paulyblog

The last couple of weeks have been pretty hectic.  I’ve been all over the place.  Last week I was doing some training in Ottawa for work.  It turned out good though because I got to stay at my brothers place since he recently moved there in September.  The training itself was alright, not super extravagent or anything but alright.  Most of the stuff that was covered was stuff that I already knew and the rest of it didn’t really go in depth enough.  When I was in Ottawa I also got a chance to meet up with my cousin Pat and my friend JF.  It was nice to see them again.  My brother’s place is pretty nice.  Him and his girlfriend did a good job painting it.  It was great to get to see them.

This week I was in Fort Albany for work.  It’s the first time I’ve ever been and it’s actually not too bad of a place.  The place we stayed at was very nice and clean.  They overbooked the rooms though so a few of us had to share our rooms with other people from our office.  It wasn’t really a big deal.  I saw some dead geese in the entrace of the place we were staying at one night.  I guess the locals went hunting and caught a few.  I was just surprised at the size of them.  I didn’t think they were that big.  My last day there I had 8 eggs left over so me and co-worker decided to make a huge omlette.  It was great!  We put mushrooms, red peppers, oinions, tomatoes and cheese in it.  It was so massive.  The best part of the trip was that the plane actually came to pick us up and the weather was decent to fly in.  No getting stranded this time.

I gotta go to ball hockey now.  Game starts in 12 minutes. Crap!

Useless paulyblog, personal, travel

I think I might just change my blog to a photoblog…  It would update it a lot more than I have been lately.

Useless Photos, pictures, vegas

If were wondering if I was gone well the answer is yes.  That would also explain why I haven’t updated anything in a little while.  I went on a road trip with my Dad.  That’s right, just the two of us.  My dad has been wanting to do this ever since he got back from a trip out West with my brothers in 2003.  This time we went out East.

Some of the places we saw during our trip were Monteith, North Bay, Ottawa, Montreal, Valcourt, Quebec, Rivière-du-Loup, Matane, Rimouski, Gaspé, Percé, Moncton, Prince Edwards Island, Grand Falls, Edmundston, Mont Laurier, Val-d’Or & Rouyn Noranda.

I took lots of pictures but haven’t sorted through them or uploaded them yet.  I will do that in the following days and post some on here.

Some of the highlights of my trip were (not in any order):

• Visiting the Bombardier Museum and factory in Valcourt Quebec
• Visiting the Biodome in Montreal
• Visiting the Olympic Tower in Montreal
• Camping with my dad all over the East coast
• Seeing the Fleuve Saint-Laurent as we drove around Gaspesie
• Going on a boat tour with my dad in Vieux Quebec
• Visiting my cousin and her family in Moncton
• Getting a replacement wide angle lens at Future Shop after I broke mine in Mont Saint-Pierre
• Seeing real live penguins at the Biodome
• Taking pictures by a lighthouse
• Eating the best cod I’ve ever had
• Seeing Nova Scotia even though we were on the way to PEI
• Seeing the new Dodge Challenger 500
• Crossing the Confederation Bridge to PEI
• Seeing the longest covered bridge in the world located in Hartland, NB
• Checking out the falls in Grand Falls
• Visiting the Saint-Joseph’s Oratory with my dad
• Going to see Mont-Laurier with my dad
• Being on holidays for 2 weeks, only being disturbed a few times by work

Now it’s back to the madness we call work.  Summer hours are almost over.  This Friday is my last one off.  Next week is going to be long.

Useless biodome, bombardier, brp, Canada, confederation bridge, gaspesie, museum, pei, quebec, trip, vacation, valcourt

I want the Blackberry Curve.  When I got my 8830 World Edition the Curve wasn’t out with Telus yet.  I kind of regret buying my phone because now the Curve is $149 on a 3 yr contract vs. $299 on a 3 yr contract for my phone.  It’s also smaller and it has a built in camera.  I didn’t think I would miss the camera all that much but I do.  Especially the ability to geotag photos and upload them directly to my flickr account from the phone.  I have posted my phone for sale online with all the accessories (skin, case, battery) and will try to sell it.  I will pay full pop for the Curve if I can sell my phone.  I would like to be able to geotag photos and upload them instantly during my August road trip.

Useless

Ok, this is strange. Who abandons a plane?  Apparently in late 2007 a Boeing 727 landed at Hanoi airport and has been unclaimed ever since.  What’s wrong with this picture?  Why are we only hearing about this now?  The worst part is the plane might have to be sent out for scrap if nobody claims it.  They think that the owners of the plane might have abandoned it since it possibly cost too much to repair. I bet there’s a huge parking ticket stuck in the wipers of that bad boy.  Maybe planes should have license plates like cars…..at least they would be able to find the owners….

Useless News, paulyblog

I can’t believe the difference in talent between Canada and the United States.  Not that I have watched a lot of Idol TV or anything but I did catch tonights episode.  Jenn watches all those types of TV shows.  I was surprised at how many people actually got through to Toronto.  I am also very disappointed that Jenn was too chicken to go try out.  Maybe next year she will step out of her shell and try out.  She was good before and she’s been taking lessons since last year so she’s just getting better and better.  Maybe I will record her when she’s less expecting it and submit it online…..

Next year, watch out.

Useless canadian idol, Jenn, singing, talent

Potable drinking water, paved roads, high speed internet, gas $0.50 / litre cheaper, affordable groceries. Yes I am back from Attawapiskat. It’s amazing the things you take for granted. At the moment it is 11:25pm, I am watching the basketball game from my nice comfy couch. If I want I can go to the 24 hour grocery store, pay $4 for salad, a little over $1 for a few fresh banana’s, just over $2 for bread, $4 for orange juice. In Attawapiskat you are limited where you can buy your groceries. The Northern Store is pretty much the only place. Banana’s come out to about $1.25 each, orange juice is about $10 and fresh produce is almost non existent. The produce that you will find is not anywhere near the quality that you will find at one of our local grocery stores. It’s also very expensive. If I remember correctly, 6 apples were over $7.

The week was spent constantly troubleshooting satellite internet connection problems. Satellite internet is the only form of high speed internet access in the community. The highest package is a 2mb connection and will set you back close to $200 per month. In town we get a 5mb DSL or cable connection for about $40.

The living conditions are not the best. The dirt roads were a lot bumpier than I previously remembered. The ditches were filled with garbage. Houses are run down and often shared by multiple families. A new subdivision is being built but not fast enough. The elementary school is condemned due to a previous diesel fuel spill. I am told that the daycare has also been condemned due to a diesel spill. Just last week there was a protest in Ottawa to get a new school built and their request was denied once again. The kids are going to school in various portables. Don’t get me wrong, the portables are acceptable but I’m sure it gets fairly cold in the middle of winter. I wonder if Attawapiskat will ever see the construction of a new school.

Anyways here are some of the pictures that I took during my visit.

Useless Attawapiskat, paulyblog

We made it back from Punta Cana yesterday morning.  I haven’t been up to too much since then.  I am feeling lazy and this feels too much like work.  This is all the posting that I will be doing for now.

Useless paulyblog, punta cana, underwater

It’s finally here. We are leaving in less than 6 hours for Toronto. In the morning we will probably go to Wonderland and spend the day since Jenn really wants to check out that new roller coaster. Tomorrow night we will meet up with some friends nearby Toronto and go out for supper. We are staying right at the airport and don’t fly out till 3pm the next day. That means on Saturday we get to sleep in! I can’t wait. The beds at the Sheraton are so comfy. At 3pm we are off to Punta Cana for a week. I can’t wait since I’ve never been to an all inclusive before. I am bringing my Canon 40D so expect a ton of pictures.

Useless dominican, edenh, punta cana, republic, Toronto, vacation, wonderland

Sun Microsystems has release OpenOffice 3 Beta.  The new version of OpenOffice has improved features that make it more compatible with files created with Microsoft Office.  It’s now fully compatible with Mac OS X so you don’t have to install X11 in order to get things to work.  It’s also compatible with Windows Vista.  If you are looking for a free alternative to Microsoft Office this is it.  Download it and try it for yourself.  It includes everything that you need, even the ability to save your documents to PDF.

Useless alternative, beta, excel, Free, microsoft office, openoffice, sun microsystems, word