Suppressing Intelligence since 2004
Posts tagged thoughts
Kate Gosseling – What’s she up to?
Sep 1st
Is this what I’ve been reduced to? But I’m gonna take a shot at it anyway. If the Star-tabloids can do it, so can i.
I support Kate Gosseling in what she does. Sure, having the 8 kids is tough, but she’s thinking of their futures. The best way to offer those kids what they need is to go out and make money for them. Starring on shows and being the host brings in money and even guest appearances.
Her image sells. For sure, North America is aware of Kate and what she’s been through. I’m think she’s done a great job of re-inventing herself and creating a new image.
Even on her blog, she said, (shortly after the big hubbub about her and John),
They have finally been announced! My exciting new projects with TLC! First, my show “Twist of Kate.” I have envisioned this show for quite a while. So many women contact me in so many ways. They seem to be as interested in learning more about me as I am about them — once I read their amazing letters!
I am at a place in my life where I am looking back and looking forward all at the same time. (Don’t ever try that while dancing, by the way. It won’t work!) I have had the opportunity to travel a unique and exciting path up to this point, and now I want to learn more about other women’s stories too.
Good for You, Kate. Keep it up.
So, Did this work?
Lost in Translation.
Aug 31st
The following blog will be a regular blog, but I’ll put into a translation program, then translate it back. Let’s see what happens…
English:
Today was a good day. I went to see some friends and have coffee. I have decided that I’m a fan of the Americano, which is a shot of Espresso cut with hot water. It’s surprisingly good. Am I becoming a Coffee addict? The Bean does have a certain draw to me. It’s like a bee to nectar. Anyway, after having that coffee, I went to the Golf store to look for a pull cart. I really enjoy Golf, and I would like to get better. I know it is late in the season, but hey, I have all winter to improve. Fore!
Now, in Dutch:
Vandaag was een goede dag. Ik ging sommige vrienden zien en koffie hebben. Ik heb besloten dat I’ m een ventilator van Americano, die een schot van Espresso dat met heet water wordt gesneden is. It’ verrassend goed s. Ben wordt I die een verslaafde van de Koffie? De boon heeft bepaald om aan me te trekken. It’ s zoals een bij aan nectar. In elk geval, na het hebben dat koffie, ik naar de opslag van het Golf een trekkrachtkar ging zoeken. Ik geniet werkelijk van Golf, en ik zou willen beter worden. Ik weet het in het seizoen laat is, maar hey, ik al te verbeteren winter heb. Voor!
Now, back to English:
Today a good day was. I will have some friends to see and coffee. I have decided that I’m an aerator of Americano, which a shot of espresso that with hot water becomes is cut. It is surprisingly well. Is I that does a drug addict of coffee become? The broad bean has stipulated to draw to me. It is such as to nectar. Anyway, after have that coffee, I will zoeken an appetite strength hamper to the rise of the golf. I enjoy really golf, and I would want better will become. I weet it in the season late is, but hey, I already to improve winter have. For!
Crazy Dutch.
Are you serious?!? This is the quality of Spam?
Aug 30th
Ok, with a public blog, I get the small amounts of spam. I have set the Comments section to have me approve any entries. I promise that if it’s decent, I’ll approve it. If it’s odd, I’ll still approve it. However, here are some of the spam I get…
All people deserve very good life and home loans or term loan would make it better. Just because freedom bases on money state.
Sure, but what’s with the grammar? It’s one freakin’ awful run-on sentence. If I was doing a ‘blog attack’ for getting people to my site, I would make sure my grammar was good. What’s even better? It’s from SONYA Mccray. What’s Sonya’s email? jennifermartinez@mail15.com. C’mon Sonya, what’s up with using a different email?
And, the site doesn’t exists. Amazing marketing strategy.
bestfinance-blog.com
But, this is the better of the spam I got. This one, i think was sent from Melmac. Alf must have been responsible for this one.
gODuAA izyiwnscsjiw, [url=http://swckvkehszuw.com/]swckvkehszuw[/url], [link=http://ntpmtjeeikcf.com/]ntpmtjeeikcf[/link], http://rdynymnantzz.com/
Huh?!?
Who’s it from? chkyhssrmdc. Their email, if it’s from the earth? dbkpui@zwozfn.com The website?
gggczzxekpql.com. As you can guess, it doesn’t exists as well.
Is it from another country that uses a different keyboard? Again, maybe my website has been accessed by aliens and they’re offering me some help in formatting or even some opportunity to expand the rawl.ca website to make it universal? Again, I’m not quite holding my breath.
And my favorite? It’s from an essay writing service. This is an internet company that will sell you an essay for university or collage, and promise that you won’t get nailed for plagiarism.
Ok, I was past that stage when I was in University, but I can see the temptation. Hopefully university students who are considering this have some basic grasp of grammar, not like Sonya McCrae, who I swear, was the copy editor for this site. The comment in my blog was,
Someday you will see a reliable assistant such as formatting service, and you will be able to understand that essays completing can be as complicated as think. Masters can be able to manage with it fast.
The site? primewritings.com. It does exists. Check it out. It’s a well put together website, but upon further inspection, you find some interesting things.
The first line in their Website?
Do you wish to buy custom essay online because you feel you are stuck?
Hmm…. to me, it’s a non-native English speaker trying to sound technical. Ok, not bad, so far. Much better than the ESL-drop-out who emailed me. And if your curious, it’s from, Cecielia25Ballard. Her Email is ladyblacklisa@gmail.com.
I am a big fan of the “About Us” section, as it gives me an idea of what I’m dealing with. You want to have some confidence in the source you are using. So, what are they about?
With good amount of years spent in writing, our writers keep coming up with premier quality material that is written after various researches and dedication. The essays developed by our writers are written by keeping in mind the needs of each and every student so that more and more students are benefited and are given customized essays which are totally different and superior quality from general essays.
I find this quote hard to digest. I read many things, from fiction to non-fiction; instructions to manuals; Research papers to Newspapers. I find that this quote really odd. Again, I’ve worked in Taiwan teaching English and I have had heated discussions about English Grammar. Sure, us Canadians do speak a little different from our British counterparts, but we are still quite British in our style. But speaking the language from birth, I am proud that I can spot wrong grammar from a distance 20 paces. Granted, I may not know exactly why it’s wrong, but I know if it’s wrong. Some English learners think they have English mastered, and will argue nuances of the language with a native speaker. At times, you need to allow the native speaker to be right. I’ll get in trouble for this point, as I’ve met many people who’s grammar is atrocious.
Just as a side note: Just becasue you’re a native speaker, it doesn’t mean your grammar is good. But I’ve noticed that the longer you’ve been living in Canada (generationally), the worse your grammar is. Is it because you think you’ve ascended some moral high ground that allows you to not have to speak properly? I’m not sure…..
BAck to my main point: If I was the type to pay for an essay from the internet, I would first do some research on the site. A site that seems to have a basic writing issues may not be place I would want to buy essays from.
And, if you’re interested, I’ll write your paper…for cheaper than what these clowns have. Which, here is what they say on their ‘Price’ Page;
At the PrimeWritings you can buy really high-quality, unique and free from plagiarism papers. You can buy essays, buy research or term papers, buy thesis, buy dissertation, etc. We’ll complete your order exactly on time, and you’ll be our returning client because we are the top-quality custom writing service
“At the PrimeWritings…” – Seriously?
“You can buy really high quality…” For a writing service, would you really want to use “Really” this way? Really?
“We’ll complete your order exactly on time” – Isn’t that what “On time” means? Or, maybe they meant that they would really complete your order exactly at the time?
Spammers; please, please, please, have the decency to have a copy writer edit your material, especially if you’re going to charge people for work.
Do’s and don’ts at a Wedding
Aug 25th
Going to a wedding, I was reminded of this little list. Again, this is in no means reflective of the wedding I attended, as it was really well done. The bride and Groom looked amazing, the decor was fantastic, and other things. But this list is more for us, attendees.
Do’s:
- Show up on the Time – If you’re generally late, don’t be. Only the bride is allowed to be late on that day. If you think you’re more important than the bride, have your own wedding/celebration
- Make Small Talk – This depends upon your connection to a wedding. If you’re closely related to the wedding couple, you need to make more than small talk. You are required to make Genuine Big Talk. If you’re partially close, then small talk is ok. Topics that are ok are the weather, how you know the couple, history or knowledge of the venue, or other things that are not to intrusive.
- Sit yourself in appropriate places – Sure, we don’t like to sit near the front, as it’s where the Nerds sit. But if you are close to the wedding couple you should be sitting near the front. If you’re not so close to the wedding party, sit near the back. Again, this applies to you and your date. If you’re the date of a distant connection, you’re stuck sitting with your date. Suck it up and smile.
Don’ts
- Reasons for the bride/Groom to not marry – DO NOT respond to this. Yes, it may be funny to say some thing, but do you really think your opinion will really stop the happy couple from completing their Nuptials? In fact, it may get you ejected.
- Over-using the Open Bar – Yes. Don’t get Drunk. Get happy, get animated, but don’t be that sloppy drunk that hits on the bride’s underage cousin and does things that are illegal in many provinces and states across North America.
- Take pictures like your the wedding Photographer – If you’re not being paid, take pictures from your seat, and if you can’t get a good angle, too bad.
- Wear whatever you want – It’s a wedding. I’m traditional in this merit, but dress up. Dress like you’re going to a fancy place for dinner. Yes, some weddings say ‘casual’ or even ‘wear whatever’, but have some decorum and dress slightly more conservative that you think. One person once told me that it’s better to be overdressed than not. Besides, it’s easy to ‘under-dress’ when you’re dressed up. Try that with an old Concert Tee.
- Talk Shop – It’s a wedding. Take the time off, and enjoy yourself. If someone asks what you do for your job, briefly explain what you do, but don’t start networking. Save that for after dinner, during the reception in the privacy of a hallway or out of earshot from other guests.
- Stand up and talk without preparing – Sure, we’ve seen television and movies where people have ‘stood up and talked from their heart’. Unpronounced to you, those speeches have been pre-written and vetted by hordes of writers. You, don’t have have that luxury. Trust me, don’t sound like moron and talk off the top of your head. Which leads me to the next one :
- Say these words : “Bear with me.” “I’m not good at speeches,” “I’m not good at talking to large groups” or anything along those lines. If you have been asked to speak, and you’re not comfortable, DON’T. If you don’t think you’re good at speeches and were asked months in advance (like most wedding planning), PRACTICE! Just because you say you’re not good at speeches doesn’t mean it excuses you from a bad speech. You have the time to get a good speech or to decline the offer to speak. It’s not endearing to fumble your speech.
Being to many weddings, even partaking in the planning and execution of weddings, I feel that I have some knowledge about these. I’m pretty straight-forward when someone asks about their speech or how they did. I’ve even had people not speak to me because I told them the same thing I said here. If you were not comfortable speaking, saying it at the beginning of your speech doesn’t give you ‘carte Blache’ for your speech.
Bottom line, folks: Normal social rules apply with some added stress. A wedding is happy time, actually for you, not the wedding couple. A wedding is truley for the guests to enjoy themselves. If you don’t believe me, would you ofen invite everyone you know somewhere and feed them out of yoru own pocket? If so, Please invite me!
By the way, I’m available for Weddings and Bar-mitzahs, if you need.
Driving traffic to my Site
Aug 24th
I’m always curious to what drives traffic to a website.
Having a website that is about a specific topic is one. But also having certain tag words that drive people to the site to see and read is another way.
Expanding the target audience is very important, so with some of my posts, I try to be as informative as possible, but I am by no means, an expert on any topic.
With some basic research skills, a discerning eye and a curious mind is what drives me.
Watching and observing sites that have lots of hits and are very popular have a formula that they follow. The formula isn’t difficult to understand, but finding your own version is the hard part.
Here are some tips that I have realized that bring Traffic to your site:
- Have a topic that people what to know about – if your content is useful, when people search for that information, your site (hopefully) will come up.
- Key Words – This is the key (words). Hee hee hee. But seriously, if you have good key words, search engines (or the meta-crawlers) will find your site and for some reason, your site will appear on different sites. I’ve found that with certain keywords, I had a lot of traffic. With my old blog, I had some key words that brought people all the time. I was surprised what they were. With that, I would sometimes just add the key words to bring traffic
- Information – Can you see a trend with my points? You need to have things that people want to know about. If you’re knowledgeable about something, and people trust your opinion, you’re Gold. If you’re like me, and have no clue, then no one will really care what I say about a wine, or something fancy-Schmancy.
- Get your name out – Yeah, you gotta market yourself, baby! I don’t really do that, but often wonder what I would market myself as. My blog is just what I think but that’s really it. I could do some Social Networking, but I’m not really into that. Maybe I should?
- Billboards – If you can afford it, get a billboard. Again, I’m not going to say that this works, but hey, try it out.
So, understanding that, good luck! Link me. And help drive traffic here!
Am I lazy?
Aug 21st
By this, I mean: Do I take the lazy way out of most things in life?
I know of people who seem to choose to do things, but in the most difficult way. I’ve chosen a path that did have a few bumps along the way, but for the most part, I’m quite happy. I
Growing up, I wanted to have a family, and a decent job that I enjoyed. With hard work, I got a job that I love and then I met a wonderful person who I can share a life with. Through that, we’ve obtained a house, and ‘stuff’ that most people collect. We’ve travelled, we’ve experienced different things, good and bad; we’ve grown and we’ve even added, by bringing Tiiu into the world.
But I think this path was generally easy. I mean, i followed the directions and for the most part I got what I wanted.
Now, reflecting upon what I have, I see people who have the same thing, but have worked really hard. Again, that’s good. But some of the paths they have taken seemed to be more difficult.
Is it that I’m lazy or I have Linda to help? Or, maybe Linda is doing all the work, and I think it’s easy.
I dunno.
Y’know, I don’t know where this entry is going.
Habits of little Tiiu.
Aug 13th
Here are some observations I have made about my little Tiiu.
1. Sleeping like a baby- Babies sleep soundly and quietly.
If your baby does, good for you. This kid is quite loud when she sleeps. She grunts, groans, makes sounds, and sometimes snores. True, I can tell it’s my baby, but still…she’s a noisy sleeper.
2. Law of Conservation – I’ve notices that Tiiu seems to produce more output than she consumes for input. Case in point – When I change her, I think she’s done. Lo and behold, nope. More and more keep coming out. and a tiny body that can store so much and have it eject at such a force? There’s gotta be a rip in the time/space fabric inside her little G.I Track.
3. Babies are Cute, but I can never prove that – Tiiu has this amazing ability to look super cute at times, and then when I get the camera, she looks like a viral Baby pic from depths of the internet. Even when people are ready to take her picture, she likes to tease with a cute smile, and then make some face from the 2nd circle of hell for the actual shot.
4. Muscle Control – She loves to do the ‘Usain Bolt’ pose, which I think is cool. Maybe he got it from a baby?
Am I grumpy old Man?
Aug 9th
So, I went to the gym today and when I was changing, I overhead some of the younger guys talking. Sure, they seemed to be between 14-16, but it was amazing what the topics were.
It’s amazing to see these young guys who invest money into the work-out powders. I’m sure they do benefit muscles and such, but I don’t think they maintain the proper diet to truely get the full potential of the powders.
Back to my original thought, the guys were talking about which powders were good. One guy was angry because his mom wouldn’t buy the the more expensive powders. Then, the conversation quickly turned to what phones they had and how good they were. Then another guy was angry because his dad wouldn’t pay for unlimited Data for his Smart-phone.
And through this whole diatribe, I found it hard to follow, as I find they were all mumbling. It seems that elocution is not a skill they deem important. It seems that they were all trying to talk by slurring all their words together in a monotonic way.
Yes, the F-bomb was being dropped every 3rd to 4th word, but sure….it’s what young people do. It’s the mumbling.
Maybe that’s why I was huge fan of Dawson’s Creek; Having the ability of vocabulary and pronunciation was something my friends and I upheld. Our conversations were most likely as dull and boring as these guys, but at least we didn’t sound like people who had marbles in their mouths.
The Results of a Newborn…
Jul 30th
Well, it’s not really the results, more of a by-product of having a new-born in the house. here’s what has transpired since the arrival of Tiiu (and slightly before her arrival!).
- rawl.ca – obviously you’re following this website. But since Blogger decided not to support the FTP i was lost to get on something. I was playing with the WordPress format, but I couldn’t get the MySQL databases right…after some emailing, fiddling and reading, I got them running and VOILA! the new and improved Rawl.ca.
- Basic Flash videos – I did some basic flash vids, as I was wondering how to do some simple animation. I found that there is a ‘anime’ program that people use to make anime, so I’m on the prowl for that piece of software
- Vlogs – yeah, new camera, time to spare, and a yearning to get rawl.ca cannibalized. From text to speech, that’s a different direction for Rawlio’s world.
- Video-editing – I’m playing with iMovie currently, but i got hold of a copy of Final Cut Express. I wanted to play with Final Cut Pro, but my little macbook is not really wired for that kinda output.
- Sequencing – this was Post-Tiiu. I got some songs done with Garageband. I’ve been trying to find a working copy of CuBase, but for some reason, It doesn’t want to work on this machine….some more playing and research, I’ll get it done. My Goal is to try to make a rap/hip-hop song before the summer’s out.
- Macbook Streaming to PS3/xBox360 - I’ve played with some audio/video streaming with this. I wanted to get a ‘media server’ running in the house, but it requires the mac to be on….hmm..how do I get around that?
- Mad-torrents – I’ve been torrenting more than ever. I know that everyone, and their Chinese cousins have been burning movies to disc, but I wanted to try to see if i could do that. Again, I’m torn to do it. Not for the moral issue, but more of the ‘collector’ issue. People seem to do these mad-torrent burns of movies…watch them, then they sit in a spindle of movies for a long time. Linda and I watch streamed shows…and I think we’ll continue to do that.
- Music Video? Home Reno Video? Me hanging out video? – I’ve got some ideas for some videos…why videos? Storage space. On Youtube, you can upload your vids, and they store them. Me? I’m using up my limited Web-space with some pictures..which I have figure out where I can put them..or just keep rotating them. i’m not sure.
So, what’s next? I was toying with a Rawlio – FAQ, but that’ll be just for my entertainment. Who knows? ideas and suggestions are welcome.
Oh, I should do a contact page, shouldn’t I?
Thoughts from the Couch
Jul 21st
Here I sit, on a couch in my living room. It’s been a long time since I was tethered to my ‘office’ at my ‘desk’ on a giant desktop. Now, I’m on a tiny computer, more powerful than most Satellites in space sitting and blogging. It’s amazing how far technology has come.
I remember even being amazed that I could blog from my living room, thanks to the power of the wireless Router. It’s pretty insane how far technology has come. Even looking at simple things, and the amount of technology in it. Again, my old 90 year old house is wired up with the Internet, WiFi and A/C. When the little house was built, these things weren’t even a blip in the thoughts of humanity. Now, it’s housing a pretty powerful set of tools.
Not getting sappy, but I look at my daughter, and see that she’ll grow up with cell phones, internet, WiFi, BlueTooth, and the like. She’ll always know that at any point on the earth, you can make a call, or receive a text message. She’ll just assume that all computers are wireless, that all TVs are thin and flat, and that you can carry around your entire music collection in a palm-sized box (yes, even her little palm!).
And will rawl.ca still be around? Will the blog still be kickin’ in like 10 years? Well, 6 years and still going is not bad, really…