17Dec 2009 by R&O No Comments

Beautiful Bill

Of Interest, People, Politics
He's back in the spotlight and enjoying the support of a majority of B.C. taxpayers. Yes, Bill Vander Zalm is shining pretty these days as he rallies his troops to fight the dastardly HST. Who would have thought that the man of questionable business ethics, a documented distaste for the media (remember the 'fly' editorial cartoon lawsuit?) and a guy that would promise cheap beer or anything else to get elected, would have the love of British Columbia taxpayers washing over his expensive suit in 2009? He's a new guy and he's on a mission. I should mention that I always thought Mr. Vander Zalm was a bit of a weenie but enjoyed his encounter with demonstrating deadbeats and his over-the-top challenge for them to do some real work by…
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14Dec 2009 by R&O No Comments

A passing friend

Cancer, People
A friend and fellow employee passed away yesterday afternoon. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a relatively short time ago and succumbed to his illness. Randall Kapp worked in a different department but our jobs overlapped numerous times and we worked together on a few projects. He lived quite close to me and we both commuted on the West Coast Express train, sometimes sitting together to discuss work, computers, ipods and music. He was a nice man with a family and is one of many people that deserved a longer life. He was also a talented musician that enjoyed jamming with friends and even invited me over to participate in one of his basement sessions although my contributions were extremely limited that night. There are people we meet that fall…
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12Dec 2009 by R&O 2 Comments

They knew back then

Internet, Of Interest, Technology
Way, way back in 1969 they had a good idea of the technological wave that was bearing down on us, cresting in the 1990's and changing our lives forever. From online shopping and banking, email and video monitoring these guys were ahead of their time and even produced a film to brag about it. And check out the funky flat-screen monitors! Keep in mind that the Internet was officially launched in 1969, just a few weeks before the Woodstock Music festival so this bit of video is a bit Nostradamus-lke, don't you think? [youtube]Y0pPfyYtiBc[/youtube]
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11Dec 2009 by R&O No Comments

The ecstatic bozos

Of Interest, Olympics, People
Imagine you've built your drug business from the ground up, securing the manufacturing and distribution systems and building a firm customer base from scratch. You and your two partners are living in a home from which the drugs are distributed, a drug warehouse for your prosperous business that has an inventory of 107,000 ecstasy pills (valued at a cool $1 million) and 170 grams of cocaine. Life is good. But one morning at 7:20 am, after a full evening of dedicated alcohol consumption you return home to your residential drug warehouse in the 4300 block of Nanaimo Street in Vancouver and discover you've lost your house keys. The question at this point is "What to do next" keeping in mind that your house is chock full of highly illegal drugs.…
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