As you may have noticed, I didn’t write very much at all for the last several weeks. This was mainly due to added stress at work (read: inventory time, again!) and being engrossed in some things to take my mind off the other things that have been either depressing or bugging the heck out of me.

Where do I start? I guess we’ll start with our jobs. Aside from the added craziness at my work, things have gone well. During the big push for inventory readiness, I received a good annual review and a raise for my efforts. Actually, it was great with all high marks and maximum raise, which I’m used to getting. Still, I can’t shake the feeling sometimes that I’m not always taken seriously. One of my co-workers made a good point, though; we’re all not taken seriously, even when some of us have tons of experience. It’s just management mentality. That’s probably why I’m only comfortable being a supervisor at most. I can be an effective manager for a project, just don’t ask me to be one for a long-term basis! Still, I always have room to grow. Otherwise, like I said, things are going pretty smooth. On my wife’s side of things, she’s gotten some big-time recognition for her efforts at her job. In fact, she recently got a level promotion with a sizable raise. All in all, things are looking up for us on that subject and also financially as well.

Home life is not so exciting. The only thing that’s really kept us going here are our individual interests… and the birds, of course. Lately, things went into a decline with the health, and subsequent death, of our budgerigar Kiwi (see last post). However, a couple of friends came over last evening for a Doctor Who marathon and pizza night, and that did very well in dulling the pain from our loss. My camera is STILL in the shop! I brought it back in to Best Buy a day after pickup because it was exhibiting the same problems. They did call me today to let me know that it’s ready; I’m bringing batteries and a memory card so I can test it out right there in front of them. If it still doesn’t work, I’m demanding a refund and/or replacement. I’m getting short on patience for ineptitude. Other than those things, at least our health overall is doing fine, so we really can’t complain.

On the hobby front, I’ve been waiting on two puzzles that I ordered from different companies. One is the V-Cube 7 from Verdes Innovations. That one actually came for me on July 3rd, and I made an unboxing and demonstration video of it that day. Here’s the video:

I’ve done about ten or so solves with it and I’m very impressed and satisfied. It’s a little more challenging that a Rubik’s Professor cube, but that’s mainly talking about time consumption. The real challenge for me is to bring my time down to 20 minutes, then 15 and then eventually to ten minutes. I’ll be happy with 15 minutes, really, since I’m not much of a “speedcuber”. I really should try, though! Oh, and the other puzzle that I’m waiting on is the Pyraminx Crystal from Mefferts.com. It should be arriving later this month. I can’t wait; it should present a bigger challenge than the V-Cube, due to the design and function. I’m already planning the next puzzles for my collection later this year. I’d like to get the V-Cube 6; even though it’s a lower order than the 7×7 cube, even-number cubes are inherently harder to solve due to mathematical parity issues. Also, I wouldn’t mind an Eastsheen 2×2 cube, to replace the Rubik’s Ice Cube that’s in a state of shaky repair.

Well, I’ve just expended a lot of thought into this entry. Thanks for reading and being patient with my absence. Cheers!

An animated short by Dony Permedi.

I saw this on YouTube while on a search for animated short films. It seems cute at first, but towards the end you get to realize that the character is doing something monumental in scope. I say monumental, but it’s not what one would typically think.

It was also a very thought-provoking film. What would you sacrifice in order to achieve a lifelong dream? If there is a goal that is worth so much to you, on such a personal level, would you be willing to give your life?

Definitely something to think about.

Notice: If the video hangs at :51, then simply drag the scrubber to around :59. I don’t know how to really fix the issue.

This is just me solving a Megaminx puzzle. Some of you may recall that I posted a vid somewhere of one guy solving this type of puzzle in less than two minutes. I’m not up to that skill yet, but I’m happy to do this in under ten minutes.

No, that’s not your sound cutting out! I edited the sound out because the birds in the room were going nuts with the click-clacking of the layers as I was turning them. Also, the video is fuzzy in some spots. I don’t know what to say about it except that it may be a YouTube issue. I encoded the video using H264 QuickTime compression, so the original is very high quality but, unfortunately, I can’t embed it here.

Enjoy!

I’m very happy to report that today I actually went rollerblading for the second time in three weeks! I would have gone more often, but last Friday I had to work. Fridays are great for me to do this because it’s my normal day off and I get to do it around 7 a.m. or so, or before it gets unbearable outside. Saturday is the day I normally let Christine and I sleep in, then I make breakfast and coffee before I handle the birds while she cleans the cages. During the week, I dare not roll around when I get home from work! So, Friday will be the rollerblading day.

So, this being the second time, I’m also happy to report that I was ‘blading for nearly an hour. I did put in a couple of rest breaks because my poor ankles are just not used to doing this kind of torture exercise. Two weeks ago was the first time and I only lasted thirty minutes. I want to do this regularly because of several things. One, I sit in front of a computer (or video game console) too much when I’m not at work. Two, I’m no longer a young guy (*sigh* looks in mirror at the odd love handles) being 35 years old and already diagnosed a while back with slight hypertension. Three, I’m proud of the fact that I’ve kept my gymnast’s form for so darn long… and I want to keep it for at least another 30 years!

The last point brings me to mention that I’ll also be exercising with Christine. She has gotten back to it on the recommendation of her doctor, since she was diagnosed with moderately high cholesterol. (She can’t wait for my levels to be tested!) I’ll be working on mild calisthenics, military pushups and crunchers while she uses the balance ball. Truth be told, I wouldn’t mind getting my own balance ball. It’s fun to use! (and crunchers are harder on it!)

I’m still exercising my mind with puzzles, too. I just ordered a new puzzle from Mefferts.com, called a Pyraminx. You can click the name for the Wiki entry on it; it’s a medium-difficulty puzzle (they list it as low difficulty) and it shouldn’t be hard at all for me. I just got it for the collection that I’ve got building on my desk’s filing cabinet! Mefferts is also making a puzzle called the Pyraminx Crystal, which is more of a Megaminx variant. I may order this one when supplies are ready to ship. But the thing that really blew my mind is when I discovered that someone actually created a higher-order Megaminx, aptly called a Gigaminx!! The guys who created their own versions may have plans to patent the design, but there are no production plans. Guess I’ll have to stick to the computer simulation. (You can try it by clicking here!) There’s also a Google video posted of someone solving the simulated Gigaminx!

Well, that’s all for now. I may write tomorrow, but I’m not sure what to write about. I’ve wanted to post another music review; there’s still a few new albums in my collection that I haven’t touched on yet. Or I could write about our good fortune with our tax-returns. We’ll see, won’t we? Cheers!

Today, I was saddened by the news of yet another great musician’s passing. Jeff Healey was one of those great guitar players most people don’t really think about. Probably because he wasn’t quite as interested in high profile blues-rock as he was in vintage jazz, which he played in the latter years of his career. Nonetheless, he was an exceptional guitar player considering his unconventional “lap-steel” technique, which he grew into using while learning to play at a young age while living blind.

Jeff lost his sight as an infant due to retinoblastoma, a cancer of the retina. For the last several years, he fought a long and hard battle with cancer, which he lost yesterday evening. His wife survives him; she was sitting by his bedside. He also leaves behind their two children.

I have to thank my parents for exposing me to his music early on. For me personally, his influence in my musical life is as great as Stevie Ray Vaughan’s influence (with whom he shared some performances with, too!). I used to listen to his first two albums, See The Light and Hell To Pay, while living with them. I think now would be as good of a time as any to see about picking up those tracks again to kick out the jams!

Here’s my comment on this video on YouTube: We just lost an amazing musician. Jeff, the good man that he was and the talent that he possessed, will definitely be missed.

God’s roadhouse is in full swing, with the angels all a-rockin’!