impossible to restrict to only one picture, so you'll notice many shots in series in an attempt to do it justice. Our final night was capped by an entertaining and exhilirating luau, complete with beautiful women, and an incredible fire dancer. Flickr can't handle videos yet, so click here to grab the best of the bunch.

Hopefully the pictures I've got help to showcase the incredibly beautiful and rugged landscape of the islands. They've been uploaded in two sets: one taken by my brother Andrew, and the other taken by my dad and I on his camera. Hopefully there aren't too many overlaps. Feel free to throw up a question or comment here if you've like an explanation. Enjoy, and aloha!

ps. Let's hope this posting becomes more routine, and I post gold like this every couple of days. :) OR, write a chapter. Either way, at least I'll be accomplshing something.

noreply@blogger.com (CMac) — Sat, 28 Jan 2006 15:59:00 +0000

Well, what a jerk I am, keeping you people on hold for so long. Well, I'm still working on my post, but I've had to go through over 1000 pictures, trying to trim them down to a more reasonable number. How does 200 sound? And then I'll record a little dialog so you can get the full CMac experience. Think "extremely boring slide show that your neighbour insists on giving your family", and you'll be right on the button...

Here's a little teaser for you...

From the left: Cute Hawaiian girl, Samoan Fire Dancer, CMac, second cute Hawaiian girl.

Oh, and due to "popular" demand (aka, Chris H.), I set up a feed for the blog. Here ya go: Add this to your favourite RSS reader...

Coming soon...

noreply@blogger.com (CMac) — Fri, 06 Jan 2006 05:03:00 +0000

Well, I just got back from a big trip, and I'm dying to tell someone about it. Since I have no real friends, you guys will have to do!

Stay tuned... Same bat channel, same bat time! (except my bat watch is broken, so I can't tell you what bat time that will be).

In the meantime, please enjoy this advertisement for my new sponsor...

Happy Fun Ball!

Time for some changes...

noreply@blogger.com (CMac) — Sun, 16 Oct 2005 17:30:00 +0000

Well, as any of us are prone to do, I've become bored with my writing up to date. From now, I'll make a conscientious effort to make my posts more often, and more interesting.

As well as changes in the blog, I need to make changes in my real life, too. You see, the problem I've been having lately is that now that I'm back in Halifax, my mind is supposed to be focused 100% on my thesis. I mean, that was the reason I came back home, right? But, just like in Edmonton, I find my mind wandering too much. My normal way to overcome this is to go play a sport, go for a walk, hop on my bike. So, time to get my ass back in gear. Another thing I'm going to try is to head to the local library and/or coffee shops with my laptop, and work on it there.

Any of you more accomplished folks able to give me some insight? I'd love to hear it...

Home safely

noreply@blogger.com (CMac) — Wed, 12 Oct 2005 21:02:00 +0000

Well, Jay and I pulled into Halifax Sunday afternoon at 2pm, safe and sound, if not a bit wet. I'm waiting on Jay to email me all of our pictures, but here's the short version:
Day 1 (Monday): Left Edmonton at 3pm, arrive in Brandon, MB at 4am. Had hoped to make it to Winnipeg, but we were too tired.
Day 2 (Tuesday): Left Brandon at 10am, arrive in Thunder Bay, ON at 11pm. We were hoping to make it to Sudbury or Sault Ste Marie, but the rain didn't cooperate.
Day 3 (Wednesday): Left Thunder Bay at 8am, arrive in Toronto at 11pm. We stayed with Eric and his parents, who were wonderful hosts.
Day 4 (Thursday): We spent the first half of the day on a trip to Niagara Falls, where we visited all 5 haunted houses, and the Fallsview Casino. We then went to Ottawa, arriving at about 11:30pm.
Day 5 (Friday): Jay and I spent the day in the downtown Ottawa area with my brother Andrew. We visited the Parliament (got to take in Question Period), and then Andrew and I took in an Ottawa Renegade game (they beat up on Hamilton).
Day 6 (Saturday): Left Ottawa at 10am, hoping to make it all the way to Halifax. The weather didn't cooperate (yet again), so we were forced to stop at Fredericton.
Day 7 (Sunday): We hit the road at 9:30, and managed to just meet Jay's dad in Halifax just as he was pulling up (2pm). Perfect timing!

Overall, the trip was great. The hero of the trip was the mp3 copy of the DaVinci Code that I got from Jim a few weeks ago. That kept us awake and lucid for 3 days straight. I highly recommend it for anyone making any long trips in the future (both that book, and books on tape in general).

We managed to not stop ONCE for fast food, eating only the fruit and snacks we had brought with us. Well, I cheated once, when I bought real poutine at a gas station in the middle of Quebec. Damn it was good!

As I said, pictures will be forthcoming, so hold onto your hat for some real mind-blowing stuff!

Roadtrip of a lifetime

noreply@blogger.com (CMac) — Mon, 03 Oct 2005 05:07:00 +0000

Well, as some of you know (and all of you will in a moment), I am leaving Edmonton, and heading home to Halifax. The reason is something that I'm not terribly proud of: I've been writing my PhD thesis for the past 9 or so months, but I haven't finished it yet. With my lease up in September, Aaron and Myrlene were gracious enough to allow me to stay creeped up in their guest bedroom for the past month, but sadly that kick in the butt wasn't enough to force me to make more headway. So, I've decided to head back to Halifax for a change of scenery, and hopefully, a change of attitude.

This brings me to the "Roadtrip" in this post's title. Instead of selling, or shipping my car, I've decided to drive it back to Halifax. The distance is about 4900 kilometres, so it's quite a stretch. Luckily, I won't be doing it alone. Jason (of poker fame) will be coming along, as he would like to visit his father in Nova Scotia. This will help with cutting down on the driving demands, and be great for splitting the costs of the 4-star hotels we'll be staying at (I need my silk pillow cases). I'll be sure to document all the important stops we make along the way (including, but not limited to: the Terry Fox statue in Thunder Bay, Niagara Falls, and visiting my brother Andrew in Ottawa). Internet access will be sporadic at best, so don't expect too much from me while we're on our way, but hopefully I'll be able to update this blog and send out a few emails in choice locations. We are leaving Monday (Oct. 3rd), and expect to be in Halifax Saturday or Sunday, in time for turkey dinner.

King of the Cage

noreply@blogger.com (CMac) — Mon, 03 Oct 2005 05:00:00 +0000

The King of the Cage (or Cag, depending on where you were sitting), made a stop in Edmonton last night. Aaron, Nick and I checked it out, and it was lots of fun. Unfortunately, 2 of the 16(!!) fights didn't happen (including one foxy boxing match) due to injuries, but the 14 others were lots of fun. It was taped and hosted by TSN folks, so it will be on TV some time in the future. Quinton Jackson was in attendance (not fighting) which was a thrill, because he is a fghter who has fought and won in Pride FC, Japan's version of the UFC. His signature move is picking up guys and slamming the #&@^@! out of them.
Overall, a great time, and eventhough we didn't get splattered in blood, it was well worth the rpice of admission.

16-person Poker Tourney: -$10 Bankroll: $25

noreply@blogger.com (CMac) — Mon, 26 Sep 2005 04:56:00 +0000

Well, another game, another loss. Jay hosted a great game last night. We ended up having 16 guys and gals play at his place on two tables. After 4 at each table busted, the top 8 gathered on one table, and the 8 busted players played for their $10 back. Well, I managed to make it to the "A" table, but finished in 4th, just shy of the money. No money, but damn, it wasa fun time. And it ddn't hurt that we managed to catch the tail end of the Eskimos game on CBC (commentator-less) in which they handed the BC Lions their first loss. Go green and gold!

Poker Saturday night: -$10 Poker pot: +$35

noreply@blogger.com (CMac) — Mon, 19 Sep 2005 17:42:00 +0000

Well, another game, another loss. We had an inaugural game at Eric's new house. The room was a great size, so we were able to have 9 people comfortably at the table. Andrew, the new grad student came along for his first game, and hopefully not his last. Eric ended up winning in heads up against Brian.
Plans are now in the works for a 16-seat tourney to happen sometime in the next two weeks. That should be lots of fun.