Category: Journal

It’s May. I should post something

Not to belabour the obvious, but I’ve seriously gotten out of the habit of blogging. I’m not going to beat myself up over it or anything. Suffice to say I’m still around, and still doing stuff. I’m reasonably contented with my lot in general, so it’s not like I have lots of pent-up frustrations to vent about.

Little things, though:

* Went to see Iron Man last night. The first movie I’ve seen in ages and ages. Well, since the film festival last year at least, but that’s a different sort of experience. I went with a couple people from work. Iron Man’s good, silly fun. Thus, I heartily recommend it.
* We had a wonderful team-building exercise thing at work in Toronto on Tuesday. I suck at team-building exercises. This is probably not news. I took the opportunity to slip away and check out the windmill at the CNE grounds.
* I finished Phantom Hourglass last night. Good little game. The side quests seem kinda tacked on, but it’s neat going around solving puzzles and collecting stuff. I never did figure out how to get to the chest on the first island, though. Maybe I should look that up, since it’s been taunting me since the beginning of the game.
* I have Mario Kart for the Wii! I haven’t played that much, though. Supposedly it’s good for multi-player, but I’ve never been all that excited about playing against strangers on the Internets.

Me on CBC’s Search Engine

I’ve been quoted on [CBC’s Search Engine](http://www.cbc.ca/searchengine/)! You can [listen to the episode online](http://www.cbc.ca/searchengine/blog/2008/04/this_weeks_show_april_1708_lin.html). I just got around to listening to the episode (via podcast, of course) today.

A couple weeks ago they asked question about whether [net neutrality should be a right](http://www.cbc.ca/searchengine/blog/2008/04/the_internet_bill_of_rights_pt.html#comments). I caught that in my RSS feed and manage to get first post with one of many, many little arguments that I think pile up and demonstrate why some sort of guaranteed net neutrality is essential to what makes the Internet a positive, democratizing force. Here’s what I said:

> The Internet is a platform. It’s nothing without the people and the technologies that are built on it.
>
> Net Neutrality guarantees that new technologies (and new people) won’t be excluded by incumbents seeking to defend their position.
>
> Tim Berners-Lee said “When I invented the Web, I didn’t have to ask anyone for permission.”
>

They left out the bit about incumbents in the show… Not brilliant or earth-shattering, I think, but I think it’s a point that needs making.

Attack of the Graske!

Way back in 2005 for the first Doctor Who Christmas special, the BBC broadcast a “game” over its interactive digital television sevice. The game was [Attack of the Graske](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_of_the_Graske). It stars David Tennant as the Doctor and the omnipresent [Jimmy Vee](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Vee) as the Graske and is a tiny, interactive Doctor Who episode.

Sadly for us not in the UK, you were only able to play the game if your [Geo-IP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geo_targeting) location shows up in that blessed isle. But no longer! I was able to play the game from Canada on the BBC’s [revamped Doctor Who site](http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/)!

[Play Attack of the Graske!](http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/games/graske)

Yeah, you can watch the videos on YouTube or whatever, but this is better. Okay, it’s not a great game or anything, but it’s nice to finally be able to play it (more or less) as intended.

Jimmy Vee reprises his role as the Graske in [The Sarah Jane Adventures](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whatever_Happened_To_Sarah_Jane%3F). And while it’s not strictly necessary to have played the Graske game before watching that episode (I certainly liked it well enough), it’s nice now to have that option.

The Gym: Conclusion

I am honestly trying to find some way towards a sustainable, healthy lifestyle. Whatever that means. I want to be reasonably healthy when I get old and the last few years it’s dawned on me that I really ought to get started now if I want to have any hope in the future. I’m not obsessive about it. I don’t want to be buff and bronzed. I don’t care that much. I just don’t want to have diabetes and multiple heart attacks by the time I’m 45. Not an insurmountable goal, I don’t think.

I had a membership to [the gym](http://www.columbialakehealthclub.com/) for a year before I actually [started using it](http://www.flyingsquirrel.ca/index.php/2007/11/27/the-gym/). I canceled it this week.

I actually *was* using it for a good few months there. Three times a week for a good number of weeks. The key fob thing worked out pretty well. It works like this: they program in a workout routine; I should up and go through the paces. I don’t have to think about anything. I can just listen to audio books and do what the machines tell me.

I liked this idea. If I have to think about what I’m going to do next in the course of a workout, I’m liable to opt for packing up and going home.

There were a couple problems, though. Continue reading The Gym: Conclusion