• finally finished with UWI
• graduation blues
• web frustrations
• first time quitting a job
• months of sabbatical
• dream job on campus

steps in time
under a starlit sky
shadows cast by the moon
the silence dark
but for the waves
hand in hand
along the shore
prints flow behind in the sand
aimless direction
chosen by fate
heart pounding
i look across -
alone…
no one walks with me

• life lessons on value of communication
• end of an era
• first “real” job
• an extra semester
• not graduating with my friends

I came across this today and the site almost made me want to puke. So of course I had to share.

This guy created a dream/nightmare sandwich, for what reason I am not sure but it must break some kind of a record. The thing has 30,000 calories!!! That’s right, 30,000, thirty thousand, 3 with 4 zeroes after. I can’t even conceive of that much in one meal much less one sandwich. That is about 2 weeks worth of calories right there (using an estimated 2,000 calorie per day diet which is what most food labels use).

How do you get to 30,000? Well if you include Fried Mushrooms, Bacon, Onion Rings, Ground Beef, Corndogs (all of which are fried/deep-fried in butter), Swiss Cheese, Provolone Cheese, Cheddar Cheese, plus 4 other meats, couple other cheeses and some other stuff…. You get the idea. Check out the rest of the pics and see if this doesn’t help you keep your eating habits in check.

Given that I am not working a lot fo my time these days is spent online, watching TV or reading. Online my first stop everyday is my list of “Daily Reads” (otherwise known as my circle of blogs). Since this list as reached nearly 20, checking them everyday to see if they have posted takes up a lot of time and leaves me with many browser windows/tabs open (I do use Firefox some of the time).

So I am sharing my latest discovery. I knew feed readers existed but hadn’t gotten into it yet. Yesterday I decided it was too much so I went a-searching. I have settled on using BlogBridge. It’s java-based and works pretty well from what I have seen. You just enter the feeds you’re interesting in tracking and it will check them for the latest posts.

For the uninitiated (as I was before I started my investigations) most blogs and many websites will provide a link to their feed. Just look for something saying syndication, RSS, RSS2, feeds etc., copy that link shortcut and enter it into a program like BlogBridge. For those Blogspot sites which are filling up everyone’s reading list (especially my circle), the link is not included in most templates by default though the feed is enabled. All you need to do is add “/atom.xml” to the site URL so “http://theirname.blogspot.com” becomes “http://theirname.blogspot.com/atom.xml“.

That’s it, then when your feedreader checks for the latest it will let you know if any of the sites on your list have been updated. There are several programs like this, and several online services which do the same thing. I listed a few below to get you started:

• Online:
  • Bloglines
  • NewsGator
• Desktop:
  • FeedDemon (not free)
  • BlogBridge (also has an online service for free)

Or check this Wikipedia list of news aggregators (another name for feedreaders)

“You think you know who you are? … You have no idea.” (Quote from Crash, 2004)

A recent colour discussion on a friend’s site reminded me that I had wanted to comment on a movie I watched recently. If you haven’t seen “Crash” yet, I highly recommend it.

The movie has an ensemble cast (including Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Tony Danza, Keith David, Loretta Devine, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito) who superbly portray a collection of characters whose lives all bring them face-to-face with race relations in Los Angeles. Through the interleaving stories that play out over the course of the two days shown in the film, each of the characters is forced to confront prejudices, their own and those of others. Perceptions and judgements about people are challenged with each scene and you are forced to think about some of the questions posed:

• what would you do when someone acted as you expect them to?
• how would you deal with being profiled because of your race?
• how would you protect your children in a violent society?
• how would you react to being the token “minority”?
• where would you turn when you realize your own prejudice?

Watching the film not only highlights the racial tensions that still exist, but forces us to consider whether we ourselves or the people we know are shown in these people. Few people can prevent themselves from making some kind of judgement about someone on first sight. It may not always be based on race or colour, but may be about the clothes they wear or what they drive. You will find yourself thinking a little more carefully before lumping someone into a group without basis.

By the end of the film, you will have wanted to laugh, cry and feel with the characters. But more than anything else, hopefully you will come out of it being reminded that people all have fears, all have loved ones, all have something in common, regardless of where they come from, or the colour of their skin.

• hanging with the guys
• birthday = anniversary
• sitting in on Electronics classes
• ex-girlfriend madness
• first Comp. Sci. failure
• Independence weekend!!

I am not suffering from this myself, but for those of you that have shown symptoms over an extended period of time with no relief, Blog Depression is now a recognized disorder. Thanks to the Nonist for putting together this pamphlet as a public service.