Total eclipse

Tonight at 8:00 p.m. local time, a lunar eclipse began. I thought I'd post up pictures before giving a full phase by phase account of the lunar eclipse.


These photos were taken with a Kodak EasyShare Z812 with a 12x zoom. I always make sure that one of the higher resolutions is set, so I can work with my photos in Photoshop. I used a tripod to take the pictures and had a great view outside my balcony in my apartment.

Can't anything go right?!?!

I'm taking in positive thinking. Really, I am. Because yesterday I was happy. Got a new harddrive for my computer. 250 gig. Wow! The thoughts of days gone by came back. How am I going to fill this thing? In truth, I know how. I work in graphics and a lot of my images can be huge in file size. This drive, though, would be good to put all of my artwork and writing on and ease some pressure off of my 80 gig.

Or so I thought.

Simple situation. Thinking back, I should have started the backup first.

I set the jumpers so the drives would act as master/slave. All good. Checked the bios, there they were. Nice. Began the boot process. For the next three hours. And I began to realize, my 80 gig decided now was a good time to start dying. So, there I was. The sudden realization that four years worth of artwork and writing, was now lost. Gone into the void that takes computer equipment. No hard copies, no backups. Shame on me.

Not all of it was lost, fortunately. I have a good number of backups on my laptop, not 100% of it, but a good amount of it. But there were some projects that took a great deal of time in creating that I would have to start all over again. The pain of thinking about that began settling in. Along with a mix of emotions. Anger, worry, fear. At the point where I think I was going to start to cry, I realized that now might be a good time for that upgrade I had always thought about getting. My computer was three years old, after all. I was pushing it pretty hard, and I had always thought that I should start planning a new system. I'd build something that would be able to stick around for a few years.

That got pushed up to this morning. I walked to the local computer store, and told them what I needed a new system to do, and what I wanted a new system to do. It has to be able to run Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign. It has to have a decent amount of space. DVD burner. And it has to be able to handle a good number of games. Granted, a lot of those games are older, but they'll rip along nicely with the new system I have planned. I remember playing Neverwinter Nights on an Athlon 600. I can't wait to see it on an Athlon 5000. Duo core, 2.7 gig processing power. Complete with a GeForce video card that will make my old one look like a Sunday driver doing 25 on the freeway.

And, there is a good chance I can recover my backups off the old drive. It's not completely dead. It just won't boot. Here's hoping.

So yes, I am looking at a lot of positives. I have my laptop. I have a roof over my head. I have food. I have electricity. I have my job. And spring is not that far away. Life is starting to look a lot better when I take those things into perspective. And when I read funny captioned cat pictures.

moar funny pictures

Until next time...

...Keep 'em flyin'.

Writing to resume

I know, I've been incredibly lax on the writing, especially with updating the latest Canyons of Steel story, Nobody Guns For My Family. I promise, I will be getting into it again. I hit a bit of a writing wall a while back, and things, like the weather, turned cold. When that happens, I just can't find the urge to write. The same, sadly, could also be said of my blog as I was not as faithful as I could have been in updating it. But, I have started getting back into the swing of things, as I have new rants on world views that I can start posting again.

Until Walker hangs up his shootin' irons...

...keep 'em flyin'.

Ultimate Championship!

Funny how you learn about something by reading something else. I was doing some reading and checking out old comic books online, when I found a few links to the website for the Canadian superhero, Captain Canuck. Seems the Captain is still alive and kicking. Richard Comely is still at it, putting out books in short series. Cool idea, considering that seems to be the way to go for independent comics these days. And low and behold, there was more.

Captain Canuck: Unholy War, written by Reil Langois and Drew Langois of Swan River, Manitoba. A short four issue mini series that chronicles the West Coast Captain Canuck. Nice look, good short story and brought back some good memories of the 80s and even the short lived 90s Captain Canuck.

More research showed something else, though. Big companies like DC and Marvel and even Image comics like to do the big blockbuster cross overs. But the independent comics usually don't get the option of a major teamup with Batman or Spider-man. That now changes with a series called War of the Independents. War of the Independents will cross over some of independent comics biggest names. Shi, Savage Dragon, Cerebus, Dawn and a whole lot more. And Captain Canuck, both the classic version and the new West Coast Version. I'll leave details out for now, but the July release should be an interesting read. I know I'm looking forward to it.

Until next time...

...keep 'em flyin'.

So, does God hate my blog?

I'm not sure if many are aware of a place called the Westboro Baptist Church. Or of Fred Phelps. Fred Phelps is a self proclaimed fag hater. In otherwords, he hates gay, lesbians, bisexuals, and transvestites. I'm not certain, but I think he also hates the war in Iraq. I will explain more...

...now.

Fred Phelps is a former lawyer and a pastor with the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas. He believes that homosexuality and it's acceptance has doomed the world to damnation. In his early years, he was a successful lawyer, winning awards for his service in defending black clients. But he was disbarred in 1977, after an incident with a court clerk.

Phelps had requested a transcript, which the clerk had not prepared for him in time as was promised. While this action did not affect the outcome of his case, he demanded $22,000 in damages because of the action. In the ensuing trial, he called her the clerk to the stand and declared her a hostile witness. He then cross examined her for a week, making accusations that she was a slut and was a participant in deviant sexual behaviour. The cross examination brought the clerk to tears. For more information on this, it is available from Phelps Wikipedia entry found here. I advise the reader, however, to research as much as possible. Here is the reason why.

Phelps and his family are very, very knowledgeable. In the law and in the readings of the Bible. From what I have read on the family, they know the book forward and backward. But here's where things get a little odd. As a group that fundamentally knows the ins and outs of the Bible, they have taken to vocally hating those in the gay community. It's almost like a contradiction, really. On one hand, yes, God did say that man shall not lie with man as he would with woman, for it is an abhorant act. Okay, I get that. But what happened to the part about, love thy neighbour. Or was I just dreaming that. I also don't recall anything in the Bible that says it's alright to picket funerals. Again, I could be wrong. I haven't read the Bible from back to front making cliff notes.

Okay, so Phelps hates gays. I can live with that. I can deal with that. I'm not gay, but I'm also not going to go out of my way to voice or protest gay marriages or funerals. Personally, I think the latter action is disrespectful to the family of someone who died of the AIDs virus.

But Phelps has a large number of protests scheduled, some to those who have died of the AIDs virus, but what's shocking is the protests against those who were killed in an Illinois Mall shooting. Several were killed, and Phelps deems it necessary to protest the funerals of the fallen.

And the funeral of Heath Ledger. Yes, Ledger played a gay cowboy in Brokeback Mountain. In one movie. I guess that constitutes a protest. But according to the fliers page at the Westboro Baptist Church website, Ledger's and many more are scheduled to be conducted.

Including several members of the United States military. It was Phelps group that actually prompted the US Government to pass the Fallen Heroes Act. The Act states that no protests may be conducted within a certain distance from the gravesite. A quick search through Google should bring about the proper information.

I sit back and read the things that Phelps and his organization have done, mind you none of it has been violent, so he gets a mark in his favour there, and I just have to give my head a shake. What if he did that in Canada? What would the reaction have been, had he and his followers shown up to the funeral of four slain officers from Mayerthorpe, Alberta. Or the two killed in Spiritwood, Saskatchewan? Or the constable killed in Hay River, North West Territories? I'm pretty certain it would not have been viewed at all well.

Thankfully, Fred Phelps doesn't live in Canada.

Until next time...

...keep 'em flyin'.

The Big Chill

One month in and already the talk of 2008 is how cold it is. Among other things, actually. Many times I have heard the case of global warming affecting the planet, and I think of one key word in that phrase. Warming. At -28 degrees Celsius, I rarely think that feels warm. Unless I'm comparing that to, oh, let's say, -89. But then, after a while it really doesn't matter how cold it gets. There's a point when the cold temperatures just don't matter anymore.

This week has felt much better than last week, as there is less wind, more sun, and temperatures are evening out. Still a bit below normal, but better than hearing about (or feeling) minus 35 with a windchill that makes it feel like minus 55. This is a big thing, but not in the way one would think.

It's big, because it means I will never complain about the heat in summer. Ever. Okay, maybe at plus 36 with humidity that makes it feel like I'm swimming when I step out my front door. And yes, those are the extremes of winter and summer here in Saskatchewan. Several months of cold, a month or two of indecision, a few months of extreme heat followed by a couple of months of teasing and right back into the cold again.

Speaking of cold and winter, Ground Hog's Day has come and gone in both Canada and the U.S. The American weather forecaster, Punxsutawney Phil, has predicted another six weeks of winter. Fear not, however, as the Canadian weather prognosticator, Wiarton Willie, has predicted an early spring. It should be noted that Willie is much more accurate than Phil, so here's hoping the little guy is right.

Until next time...

Keep 'em flyin'.

Yes, I cleaned my desk already

Office space.

Lots of people will sometimes take it for granted, but in a work place where we don't have or can't afford to hire a janitor or bring in some form of janitorial service, then often times the duty of cleaning up your work area falls on your own shoulders. Such is the case today. And for some reason, it prompted cries of excitement and complete disbelief. In truth, my desk did need a good cleaning. The photo to the left displays a before of my work area. Please note the Ottawa Senators mug. After a tragic accident, the mug has gone off to coffee heaven. My best friend Pearce gave me that mug. It will be missed.

Anyway, it's been several weeks since the mug incident. I have thrown things away off my desk, and accumulated even more. But now it was time to do something drastic. Because the dust coyotes had decided to move in. What's a dust coyote? Much like bunnies, except less cute and much more vicious. Dust coyotes move into an area with the intent to stay, and they will stake their claim viciously, often to the death. No humans have been even reported to have been killed by dust coyotes, but some small kittens and puppies have been noted to have disappeared rather mysteriously.

Armed with the proper tools of engagement, I began my own vicious attack in order to reclaim my workspace. So far, so good, as can be seen to the right. Now the important thing to remember is to keep it this way. Dust coyotes don't stay away, they circle, waiting for the right time to move back into territory when they feel that the area is being lazily guarded. The owner should always be diligent in the care of their own territory to make certain that dust coyotes do not overtake and gain control of populated areas.

I'm happy to say that yes, my desk is clean, reorganized and happy. And clean desk, makes a happy production manager. Now I just have to suffer through my desk at home.