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Thursday, May 23, 2002

After a few problems (both the U-Haul trailer and the truck are trashed), everyone is here safely, albeit exhausted. It's very warm out here — at least fifteen degrees hotter than Toronto — and very pretty of course as well. Our apartment has a nice view overlooking the Miramichi river and right across the road is a nice beach for Leeta to play on.

In the next couple of days we'll begin the task ahead. Right now I'm downloading Eudora to Rachel's computer (mine doesn't have a modem in it right now, and isn't even unpacked yet) so I can attempt to download the monstrous quantity of mail sitting on the server — I expect the download to take a full 24 hours (the two way satellite will be ordered soon enough).

Anyway, I probably won't be able to post too much in the next week, but I will be working on a variety of neat things, some IAM, some BME, and some offline (thankfully). It's very nice lying in the grass.

Not that I needed reminding, but this trip is really drilling into me just how much I Love Rachel and how glad I am that she's decided to take part in this adventure.

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BBQ

Tuesday, May 21, 2002

The BBQ was lots of fun; it went really well! A quick run down would include I think around two hundred people, four or five cop cars (uneventful, don't worry), loads of fireworks, beer, lots and lots of food eaten, a four way knee suspension, three “normal” suspensions, fire blowing, and plenty more! Definitely a good final Toronto-base party… Now to rest a while and prepare for maritime madness.

We shot an hour of video that I'll edit and post when I'm resettled, but for now here are a few of the blurry Polaroid shots I took. My apologies to the people in them, I seem to be skilled at taking photos right as a person is blinking or talking.


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BBQ stuff

Sunday, May 19, 2002

You know, I was going to add a bunch of new features this morning, and then I realized that adding new features a day before leaving is probably a very poor idea… So… As soon as I'm landed again I have some little tweaks to do on the forums, and I've also come up with what I think is a decent way of sharing a limited page with non-IAM members (so then IAM members can list this as a public homepage).

Anyway, Toronto Suscon (hosted by iWasCured and I think Rites of Passage — I apologize if I got groups mixed up — and be careful on the ROP site, it has a lot of pop-under ads) should be well under way now (I know because Marty and Clive just stopped by to pick up sutures — someone's chest hook tore out). I think they are planning on suspending about twenty-five people today, which is certainly ambitious.

Then later today there's also Vegan Jonny's party, as well as Gary's MSC bowling party. I think I'll mostly be trying to stay out of Rachel's way as she makes it all happen — seriously, I know I already said it, but as must have been quite obvious to everyone here yesterday helping with both the tower and with loading the moving truck, I really can't get anything done without her. Oh, and I have to fix Saira's computer, and maybe Ashleigh will make it up for the BBQ as well.

Some photos from this morning. I misplaced the digital camera, so I shot them on our little instant camera and scanned them… Nothing wrong with that though, the instants produce pictures with a really nice vibe:


   
Julie McBedstealer.   The Leaning Tower of IWC

   Everyone expects treats.

Also, I've been getting a few questions and comments about the BBQ. I'll answer them here as well as in IM, because I think the questions are relevant:

>(stupid question) is there any chance that people could be
>advised to bring name tags?

Sounds like a good idea to me — at a couple of the BBQs people have brought name tags and it worked really well. Although the good thing is now that we've been having the BBQs here for I think three years (!), a lot of people recognize each other in person with ease.

>My Plane gets in at like 630 am and i was
>wondering if you would mind if i came and left my bag there
>in the morning! If you need help setting up and stuff id be
>happy to help as well.

Thanks for the offer to help set up — I think that we're OK in that department. As far as dropping off your bags, I can't promise that there'll be anyone (or anyone awake) here before about 1 PM on Monday… So… It doesn't bother me if you dump your bag in the back yard, but I can't promise to guard it. Once the BBQ starts though (2 PM or so) you're more than welcome to stash any stuff in the house.

Note: I should also add that stores will be closed on Monday because it's a holiday. So, if you're bringing beer or BBQ food, you should probably pick it up on Sunday (ie. today). Also, I'm not doing a killer fireworks show — I'm saving my “fireworks money” for July 1st… So… The fireworks will be in part a BYOF event — I'll have some, but hopefully others will being some to (but don't try and bring them across the border, it's asking for trouble).

>I just wanted to confirm if we
>were allowed to bring guests. I thought I read somewhere
>that we could but I wanted to be sure.

Yes, of course — guests are 100% welcome.

>What are your rules on video taping the event?
>If possible can I bring my camera to interview people for a
>dating documentary?

Personal cameras/videocameras are perfectly welcome, but if you want to interview people for broadcast, don't film crowd shots, and make VERY sure that anyone you're talking to knows what it's for. If the people being filmed are OK with it, it's just fine by me.

Well, I hope that sums things up well enough. Those of you who will/have made it up here, I'll see you in about 27 hours. Remember to dress warm — it's supposed to be as cold as 35 degrees as the evening rolls on, with perhaps isolated showers. I'd also recommend coming early. Then you get to have the nicer sunny part of the day outside at least.

See you soon!
(My god, is that 300 people on the RSVP list?)

One little newsy thing… I think everyone's been seeing the latest warnings about new Al Qaeda attacks… The story is that their operatives may be (or plant on) renting apartments, filling them with explosives, and blowing up the buildings. Seeing as the intelligence community (as always) has no solid information on this other than some rumor, I really thought it highly irresponsible to release this “warning” for the following reasons:

  • Most importantly, it is impossible to guard against this type of attack. There is nothing that can be done to stop them. If you're fighting the Hydra, you don't just cut off its head — another two grow back. You have to cut it off at its root, and cauterize the wound.
  • Equally importantly, it's such a vague warning that it's meaningless. Should every landlord in every apartment building in America search every apartment? There is no solution to this warning.
  • It will make life utter hell for people of Middle Eastern and South Asian descent if they have recently moved in to an apartment building, or are seeking to rent. Considering that it's been drilled into us that “Palestinians use babies for bombs”, I suspect that these prejudices will even stop families from being able to rent.

Finally, a quiz: Why is this photo blurred on the right half? (Warning, it is a nude photo, although definitely not porn).

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Ba-boom

Thursday, May 16, 2002

Yet another reason why the US will be bombing Canada soon. Seriously though, if I were to make a list of “Shannon's offline joys” it would have to include combing my hair… Oh wait, They Live is on TV right now, add that to the list as well (incidentally, for anyone in Toronto that's into engines, is it just me, or does Greg from Canadian Speed & Machine look a lot like Roddy Piper?).

Anyway……. The images below were recently turned down. The first two are fakes, and the four next ones… well, that's obvious. Either way, none of these people are happy with me today; they figured the below entitled them to a membership. Personally I think it's probably for the best that BME turns down images like these:

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Drip drip drip

Thursday, May 16, 2002

First of all, the weather for Monday (the May 20th BBQ) is looking pretty chilly, being between 2°C and 10°C (between 36°F and 50°F), with wind out of the north and a 1 in 5 chance of rain… So… Be sure you bring a jacket. It should be OK, but it will definitely be brisk. We should have the house contents in the truck by then though, so at least there's a house that can be filled as well.

By the way, does anyone else think it's sort of strange that Bush is vehemently apposed to cloning (the artificial creation of life) and brands it a monstrosity, but is in aggressive support of lining Alaska and outer space with missiles (the artificial creation of death)? I really don't understand how anyone can think that more nuclear missiles are a particularly good idea. Obviously if one is to make a “sliding scale of evil”, nuclear missiles and space warfare must come out on top of cloning.

Why are missiles even being bothered with?

At this point, war drives the US economy. Without it the US ecomony falls apart — the defense sector is that enormous. The US military employs more people than any other business in the US, by far, and when you factor in the peripheral businesses and contractors, it represents a staggeringly high percentage of all financial transactions in the US. All of this is basically designed to sustain — at the great cost — a system and a “quality of life” that is fundamentally flawed and deceitful about its true nature.

I am against the concept of raising the standard of living endlessly. There will never be a possibility of contentment. Life is larger than bathtubs, radios, and refrigerators. These comforts are beneath contempt. I am afraid that the higher the standard of living, the lower the culture.
Ananda K. Coomaraswamy
in The Aryan Path, Bombay, 1947

By the way, before people get all worked up about me quoting from The Aryan Path, learn what it is before making a jackass of yourself complaining about it.

Oh, and I'm not sure if anyone reading this had that problem, but the bug in the ModCon video site signup forms not allowing concurrant BME and ModCon access has been fixed. I've seen some of your names on the list — I hope the site content was enjoyable.

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BBQ Shirt

Wednesday, May 15, 2002

Just got back from seeing the shirts… Their place is a mess right now — half their equipment all broke at once, so they were nice and gave the BBQ shirts priority. As you can see, the shirt looks great! If you want one, just bring $20 (CDN, not US; that's about $13 US I think) to the BBQ. First come, first serve.

I was going to run windbreakers, but putting a multi-colour design on a nylon windbreaker is actually quite difficult. So… Assuming there are no supply issues, I'm running I think eight heavy black long-sleeved workshirts (heavy enough that they might as well be jackets). There are just a few though, so if you want one, they'll go fast… But… If people like them, and the fabric and fit is nice (I haven't dealt with this company before), we'll certainly run more.

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