The new album

First, I have to apologize to everyone for the lack of updates on the site for the last while. Since I got back from EclipseCon my life has just been too fracking busy. There is one bit of good news though… Yup, that’s a new HBDI album. If you click on the above image, it … Continue reading “The new album”

First, I have to apologize to everyone for the lack of updates on the site for the last while. Since I got back from EclipseCon my life has just been too fracking busy. There is one bit of good news though…


Cover of the HBDI three album

Yup, that’s a new HBDI album. If you click on the above image, it will take you to a page with individual links for all of the songs, but you can download the whole album (as a ZIP, including a high-res image of the cover and a printable CD insert) by clicking on the link in the top left corner of that page.

EclipseCON

It’s Wednesday night, and I’m getting ready to head out to the e4 kickoff BOF. We did our Eclipse 4.0 talk this morning and it seemed to go pretty well — big crowd, no rotten fruit thrown. It will be interesting to see who shows up for the BOF tonight. I’m rapidly approaching my limit … Continue reading “EclipseCON”

It’s Wednesday night, and I’m getting ready to head out to the e4 kickoff BOF. We did our Eclipse 4.0 talk this morning and it seemed to go pretty well — big crowd, no rotten fruit thrown. It will be interesting to see who shows up for the BOF tonight.

I’m rapidly approaching my limit for being away from home. The weather is nice here, and there are lots of smart people to talk to, but I really need to be back in my own environment. Oh well, at least I can say the weather’s good. Here’s a shot from outside the hotel:


EclipseCON 2008

I’m traveling next week.

Next week is EclipseCon 2008, and this year I’m going. Those of you who know me, understand how big a deal that is. I really don’t like to travel; I feel about travel pretty much the way most people feel about getting a limb amputated. Despite that, if the prelude was any indication, I expect … Continue reading “I’m traveling next week.”

Next week is EclipseCon 2008, and this year I’m going. Those of you who know me, understand how big a deal that is. I really don’t like to travel; I feel about travel pretty much the way most people feel about getting a limb amputated.

Despite that, if the prelude was any indication, I expect it will be a very exciting conference this year. I’m looking forward to talking f2f with many of the people who are active in the community that I know only from mailing lists and bugzilla.

I fly out Sunday, and will be back in the city on Friday. Wish me luck. 🙂

Happy Birthday Randy and Tim

The snowstorm on Friday provided an excellent addition birthday present for Randy and Tim as they spent the day, yesterday, at Pakenham ‘boarding in the nicest powder we’ve had all season. Dennis, Katie and I were able to receive this benefit as well. 😉 The extended family and friends got together that evening to celebrate … Continue reading “Happy Birthday Randy and Tim”

The snowstorm on Friday provided an excellent addition birthday present for Randy and Tim as they spent the day, yesterday, at Pakenham ‘boarding in the nicest powder we’ve had all season. Dennis, Katie and I were able to receive this benefit as well. 😉

The extended family and friends got together that evening to celebrate the birthdays, and a good time was had by all.


randtbday.jpg
Presents!

Upcoming Divertimento concert

Just letting people in Ottawa know that there’s another great Divertimento concert in November. The program is:Fruhauf, Grand Rondo on “Simple Gifts” and “Bourbon” (World première) Beethoven, Symphony No. 7 in A, Op. 92 Dvoràk, Symphony No. 8 in G, Op. 88 The Grand Rondo is a brand-spankin’ new, never publicly performed, short orchestral work … Continue reading “Upcoming Divertimento concert”

Just letting people in Ottawa know that there’s another great Divertimento concert in November. The program is:

Fruhauf, Grand Rondo on “Simple Gifts” and “Bourbon” (World première)
Beethoven, Symphony No. 7 in A, Op. 92
Dvoràk, Symphony No. 8 in G, Op. 88

The Grand Rondo is a brand-spankin’ new, never publicly performed, short orchestral work by a contemporary organist/composer from California. It’s both lyrical and haunting, and well worth a listen. The other two pieces are both big works that really show the orchestra’s capabilities.

 

There are two shows. The one on Friday is Dennis’ birthday, so I’ll probably be the only person from my family who will be there. [The show must go on!] If you come to the Saturday show, you can catch up with Deb, Dennis and many others.


Friday, November 16, 2007
Arlington Woods Free Methodist Church
225 McClellan
Nepean
8 p.m.

 

Saturday, November 17, 2007
L’Église St-Thomas-d’Aquin
1244 Kilborn Ave.
Ottawa
8 p.m.


I’ve got tickets to sell, and I’d be happy to get credit for selling you one, so definitely let me know. They’re also available at the door, if you’re more of a spur-of-the-moment person. Prices are: $15 for adults; $10 for students and seniors; $3 for children 6 to 12; and free for (quiet 😉 ) children under 6.


The cello section
(Photo © Charles Frost)

If you’re reading this…

… then I owe you an apology. I took a bit of a break from blogging when I got back from our family vacation travel, and it’s taken me a while to get back into writing. I’m not exactly “re-charged” yet, but I’m ready, so here goes… Demise of SplashBlog As you can see, the … Continue reading “If you’re reading this…”

… then I owe you an apology. I took a bit of a break from blogging when I got back from our family vacation travel, and it’s taken me a while to get back into writing. I’m not exactly “re-charged” yet, but I’m ready, so here goes…

Demise of SplashBlog
As you can see, the widget in the sidebar that was displaying pictures has been disabled. See the text box for the current state of affairs, but never fear, the pictures will come back. I really like the immediacy of taking pictures with my phone and having them show up automatically in the blog. It’s just going to take a bit of work to re-enable them.
Vacation Pictures
Speaking of pictures, I did get my vacation shots up on the web in my Gallery2 site. You won’t be able to see them unless you log in, so if you want to take a look you can send me a note and I’ll tell you the password (if I like you. ;-)).

If you do check them out, watch out for The Black Spot. Unfortunately, the CCD on my camera developed a dark spot (while we were in Kingston) that is clearly visible in any of the images where that area is approximately a solid color — like the mist coming off a waterfall, for example. doh! I took the camera to Henry’s when we got back and they happily fixed it for free, but it was too late for the vacation snaps. Oh well.

A Rogue by any other name
One of my main “achievements” — if you want to call it that — during my vacation, was to level my horde-side rogue “Caltrop” to 63 [maybe 64 by tonight. ;-)] so that I could get back to playing with the guild on Sunday nights. It was a lot of work — she’s 13 days played — but it was worth it. For those unfamiliar with the game, “13 days played” means 13*24 hours in front of the screen to get her to that level, although some of that was done before my vacation started.
I read books.
Over the course of my vacation, I got through seven new books — all in the fantasy and sci-fi genres, of course.

One in particular that I had been waiting for was the sequel to The Lies of Locke Lamora, called Red Seas Under Red Skies. I’m not certain I enjoyed this one as much as the first, but I will say that after two full books I still find the mix of grand scope and yet very personal story compelling. I just wish he would drop his habit of trying to fool the reader in the introduction; this time, I actually imagined a better outcome from the confrontation than the author did. Oh well.

I also picked up Lois McMaster Bujold’s The Sharing Knife books. They were a bit too girly for my tastes, but it was probably good for me to read something where the people were more important than the action, for change.

The rest of the books were just pulp. The sci-fi equivalents of the “penny dreadful” — just what you need when you’re on vacation. Speaking of pulp, has anybody ever seen the E. E. Smith “Lensman” or “Skylark” books in electronic form? It’s been a long time since I read them, and I’d like to ride that particular inertialess drive again.

Whew! I guess that about covers it. Talk to you soon.

Waiting for fireworks

Deb, Dennis and I are currently sitting by the falls waiting for the Wednesday evening fireworks to start. I’ll upload a picture of the lights on the falls at some point. They’re very pretty.

Deb, Dennis and I are currently sitting by the falls waiting for the Wednesday evening fireworks to start. I’ll upload a picture of the lights on the falls at some point. They’re very pretty.

bah! they said they had internet access

Well, so much for posting about our trip while we are on it. I guess I’ll try again tomorrow, but it looks like it’s not working — I’m posting this from the phone. ?sigh?

Well, so much for posting about our trip while we are on it. I guess I’ll try again tomorrow, but it looks like it’s not working — I’m posting this from the phone. ?sigh?