Big update. Big changes!

It has been ages since I have made time to sit down and update little corner of the net. (Seriously though, who is really that busy?)

A lot has happened since my last entry. First and foremost I changed careers. I was getting pretty sick of my old job. I was only there a couple of years, but had taken part in setting up numerous web servers, FTP servers, Samba servers, Terminal Services servers (in the States, all remote control), a mail server, Virtual Server systems, and fielded dozens of hardware, software and network requests from coworkers. Lots to do. The only problem was the fact that I was hired as phone support, and never was under contract for any of the above mentioned. Then my Brainiac of a boss decided to tell me that I basically wasn't working hard enough, and that I was not putting in that extra effort like some of the others. He even compared me to a coworker that did nothing but support, but only hung around after work (not answering phones at all) for 20 to 30 minutes. Ridiculous! That was enough for me.

I guess his ignorant response was a good thing. I had been thinking for quite some time that I needed to do something different with my life anyways. I have mentioned in earlier posts that I was getting way out of shape, and frankly was getting grumpy. So I did a 360. I am now in construction, and I love it. I enjoy being my own boss (again).

I relaxed for a week or so after I said goodbye to the old place and only a few days later got myself involved in a great contract for multiple construction projects. It is mainly finishing work, but often involves other aspects of construction such as framing, sub floors, door and window installs, etc. I am involved in residential, commercial and university. I love the variety.

Even though I have to adapt to physical work and training myself to think along different logical patterns, I have to admit I love the work. I should have switched careers a long time.
I did sprain my left knee about a week into work. I get on trucking. I was tough, as it hurt like hell. I missed many Muay Tai classes due to the injury. When I finally returned to class, I hurt my knee again, due to my over-doing it. When will I learn.

I am still running Computer Help Canada, and now need to register another company for the general contracting I engage in. I need to think of a great company name. Any ideas?

Man, do I need exercise !!

I went to my first Muay Thai kickboxing class the other day. I knew going in that it has been years since I did any real exercise, and that it would feel like hell. Even with that expectation(not too positive, eh?) I couldn't believe how much I was sucking wind. I was sweating so much, it was burning my eyes. Iwasn't sure I could actually complete the hour, but I did. I think it may be over 10 years since i did any really workout.

After the class I hopped in the car for the long ride home and realized that I really enjoyed myself. What's not to like? I actually enjoyed sweating and getting my heart working again. I also think that learning how to punch and kick is great. Stretching was awkward, but that will improve in time. Of course, the folks at Scheer's are great too. At the end of class so e of the other students encouraged me by telling me I did a great job. I chatted with a few others and found that they are all really nice.

I am really looking forward to my next class. I will take at least one class per week at first, then after a few weeks I will begin taking two or three classes a week. This strategy and my new eating habits (Thanks Weight Watchers) will have me in great shape in no time at all.

NOTE: In my last entry I explained that I joined Weight Watchers. Well, in just 6 weeks, I am about one pound away from loosing my first twenty pounds. Not too bad ?!

Adios to my Traditions Tracker 209

I sold my Traditions Tracker 209 muzzleloader. I simply didn't like it. There was nothing really wrong with it. It worked well enough, but I just didn't feel right holding it (or some damn thing). No offense to anyone that already owns one, or is considering one, but that muzzleloader and I didn't jive.

So I will see if I can scrape up enough bread for a new one. Nothing too fancy. Maybe I'll grab the T/C Z-5 or the CVA Optima. Both are considered "magnum" muzzleloaders in that they each can handle three 50 grain pellets. Would I ever use three pellets? Doubtful, but using 120 grains of loose powder might be okay for some big beasts.


I am leaning towards the Optima right now, as it's more within my budget and I like the fact I can easily break it down with the removal of one screw, and have the barrel ready for a super cleaning if needed.

My dream muzzleloader would be the Lyman Great Plains rifle in either 50 or 54 caliber (left-handed of course). Those are around $520 up here where I am, so that dream rifle will be quite a ways off.

I need a reliable online note storage system

Okay, in the unlikely event that anyone besides myself reads this little web blog of mine... I am throwing out this request.

I need a decent online note storage system that I can install on my own webserver.

I record a lot of notes. To be more accurate, I keep more than notes. I keep URLs, short documents, chunks of programming code, Linux scripts, and other little goodies. I have been using my Gmail account for this, but this doesn't seem right.

I know there are free services out there for note storage, like Helipad (which is really nice), but I want to host a note app myself. Why, you might ask? Well, what if something happened to Helipad, where would all my important notes go? If I hosted my own notes application, I could back it up myself (or at least blame only myself if that failed).

I was considering TiddlyWiki as an alternative. It is really cool, and easy to use, and even has a search function. But... there is one big catch, it is intended for local systems only, meaning you run it on your desktop, and not online. Sure there's a handful of online versions of TiddlyWiki, but most require a mySql database, and that makes easy backups and restores a pain in the ass (unless you know a super easy way to back and restore these suckers).

So what are my alternatives?

UPDATE

Ignore my comment below about Dokuwiki.
Dokuwiki worked great, but only for about a month after that it starting giving me errors. It was actually working great, then one day it just started giving me annoying errors, and even lost it's own editor icons.

I posted on the forum, but really got nothing helpful.

Looking back, I find it odd that a wiki wouldn't include an "Add New Page" button, forcing me to install a plugin instead. Come on Dokuwiki, is a simple "New" button too much for ya?

Quick, what is it?

I needed to identify a new firearm lately [not exactly new, but new to me]. What a challenge that was. The limited number of books I have did not help, and I was not having much success searching the Internet either.

So I relied on the good folks at www.canadiangunnutz.com and they kind enough to point me in the right direction.

This is what I was dealing with.

I will provide another hint; it's now a shotgun.

Still haven't figured it out. Here is an image that includes some proof marks:

It sure was a challenge, but sure enough the informed folks on the gunnutz forum figured it out. It is a Chassepot rifle converted to a 12 gauge shotgun in Belgium, as Liege. Pretty cool isn't it?
Apparently it is a black powder shotgun, so I don't know if I'll be shooting anytime soon, but you never know.. I have shotshell reloading equipment, and perhaps after some research, and a quick trip to the gunsmith [make sure it is safe], I might try it out.

Some environmentalist drive me nuts

Recently I have come across a few periodicals or newsletter type publications promoting the protection of certain environmental areas or species. While reading them I thought of how nice it was to see that someone cares and how people are actually trying to make a difference. They what to save a species, or number of species, or are trying to save an area, etc. Great. I personally think we should all at least try and do a least a little to preserve or better our own world.

But I then realized that many of these publications are on paper. Some are on what is clearly recycled paper, which is okay, but others are publishing great, big, multi-page products made with thick glossy paper that is of a large format. I'm not referring to a couple of pages either, some of these things are huge.

Why? How is using all this paper helping? What logic is in use here? Save the fish, screw the trees?

Today, practically everybody has a computer and an internet connection. Why not publish on the web. Since the computers are already there, the environmental impact of their creation has already occurred. Why not use the computers instead of wasting paper? Email out some newsletters.

Some might say that these paper publications can all be recycled and used again. Ya right, everybody recycles paper! If we were all that environmentally conscious, we wouldn't need to read about saving our planet. we'd already be doing it.

Maybe my ignorance is showing here, but seriously, isn't there a more environmentally way to spread the message?

What do you think?

Camping in the rain sucks

Never trust the weather man.

Tammy, Maxwell, and myself went camping last week. We left for the Prince Albert National Park on Thursday morning. It rained during the 2.5 hour trip there, and continued raining non-stop the whole time we were there.

Tammy and I have never camped together before, and of course never set up a tent together before. We weren't exactly smiling during the process. Setting up a tent in the pouring rain sucks. It was so miserable, it was funny. We were soaked, sliding around making a mess.

The rain never let up. Other than bathroom breaks, which involved ponchos and hurrying to the facilities, we stayed in the tent and tried our best to entertain ourselves.

Tammy is now considering the purchase of a tent trailer. Just wait until she finds out what on is worth.

Bad day at the range

I think I am actually getting worse at shooting.

I went to the range after work yesterday, and didn't exactly set any records. I was sighting in a new scope and trying out the new Choate stock on the Savage .223. This is the second time I have shoot this rifle, and I have to admit, I think I am starting to shoot worse than ever before. My groups were all over. I was lucky if I could keep them under 2 inches at 100 yards. This just isn't acceptable for me. I normally keep used targets for reference, but I tossed yesterday's. At one point I finished off a box of Winchester 55 grain cartridges, started a fresh box and found that my point of impact was about 2 inches higher than the last box. What the hell?

I don't get it. I used a bipod (which I prefer), and had sand bags to ensure I was steady. I can think of a pile of excuses. Maybe I just need to get used to the stock and scope (and new rifle). I admit that I can adjust the cheek pice so I can get a good cheek weld and maybe try adjusting the length of pull on the varmint stock.

Maybe I should just stop whining, get things adjusted, then try shooting a bit more. After all, I haven't shot more than 100 rounds in over a year. maybe I am jusst out of practice.

I took my 4 year old to the range

Yup, I took Maxwell, who was just a few days into his fourth year, to the range. We got up just before 6:00 Am to get there about 7: 00 AM. This is the best time to go, since there is less people around, and the temperatures are pretty nice.

Maxwell wasn't exactly thrilled to get up that early, but soon felt better once I reminded him where we were going. It was his first time, and I could tell his imagination was running wild about what "the range" might be. We hit the road and made it about 5 minutes out of town before wehad to turn around. Maxwell wanted to bring his shotgun. So after a quick return trip home for his toy, and a quick stop at Tim Hortons for an extra large double-double, we made it to the range to see that my buddies were already there and hitting paper.

Maxwell loved it. I didn't bring any firearms this time, as I just wanted him to feel safe and comfortable about the range, with it's benches, different people, and gunshots. I had already coached him in the car about the importance of keeping his ear protection on, and staying near me. He made me proud. He stuck to me like glue and looked great in ear muffs.

He soon realized that there was .17 MR and 22 long rifle brass lying around, and spent his time filling his pockets. He even sat at a free bench with his plastic over-under shotgun and firde a few shots. The guys were great, shaking his hand like a gentleman and making him feel welcome. It was truly a great first experience for a 4 year old boy.

I can't wait to take him again.

Include HTML within PHP

I did some testing and found that I can now include HTML documents inside of my existing documents. This ability to reuse code beats me copying and pasting all the time. Now a simple edit to a single HTML file that I have included in multiple files can affect multiple pages without me having to edit each.

I couldn't find a reliable way to do this in HTML, so I was forced to use PHP. That's okay, as I have a little PHP integrated into my site anyways. Here's an example of what I did to include other HTML files in my existing HTML files:

The PHP page that contains this directive must have a .php extension and the server must support PHP.

Why did I feel like sharing this tip?
I found it difficult to find a way to include HTML in HTML, so I figured that even one more example on the Internet might help someone.