182 Digital Puzzles

Jason got me a new tablet for Christmas which means that the one I have been using for years is now going to go to someone else and will be brought back to factory settings. This means that the record of all the digital jigsaw puzzles I have done over the past couple of years will be lost:

There were 182 that I have finished! Most of the images were travel landscapes, with a few art and animal ones thrown in too. I used the app Puzzle Crown, which if you started a puzzle saved it in the tablet and you could work on it offline, so I did that a lot. You could pick from three different 'cut' styles and a range of difficulties, I usually worked on the highest difficulty so that meant it could take long time to finish. In fact, when I was in the hospital being induced, waiting to give birth, I was also working on puzzles - these four in fact:

I wanted screen shots of my 'puzzle history' before I lost it all. Made sense to post on Always Standing, in hopes that would mean I would start posting more. (This tablet has a keyboard that can attach to it which makes it easier to post from.)

A Virtual Trivia Night

Our government has requested that everyone practice social distancing for a few weeks as the world deals with the coronavirus. I decided to run a Trivia Night over the internet to stay in touch with friends and provide people with some light entertainment for an hour or two. Last night a bunch of people logged in and it was a lot of fun!

I had read details about Google Hangouts incorrectly and we were only able to have 10 people at a time, so Jason had to run a second game at the same time (with the same presentation/questions) on Skype to allow more people to participate. I think I will run it again next week if we are still dealing with this isolation thing. It definitely is a lonely time, so many people around me are super stressed out and I am worried about the anxiety levels I am seeing in my friends and family. It is a strange time.

Pixeled PacMan

Did our first pregnancy ultrasound this morning. Had to drink a whole pile of water first, was very uncomfortable. This is so the bladder pushes the uterus up more making it easier to see. However, after taking a few pictures it was determined that they couldn't see enough so had to switch from the stomach wand to a trans-vaginal (it is what it sounds like, they use a stick.) The nice thing about this is that they let me pee first.

After the technician had finished, she called in Jason and we got to look at the pictures. As I mentioned before, this was a dating ultrasound. So it doesn't give a lot of information. We could see the yoke sack, because that part is the first thing that is around giving nutrients to the embryo. The placenta will form later. The embryo looked like a little circle with a pie piece cut out (like the PacMan character.) We could also see a few flashing pixels that the technician thought was probably the heartbeat but it would need to be further evaluated to confirm.

They wouldn't let us have or take a picture!! Not until the 12-week ultrasound, it is their policy. I was pretty disappointed but it was still really cool to see - still in shock that this is happening.

Lost In The Sandbox

Jason, Rob, and I have been playing Fortnight, for the PC, since the summer. I keep meaning to post about it, so much fun! I haven't enjoyed a game this much since World of Warcraft (WoW). Similar to WoW, Fortnight has 'events' and just finished one for Halloween. I was able to get a character that is dressed up in a cute cat costume, and she kinda looks like me!!

Note: The post title is in reference to the Fortnight game style.

Speed (1994)

So I finally got around to watching the movie Speed with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock last night. It came out in 1994 but was way to scary for my 10-year-old self. Then I never got around to it once I started watching and enjoying action movies. I ended up sharing my thoughts on Facebook as I watched - which most readers will have already seen but thought I would post here anyway for people not on social media...

Quiet Sunday evening on the couch with Jason, watching Speed for the first time. I know I am a bit behind the bandwagon on this 1994 action gem. Let's see how this goes..

3:20 - The opening credits are making me sad that Microsoft canceled Paint and also making me nostalgic for Corel Draw. However the score has stood the test of time - so good, already epic.

28:59 - Phone booth plot point!

38:16 - Used a car phone in a commandeered convertible, then took that guys cell phone too. Used cell to call police station - police station has rotary desk phones. The telecom in this thing is all over the place! Oh the mid-90s.

45:53 - Loving supporting cast, Jeff Daniels and Alan Ruck. Who knew!

1:33:43 - Amazing end to the bus saga! Super exciting. But there is still over 20 minutes left - is it just hunting down the bad guy? No more Sandra Bullock driving? I love her! She had better be still a good strong part of the rest of this!

1:35:13 - They killed off Jeff Daniels! ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?

1:38:26 - Sandra is now a bomb wearing hostage!! Nooo! Man, solid third act arc.

1:39:58 - Oooo Subway... (Didn't know LA had a Subway)

1:43:37 - ANOTHER the path isn't finished issue? I would comment that this is ridiculous but it isn't like we are all up on top of our Toronto infrastructure in 2017 so I can't really say anything.

I really enjoyed this movie, it is very very good. Speed definitely stands up in a first time viewing 23 years later which wouldn't be said about a lot of actions films that old. Can't believe it has taken me this long but glad I finally got to see it.

Candy Prep

Jason is 'on production' which I think is something in computer developer lingo but basically means he is scheduled for a off-time shift and has to work from home from noon to eight today.

To prepare for his Saturday work day he bought a Family Size pack of licorice sized Nibs and a big package of M&M's. He will now sit at the computer and focus very hard on work while eating a tonne of candy.

And Why Did I Go?

So, since I haven't been away, and most people knew that I wasn't, what has been the cause of the month-long blog hiatus? A lot of friends and family have been wondering why I haven't posted, and everyone has their own ideas as to the reason behind my stalled writing on Always Standing.

Here are the theories I have heard:

- The trails of home-ownership. Nope. It has been a busy Spring at Casa Verde but more for Jason than me. He has been working on the lawn, trying to get rid of weeds and seeding in more grass. While I was in Ottawa this past weekend Faye and David came and helped Jason and Noah tear down the gross shed/kennel behind our garage.

- Newly wedded bliss. Nope. I know we just had our honeymoon, BUT. We got married in September 2016, moved in to our own house in May 2016, bought our home in December of 2015,  and we had started to live together in October 2013. So the bliss wouldn't really be the type to keep me from posting.

- My new job. Nope. While it is true that I am working long hours at the office in preparation for our big summer event, it has only stopped me from posting in that I don't want to log into a work computer to do it. We use Google for everything here and having my account on the computer to access Blogger might get tangled up in the accounts I use for work. But I often have my personal computer here so could easily pop on it during a break and fire off a post.

The actual reason:

- My tablet broke! I don't think I ever mentioned that I had my own tablet but Jason got me a very nice Google Pixel C for Christmas. (It was intended for my birthday but came so early that I got it at Christmas instead.) Well, I have been using it to post on Always Standing because it is always on hand and the Blogger interface on it is okay. I hadn't realized how much I relied on it to blog, but I do. All my Azores posts were done from the tablet, it is pretty much my main computer now. Well, the screen on it went wonky about a month ago and Jason spent some time trying to fix it but ended up having to send it away. I have it back now and posting will pick up again.

Not A Good Quote

Yesterday I wrote about Mike's inspirational quote about building your dream. Well, last night at a workshop I heard this after the leader encouraged us to help pack up the chairs:

"Teamwork makes the dream work."

I hadn't heard it before, and while it is cute, I don't really like it. However, the content of the workshop was great! Kristen and I took it together, just a little 3-hour bit of instruction for two Tuesdays. Six hours and we got to build a multi-page website from scratch learning some HTML and CSS along the way. I will post more about what I built later this week but it was a good little course and I am quite glad I took it.

History In A Dot

I was shown a really cool website at work. It has won a lot of design awards and I can see why! Pulling articles from wikipedia the designer has created an interactive timeline that spans across 14 billion years of history. It is a beautiful way to represent data and allows you to scroll though based on time or subject.

View the website here: Histography.

It was made by a designer/developer Matan Stauber.

Who Even Are You?

Jason started a new job yesterday. He came home with a MacBookPro and is going to be getting a new iPhone as well. I couldn't believe it! I knew that if he stayed with his previous job his plan was to change his equipment at the next upgrade over to Apple products, but I think part of me thought he was joking.

How can a computer programmer want a Mac? Maybe he doesn't spend a lot of time in Excel, using spreadsheets is way easier on PCs, I don't like the Apple version at all, even the Microsoft releases for Macs is bad.

I guess I have never really ranted against Apple products on Always Standing before. Just some quick mentions that they are difficult to get used to and leave me feeling lost. I don't really like Apple as a company or its products. (Even though I once raved about an iPad - that was before I had seen other tablets.) I don't have time to get into it right now but I am a PC girl to the end!

Also, I gather that the woman who narrates the new iPhone (iPhone 6s) commercials sounds like me, especially the one about the moving photos feature. Check it out HERE and let me know.

Throw Back Post - Binx And Mice

In a follow up to the last post, here are some stories of Binx and her fun with mice over the years:
- Mouse Crisis
- Mouse Crisis, Part Two
- CRISIS, Mouse Crisis, Part Three
- Mouse Crisis, Part Four (She ignored it in this one.)
- Mouse Crisis, Part Five

And this cute one of Two
- An Urban Mouse Catcher
According to Aunty Laura, Rusty also likes to play with computer mice and hides her's under the furniture.

Casa Verde Colours - Living and Dining

The plan for the the Living and Dining Rooms will be the reverse of what is depicted in the photo above. This colour visualization suggests that the living room with be the red colour but that won't be the case at Casa Verde - I wanted to show that it will just be a hint in the distance so the photo worked better in reverse.

The living room at the front of the house will be painted the creamy pale brown (yes, I know that is basically beige) called Chai. Two walls in the Dining Room have a plate rail (a shelf/moulding that runs horizontally along the wall up high - about 2 feet from the crown moulding/ceiling.) The walls without the chair rail, and the space below the chair rail will also be the Chai colour. The smaller wall portion above the rail will feature the red. This will tie the room nicely to the kitchen that also uses that colour as an accent.

The trim for both rooms will be the pale off-white that is the main colour in the kitchen. It is called Worth Your Salt and looks quite dark as a 'paint chip' in the bottom right corner of the image above. However, it shows up as a white in the depiction of the room next to the Chai walls. The physical paint chip shows that it is might lighter as well. Computers aren't the best when it comes to showing colour but I really loved using the Colour Visualizer tool.

Getting There And Getting Home

Colouring And Kindle

Cruz Del Sur Bus Station - Lima, Peru

December 2015

Photo by ME

I made use of one of my Christmas presents, an 'adult' colouring book, during down time while travelling to Peru. I coloured on planes and during layovers, while I did try during the bus ride I ended up agreeing with Jason that it was "extreme colouring" and that I would end up going outside the lines with all the bumps. The Kindle that I got Jason for his birthday this year never seems to need to be recharged, he plugs it in once a month or so!

Our travel to Peru from Toronto, in an attempt to keep the trip costs as low as possible, was a lengthy and complicated ordeal. An overnight flight to Mexico City led to a full day layover; so, we put our heavy carry on luggage in a locker and took the subway to the historic district to explore. Another overnight flight to Lima meant that we had enough time to make our way to the bus station and find some food before the late afternoon start for the 22 hour bus ride over the mountains to Cusco. The same happened in reverse - but we spent the day in Mexico City booked into a hotel trying to catch up on sleep.

I don't regret the lengthy and difficult travel choices. Even though we could have paid more for shorter layovers or a more direct route or even flown straight to Cusco, financially the cost savings of doing it the hard way still matter on a tight 'house-buying' budget. I enjoyed the adventure of our route and I won't pretend that this method wasn't exhausting and at times frustrating; but I never want to stop travelling. I am willing to make sacrifices in order to save money and continue to explore the world.

Dad Crest

Sunday Mornin' Coming Down - A post about my Dad each Sunday, named after a song that he loved.

I found the coolest website this week. It is called Canva and is free design software that you can play with online. So much easier than Photoshop (which I have taken multiple courses in). The graphics you can create are basic but still impressive for how simple it is to use. I am addicted and have been using it to play around with some designs related to the wedding. When I wanted a break from that I came up with the idea of doing something connected to my dad. I made the image on the right. The wheel (which I did not create from scratch, I am not that good) is an obvious connection to sailing, but I also picked the shape around it as a reference to Settlers of Catan. I don't really know what to do with the design, mainly it was practice as I get used to this program and what it is capable of.

Kittens In Your Face

Another list, like the one I put up a few weeks ago. This one is about cat's ignoring your personal space. Binx would sit beside you so wasn't that invasive, and Rasta isn't super intrusive. However, Two is pretty bad about this, she is all over everyone all the time.

-------- found online

Not my photo - Found online

Check out the MASSIVE list of examples HERE

Good Old Paper Map

I like GPS in its simple definition:
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a space-based navigation system that provides location and time information in all weather conditions, anywhere on or near the Earth where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites. The system provides critical capabilities to military, civil, and commercial users around the world. The United States government created the system, maintains it, and makes it freely accessible to anyone with a GPS receiver. (from Wikipedia)

The term GPS used normally, usually means a GPS receiver or navigation device like Tomtom or Garmin. So while I like the system in general, I don't like the devices very much. As Teri knows from our recent road trip, I don't like having a GPS receiver determine a route and following its verbal/basic visual direction. I don't trust them, especially now that things like Google Traffic are using GPS data to first analysis traffic flow/issues and then providing route suggestions. That seems better than just GPS. In general I want more information than a computer generated route . I also want to understand the bigger picture and review my options.

Some people just turn them on and go. For example, my mom spent the last week at a rug hooking school in West Virginia with a friend. They drove back to the Brantford area yesterday. She sent me the following email:

Got home from an exciting and exhausting week "hooking" in West Virginia. Getting back took longer than anticipated. Never blindly trust a GPS! Luckily we were looking for a rest stop and saw a sign that indicated a Maryland rest stop. At that point we both said "We didnt come down here through Maryland". Turns out Jennifer had turned on the "no toll roads" button and it considered the Peace Bridge a toll road so was sending us home via the bridge near Kingston.

I need way more data sources than just a GPS, I also want to reference Google Maps, various tourist maps found in brochures, and even an old fashion printed road map. I like maps.

Travel Diary - Wednesday July 29, 2015

Date: Wednesday July 29, 2015
Theme/Title: Driving Down The Coast - Northern California
Overview: Stopped at the visitor's center to get a hiking suggestion, asked for 1-2 hours of moderate, was given 40 minutes on an 'accessible' trail. Amazed by the redwoods. Drove along the coast, including Highway 1. Evening walk around Mendocino. Late 'check-in' at the Tiny House we rented through Airbnb - wandering a closed Solar Living Institute after dark looking for someone to help us open the gate, found assistance from some nice hippies living there. Went out to McDonalds for dinner.
Woke-up: 8:00am in Crescent City
Transportation/Distance: 2km hike, 2km walk, 475km drive
Meals: Continental breakfast at the hotel, no fruit available. Pepsi Max, Cherry. Snacks in the car. Chai Frappe. Chicken Nuggets.
Highlight of the Day: Walking through the redwoods forest.
Song of the Day: Hotel California - House of the Raising Sun - How Bizarre  - (The music prepared by Teri has been sorted alphabetically by song title, this was a particularly great streak.)

Tomtom wants us to turn around...

Quote of the Day: "Please make your next available u-turn" -- the lady on Tomtom, Teri's GPS machine. She was not happy at our choice to go off course and take the highway closer to the ocean.
Night's Accommodation: Tumbleweed Tiny House, Hopland, California

On My Desktop

Sunday Mornin' Coming Down - A post about my Dad each Sunday, named after a song that he loved.

I keep a photo of Dad on my desktop at work. I don't remember how it got there. I thought it might have been from when I posted it to Always Standing, but that was in April of last year and I wasn't working at FORREC yet.  I can't image why else I would have brought it onto my desk top, but it is there. I like to see the little thumb nail and be reminded of him.

Screen Shot From My Work Laptop

(July 2015)

Physically Too Old To Game

I found a really fun game! Actually I have been waiting to buy it for a long time. Last time Jason and I went to Ottawa, Jenn and Jon showed us Prison Architect that they bought on Steam. It looked like a lot of fun - a combination of zoo tycoon and sim city. However, when we got home and I researched getting it, the cost was pretty high. Steam has a summer sale so I decided to wait for that to get it. The sale happened last week and I got the game for a great price.

The problem is that I am now addicted and can play the game happily on my computer, in my own little world, for hours. I haven't felt this way about a game in a long time. Lately the games that I have been into have been on my phone (or Jason's tablet): Theme Park, Pet Shop Story, and Trivia Crack. I can really get into these games but I don't feel that absorbed and each time I play it is only for a short period of time.

My love of Prison Architect reminds me of playing games like World of Warcraft or The Sims. Staying up too late. Wishing I was playing instead of being at work or school. Long stretches of time focused on the computer. And in true game addict style I was up until 1am last night, stretched out on the couch, laptop in my lap, designing my prison for hours. When I finally decided to go to bed, standing up was painful. My lounging position had cramped a bunch of muscles. I definitely don't have the energy or stamina to game like I used to, or I need to find a really comfortable/ergonomic position to do it in.

Computers In The 80s

Sunday Mornin' Coming Down - A post about my Dad each Sunday, named after a song that he loved.

I wouldn't say that I am the digital generation because we didn't get the internet until I was in middle school and I was very late to get a cell phone. However, I have always had a computer in the house. I am pretty sure my dad got his Atari computer before I was born. I can remember watching him play it. There were so many games. When I got older I got to play too. My favourite was River Raid, which was a flying and shooting, scrolling style of game. I think my mom used the computer for word processing, but all my memories from it were with my dad playing games.