Scotland: In Progress…

July 17th, 2009 § 0

I’ve been in Scotland just over a week and I’m having a fantastic time.  I visited a few great places in Glasgow and Edinburgh, met with friends and family, taken a bunch of photos on the iPhone and now I’m embroiled in the process of Real Estate from many miles away.

I arrived in Kirkcudbright to stay with my aunt & uncle late Tuesday after having dinner with family in Dalbeny and then a drive down to the coast.  On my 2nd day here, I received an email from my Realtor asking me to check on a property I might like in Burnaby.  I immediately realized I’d love to have it, and started the process of making an offer.  I am in the process of this as I type, with paperwork making a digital transatlantic trek.

When I fly back to Vancouver, I may do so as a land owner.  I’ll keep you up to date.

Haircut madness

July 7th, 2009 § 0

I just got my haircut and it looks kind of tragic. I think the barber was distracted by another patron who was talking very loudly in Serbian or something.

Before I could say anything, my hair was a lot shorter than I wanted. But once it’s done, you can’t get them to put it back.

Photos later. Maybe.

Shame on me

July 2nd, 2009 § 1

I have had a blog at Alistair.com for around 12 years now.  At the beginning it was a simple ftp down > edit html > ftp up.  Now it’s WordPress and though I am nowhere near as prolific as my friend Derek, I use this site extensively for many other projects that are not public.

As a faculty member at BCIT (in Web Development, no less), you’d think I would have a nicer web site, or at least on that is current.  Alas, I have constantly struggled with my writing and end up abandoning many posts because I get frustrated with the process.

None of that should prevent me from working on template and the interactions on the site, though.  I thoroughly enjoy assisting my students achieve their potential when crafting their own creations, but somehow I slow down when working on my own.

So, I have reverted the site back to the default design that comes with WordPress until I can put the time and effort in to build something I am proud of.

Let’s see how long that takes.

Power up your Vote

May 8th, 2009 § 0

On May 12, 2009, BC residents will vote in a provincial election that includes a referendum question about electoral reform. Specifically, the question is:

Which electoral system should British Columbia use to elect members to the provincial Legislative Assembly?

The options are:

  • The existing electoral system (First-Past-The-Post)
  • The single transferable vote electoral system (BC-STV) proposed by the Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform

After reviewing the options, I believe the Single Transferable Vote to be the best option for BC. Take a look at the BC STV site to learn more about what the Single Transferable Vote will mean to you.

While I believe the alternate side is overplaying the complexity of the system, take some time to review the No STV position and decide for yourself.

Ankle Damage

February 2nd, 2009 § 1

A little over 3 weeks ago, I injured my ankle while walking the dog. A third party observer would have laughed at my stumble on ice, attempt at recovery which failed and a fall to the ground over an awkwardly placed foot.

As I went down, I kept believing my foot would slide along the ice, out of harm’s way, but it never happened and my full weight twisted my ankle out of any normal range of motion.

Unable to put any weight on it at all, I had to crawl home through a greenbelt behind the block I live on, Finnegan leashed to my wrist.

The result is that I am still limping around and going to physio to repair the damage and hockey is off the list until at least March.

Every day that I think it feels better, something tweaks it and the pain returns, renewed.

I’m hoping my physio can get me back on track soon.

  • Quoatble

    Music is everybody’s possession. It’s only publishers who think that people own it. — John Lennon