An old favourite

I haven’t seen This Is Spinal Tap in years but it’s one of my favourites. It looks as if a kind soul put a copy up on youtube a few months ago. Enjoy!

Election Spoiler

According to Diebold, who released their election results a little early, McCain is in. Sorry for those wanting to follow the election.

Diebold Accidentally Leaks Results Of 2008 Election Early

Second Childhood

You know, when many (stereotypical) men get to my age (or usually, I guess, a little older) they decide to go through a second childhood, complete with new relationships, red convertibles and renewed partying. I think I’m going through my own second childhood here in Quebec City. I think I’m going through a language-enforced second childhood.

Here, I understand probably 15-20% of what is being said around me and can communicate my basic needs but don’t really get much beyond them (though ironically, given the way I learned to speak French, I can talk about basics and my pet issues – politics, cycling, etc. So now, I feel like a kid again. I get to be proud when I learn new words. I can pat myself on the back when I order my own food *all by myself*. And today I went to the store and bought bus tickets and then rode the bus *all by myself* just like a big boy! And on the flip side, you get people treating you like a kid as well – praising me for doing the simplest linguistic things and being glad that I’m trying. It doesn’t feel patronizing, but really like that way that people are towards a little one “yes, dear, that *is* a gorilla! Aren’t you clever!”

What I do notice is that I really do know much more than I did last time. And not only that, I seem to know enough to be taken a little bit seriously. Where last year nobody hesitated to speak English right back to me, I notice most people speaking French back to me or maybe speaking English back to me but then asking which language I’d prefer. Of course it gets me into trouble when people say things I totally am unable to understand. But I figure that’ll come with time.

Now if you’ll pardon me I think I’m going to see if there are any cartoons on. After all, I need to practice my comprehension.

Still Traveling

It’s been a very odd day. Not odd in a bad way but odd in a totally knocked out of my routine sort of way. I realize that now that I’m on this project all of the routines I developed over the past several months are totally out the window. New client, new city, different ways of interacting with the family, hell, even a new language much of the time. It is safe to say that this might well be the biggest life change I’ve experienced since we moved to (or, I suppose, from) the yurt.

At the moment I’m on a train about an hour outside of Quebec City. Aside from a 1/2 hour layover in Montreal, I have been on a train since 11:15 this morning. I was an idiot and forgot my mp3 player (at home, I hope, and not the cab that took me to the train station) and my other headphones are in the suitcase that I checked back in Toronto along with my bike (I was surprised but they allowed me to check the bike as-is in its bag – hope it arrives safely!). Luckily, there is wireless net access on the train the whole way here and so I have spent the better part of the day playing scrabble over on facebook.

On another note – I seem to be getting back on the whole corporate internet services bandwagon again. I’m back on gmail as you may already know and with that google reader. Next to come back was flickr as I hope to take photos while I am here in Quebec and it is a convenient way to post them. So to all my old (and possibly some new) flickr contacts, you can now find me over here. There’s only a little bit posted there as I only had a little time to post a few things from the linux laptop before I left. I’ve got quite an archive of old photos on that PC from the yurt, our town life, Albuquerque, and a bit of Toronto. Maybe when I return from Quebec I’ll put a few up…

Strange Day

Yesterday was a pretty normal day but for some reason it still felt rather strange. I think much of that has to do with the fact that I’m leaving for Quebec this morning so in many ways it felt as if I had already left.

Sage left early in the day because she was speaking on a panel at Podcamp Toronto and Paul woke up not too long after she left. He and I had the morning together but by about 11:00 we had to start getting ready to go as he had a sleepover date that I had to drop him off for. I dropped him off and said my goodbyes to him (he won’t be back before I leave today) and headed out. While he barely noticed my leaving, I found this departure a bit harder than usual. While we will be seeing each other quite a lot, this project will require much of my attention for a while. That said, I expect it to be a relatively easy trip as we’ve really figured out how to do the ‘remote family’ thing

After dropping him off, I picked up a coffee and then headed out for Kimchi Soft Tofu Stew since I won’t be able to have this for a while. My original plan was to then head out and get my hair cut but after a big meal, and despite the coffee I wasn’t feeling up for it and instead decided to spend the afternoon relaxing. As I was going to be meeting Sage and others for dinner I really didn’t want to go home. So I found my way to one of my favourite public-ish spaces.

While some may prefer to settle in a cafe or the library in times like this, I headed for the subway. Why? Because in my opinion, it offers the best of many worlds at this time of year. It’s requires relatively little cash outlay – a $2.75 fare gets you into the system – probably less than you’ll spend on a latte at Starbucks or Second Cup. It’s warm and relatively comfortable. The people-watching is easily as good as that which you’ll find in a sidewalk cafe. There are some advantages over a Second Cup as well. There is little stigma against bringing your own food and beverages (as long as they aren’t particularly smelly or messy), and perhaps best of all, if you’re someone who likes to read between micronaps, nobody minds if you close your eyes and sleep a little while. So this is just what I did for about an hour and a half. I listened to a few podcasts then curled up with a good book before having a little nap. When I was done and it was time to meet Sage and everyone, I just switched trains and headed over to where everyone was. Yet another way transit is superior to the average car. Sure, you can do all of that in the car but who drives while you sleep or read? I realize there are many who will say I have breached several unspoken rules of transit etiquette by treating the subway as my living room. But I’m not the only one. Some people take the idea even further and throw parties on the subway.

After riding for about an hour and a half or so, my book was finished and it was time to meet Sage and a number of other podcasters for a bit of sushi and conversation. As usual it was nice to see everyone, however it is always strange when the disembodied voices in my mp3 player turn out to actually be in the same room.

Still, after all that, something felt strange and I can’t really put my finger on it except to say it probably has more to do with the fact that I’m leaving today for a relatively different (though fun and interesting life). in a way, though it has been a while, the “quirky nomads” moniker is actually meaning something as not only am I traveling, Sage and Paul will also be doing a bit of traveling themselves spending a fair bit of time out in Quebec with me for the next little while. And depending on what develops for our business, this could be a trial for more travel to other areas in the future.

When I went to Quebec a couple weeks ago I drove out and packed accordingly with two full suitcases and a full-sized bike and panniers. This time, however, as I am taking the train, I have to pack much more intelligently. Instead of all that I’m bringing my folding bike (sorry, vélo pliable) and hopefully I can pare everything down to a single suitcase and backpack so I don’t have quite as much to haul around with me. When I come back for visits my plan is to pare myself down to a backpack and pannier or two and the bike. This will allow me to simply unfold the bike at Union Station and take myself home. There is something very attractive about bringing one’s “ground transportation” along.

Speaking of packing – it’s probably a good time to grab a bit of breakfast and then get started.

Today

Back in Toronto

After over 9 hours on the road, spent listening to some of my favourite podcasts that I haven’t had time to listen to in months, I am finally back home. Even after only a week away it is a little strange to be back here.

I notice, for example, that Toronto seems insanely busy. I dropped the car off at the rental agency at a mall and then spent a little time there with Paul. It was astonishing how many people there were and how loud it was. Everything seemed fast and crazy after a week in a city 1/10 the size of Toronto. I also notice that at least for the first few hours coming back I had to switch my brain back from expecting French to expecting to hear English. It caught me in little insidious ways such as whether I say ‘thanks’ or ‘merci’ when someone holds the door for me.

So I’ll be here for a little while anyway before going back to Quebec again. There are a few things I’ll definitely be doing differently this time when I return. I still plan on using my French as much as possible but at least for now as my only options will be in a retail or restaurant capacity. I’ve improved a bunch in terms of how well I can handle those situations, but I’m not learning much outside. So one thing that I’ve decided (and you may never hear anything like this from me again) is that I’m not watching nearly enough television. I should spend an hour or so in front of the television every day to get the opportunity to hear different conversations. As for speaking myself, the best I can come up with for now is to use it a little at work. I’m a bit nervous about this mostly because of my ego and not wanting to sound stupid in a professional environment. But I think it is time to just get over that. Sage mentioned that what I really need is what they have at a park in China (I forget the city and park name) where there is actually a designated area of the park for people who want to practice english. While I doubt I have any readers in Quebec City, should I be wrong in that respect I’d love to meet for coffee. Brulerie Tatum – first coffee’s on me.

I brought my bike on this last trip though unfortunately I didn’t get to ride it even once. So my bike got a lovely road trip to Quebec and back. My new plan is to take the train back and this time bring my folding bike with me (as while the place I’m staying has bike storage, access to the area is blocked by the tons of snow). The downside of the folding bike is that it has much narrower, slicker tires – not so good on the roads in snow/ice. I guess in that case I’ll be having to wait a little longer for roads to be cleared before heading over there. On the positive side, when Sage went to the bike shop today to pick up the bag for my bike, she told the clerk where I was going and he went on and on about how great a city Quebec City is for biking so there is something to look forward to there. Turns out work should be about 10-15km from the hotel

I am the family hologram

For those that don’t already know it, I’m in Quebec City and will be back and forth for a little while. Sage and Paul will be visiting me from time to time as well. As has always been the case from day one, we have been getting better and better at staying connected. My first business trips in the mid 90’s were without even email. My connection to home was a nightly short long distance telephone call – maybe 15-30 min each day. Soon after, though, we got dialup access on the road and I could do email and chat. In 1997 we came across Powwow and got to have very rudimentary voice chat.

We’ve had another quantum leap, it seems, with this trip. This time around, Sage and Paul have the imac with a webcam and I have a webcam for my work laptop. We’ve been using them, via skype quite a lot. It feels very futuristic – like I’m in one of those newsreels of the 40’s talking about what life would be like in the new millenium. Mostly, though, I feel like Holly from Red Dwarf. I am the “ship’s computer” trapped on my little screen, unable to move or even look elsewhere without the assistance of my human masters.

Tonight was especially fun in that respect. Now most people who know me know that I do 90% of the cooking and Sage hates to do it. As a result, Sage and Paul go without many of their favourite dishes when I’m on the road. Not so tonight, though. Tonight, my ship’s computer personality got to have an outing (I know! Exciting!!) and I got to sit on the counter in the kitchen and help prepare dinner. Sure, I had no hands but I did have a 9 year old boy. And I had Sage who helped a little too. I guided them through the making of tofu curry and brown rice – a dish Sage had never made. All in all it was a surreal experience for everyone – me being able to mostly participate in the preparation of dinner (more of a family project tonight than any night ever.), and even to do subtle things like help find things in the kitchen or even to direct someone to get something by pointing at it. Unfortunately, though, I only had vision and hearing – no sense of taste or smell and so it was very strange making this very pungent dinner with no olfactory feedback. Sage suggested I might now have empathy for the character Rimmer in Red Dwarf (yes, we’ve been watching a bit of this lately), a person who died and was able to live on after death as a hologram. She’s right in that sense – I’m beaming in to a virtual existence in Toronto. It is quite satisfying – enough so that being on the road is about as bearable as it could be – but at the same time there are drawbacks. While all the people with bodies in Toronto get to eat and drink and travel without being carried from room to room, I’m still, at least in Toronto, nothing but a set of ones and zeros.

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Otherwise the trip is going well. The project hasn’t really started yet so I haven’t been busy at all. So as a result I’ve spent much of my time at the hotel. I would have gone out more but in the past few days it has been quite cold (wind chill of -27 yesterday) and very snowy to boot. Still, I’ve managed to make it out to eat and do a little shopping. I have noticed two things about my French aptitude. First off, it has improved dramatically since last time. I can get food with little difficulty now and understand 80% of what is being said through the process of ordering food. This is up from 10% a year ago when I would have to really think hard about how to order a coffee at Tim Hortons and then get totally thrown off when asked a question. On the other hand now I also notice how much practice I still need. I have a long way to go before I manage to get anywhere near fluent. Still, depending on how long I’m here I could see that happening. Just today I was noticing that it is much easier to have things stick with you when in a practical environment rather than classroom and doing it several times/day instead of 1-2 hours/week. I find the best way to learn a word or two is to misunderstand or make a mistake. For some reason I had never heard the word breauvage (beverage) before coming here. Of course the word came up in my first dinner here and I had no idea what was being said and it was explained to me. Sure I felt silly (who wouldn’t, having the communication skills of a 2-3 year old) but it was the feeling silly that made the word stick with me. This sort of thing has happened a few times already in the few days I have been here.

It is strange, and I think I mentioned this last time I was here, to be basically back at age 3-4 from a communication and comprehension standpoint. Watching television or listening in to a conversation is a whole different experience when you understand as little as I do. It is a familiar feeling, though – I have memories of watching movies as a kid or hearing parents talk and not understanding completely what was going on.

Otherwise things are okay though I feel a bit isolated being out in suburbia and not really having adult conversation throughout the day (this could change in a few days as work picks up). Soon, things should improve a little as I move inside the walls of the old city. That area is much more pedestrian-friendly. It will improve further, I’m sure, when the roads clear enough that I feel good about exploring the city with my bike a bit. As it is right now, it is just too much to contemplate dealing with traffic and getting around by bike in a relatively unfamiliar city along with snow and cold. Get rid of a few of those variables and I’ll be ready to go, though.

Welcome to my new home

So things are getting irritating over at quirkynomads.com. After four years with the same ISP and the same very inexpensive plan (something like $7.95/month) they came to us in December (just after they were bought out, I later found) to tell us that we were using too much CPU (not that there was anything in the plan talking about CPU but anyway…). So we did some troubleshooting and finally agreed to move over to a virtual private server (VPS) for around $50/month. This one, however, has been going down on a nearly daily basis. They’re saying that probably it is because we have so much traffic (we don’t have that much – Sage may have 700 listeners at most downloading any episode over the course of a month) that mysql is spawning subprocesses and we’re allowed only 70 so far. Unless…you guessed it…we upgrade to the next VPS level at $79.95.

This is getting really insane. I am totally cool with paying a bit more money for hosting but I feel like we’re being taken for a ride at the moment. So to decrease server usage a little I’m moving email back off the server and by next week I’ll kill IMAP and webmail that some friends are using which seems to use 15 processes. I’ve also moved this blog over here to hopefully drop the load on mysql a bit. If that doesn’t work I think we may be looking for another ISP again as this is *insane*.

Talking Stick Episode # 4 is up

Man, don’t let me get started on a subject I really believe in. I just won’t shut up and then there’ll only be enough time for two people instead of the usual 4 or so in the latest Talking Stick episode. I talk a bit about the question: how can we expect to affect some of the major societal changes that I think need to happen when we’re educating our society with the same system that got us in this mess in the first place. Find the episode here.

Just after I recorded that I came across an excellent interview with John Taylor Gatto on the subject of the effects of compulsory schooling on society. Have a look:

Talking Stick Podcast # 3 is out

This morning I finished editing the third Talking Stick podcast on the subject of family and can be found here. For those of you who haven’t checked it out yet, I’d recommend you give it a try. Note for those who are new to podcasting and haven’t listened before. Listening is very easy – once you click on the link above, you will be taken to a page with an embedded player and you can listen there. You can also download the mp3 there for future listening or transfer to an mp3 player. Finally, you can subscribe to the podcast there with iTunes or a similar client or even include the feed in google reader.

This episode’s contributors include:
Mark Blevis of markblevis.com
Tim Coyne of the Hollywood Podcast
Sage Tyrtle of Quirky Nomads
Adam Gratrix of Suburban Transpondency