Pitch yourself...

Yup, you heard me... I said Pitch Yourself... and not off the end of the dock either. Have you ever been in a situation where you were under the gun and needed a nice short, quick way to pitch your idea, event, or even something about yourself?

Well, if you have and found yourself stumbling for just the right words, perhaps you could use a 15 Second Pitch. Check it out... here's my just in case you were wondering!

Cool Interactive 2

This is one of the coolest applications of new technology I have seen. I found this on another site yesterday. Lost the link, so I apologize for not providing the reference.

Jefferson Y. Han, a research scientist at New York University’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, has come up with a cost effective multi-touch, multi-point computer screen, which he demonstrated to thousand or so attendees on the first day of TED 2006, the annual technology, entertainment, and design conference in Monterey, California

Here is a video of his demonstration at TED:

http://www.technacular.com/2007/02/09/minority-report-is-reality-now-multi-touch-interaction/

It's off to work I go I go...

Yes folks, that's right... it appears there are thousands more Newfoundlanders & Labradorians willing to make the move west. There is another Alberta-bound job fair taking place right here at home. Gone are the days of having to up and leave and go look for work. The companies are coming here looking for us. So why not right? We have the strongest work ethic in North America. We have some of the best and brightest this country has to offer. The only problem is that we don't have enough jobs for the best and brightest. To those of us that are making the move, I wish you all the best. I know what it means to work away from home, so all I can say is ".. hang in there. You will get what you want because you are a determined Newfoundlander like thousands that have left before you." To those of us that don't need to move... just yet... hang in there, because the future of this place is unknown. Don't turn your face away from this phenomenon, for it may be upon all of us before too long.

My First 5K Race

Well, since quitting smoking my goal has been to run the Tely 10 - a 10 mile race this coming July. So, in preparation for that race, I have decided to start running in some of the regular sanctioned events which take place almost every weekend between now and July.

So, this coming weekend, April 29th, 2007 will be my first official 5K race.... the Burton's Pond Timex 5K 2 lap race......

Running away from Smoking

It has been almost 3 months since I quit smoking and I honestly have to say that it is finally starting to become a little easier. Most days the thought of having a cigarette doesn't even cross my mind. Other days the thoughts appear, but quickly disapper. My main goal since quitting has become to run a 16km (10 mile) race this coming July. The race is called the Tely 10 and 2007 will be the 80th year of its running. Yes, some might say this is a pretty lofty goal for an unfit, non-smoke... but what the heck... why let that bother me!

So, my main priority since quitting is to replace my smoking urges with those of running. I have always hated running but this time I wanted it to be different. This time I wanted to ease into it, and make myself enjoy... if for nothing else then to get myself "fit" again. So I started out walking every other day, and have finally graduated to jogging and easy running. I typcially run 3.5km every other day, and on Saturday or Sunday I have started running a long run of 6.7km. Yes, that's still a far cry from 16km, but I take solice in the fact that I have still have 12 weeks of training left before the BIG DAY.

I am actually planning on signing up for a 10 week training group for this race... but I have to first get control of the major problem I am starting to have with shin splints. Hopefully with some extra rest this week I can beat this thing or at least get a better handle on what I need to do to control it.

The Bloc Newfyvois

Maybe The Bloc aren't as bad as we all think. Maybe they have the right attitude. Maybe we should start thinking more like The Bloc... after all, aren't they trying to get the same things for Quebec that we as Newfoundlanders want for Newfoundland? or maybe I am missing a key point somewhere along the way? No, I think I got it... we really are looking out for the same thing. The only difference being that Quebec has 3 million more citizens with a tonne more seats in the house than we here on The Rock.

Hmm... The Bloc... The Rock. Maybe we should consider a new political party called The Rock Newfyvois. I dunno... sad as it may sound, I think our up-n-coming generations should start serisously debating the pros and cons of seperation from mainland Canada. Not considering it is blindly shutting our minds to the possibility of a better way... isn't it?

'Hope' for unbaptized babies?

Please tell me they are kidding... Oh, before I go any further, this blog entry may offend some devout Catholics, so if you're not in the mood to have your religious views challenged, better to leave this one alone right now!

Now, down to the nitty gritty. Actually, before we get into it, why don't you first take a look at the article "Catholic Church sees 'hope' for unbaptized babies" which is the reason for this rant.

Okay, I don't care if you are the most devout Catholic on the face of this planet. Deep down inside this has to make you second guess some of the things your religion stand for. Any religion which would makes people believe that their unbaptized children are kept from being with God in Heaven is not something I want to be a part of. Now, I am by no means a devout anything... but I do believe strongly that, of any of us, our children are the least "tainted". Unbaptized children are not capable of SIN. Anyone that tells you different is doing nothing more than trying to control you.

This struck home with me many years ago when a very good friend of the family had a stillborn child. She was a devout Catholic and when it came time to bury her son, she was told by the Catholic church that her son could not be buried in the catholic church because he was not baptized and cleansed of all his sins. Only after the entire community rallied around her was she allowed to bury her son in the graveyard... but that's not the best part... they forced her to bury the child at the very back of the graveyard... as if he was being banised. This made her question her beliefs, and I mine.

How to tell your neighbour...

Have you ever been looking for just the right words to tell your neighbour to "butt out", or "buzz off", or just plain 'ol Kiss My @ss? If so, then this might be just the thing you're looking for.

It sure made me laugh when I seen it and I'm sure you're neighbour will get the message along with a good chuckle. ;-)

Political Shenanigans

Until last year I really had very little dealings with politics, other than those rare occasions when we all get the opportunity to vote in our oftentimes meaningless elections. However, last year was different. Last year we had a problem in our neighbourhood. The only way to address this problem was through our municipal council. Well... little did we realize what we were in for. A year later and we are still no further ahead. Every time we turn around we are getting a conflicting answer from each person we talk to. From council chambers to town offices, the left hands definitely do not know or care what the right hands are doing. There are shenanigans going on, but to figure out from which end is impossible.

Half an Hour Later

So for those of you not from these here parts, the title of this blog may have you puzzled. 1/2 an Hour Later. What a strange name for a blog. Well not really. After all, I live in Newfoundland & Labrador, a small (well, not geographically, but population wise I guess we are considered small) island off the east coast of Canada. And this small island has it's own Timezone! Yes, that's right, we have our unique timezone. If you don't believe me, go ahead and double-click on the date on your computer, and then pull up the Timezones setting. Scroll down until you find "Newfoundland Time".

We are actually GMT -03:30. That leaves us half an hour later than everyone else in North America. The next closet timezone is the Atlantic Timezone which is GMT -04:00.

So that can be a good thing... we are the FIRST to celebrate New Years and the FIRST to see the sun rise in North America. Of course, it can also be bad since we are the first to see the sunset! But that's never considered a bad thing here on The Rock... for whence the sun descends o'er them there hills, 'tis off to the stompin' grounds we flow......

What the future holds?

I have been thinking a lot about what the future holds for our children. Not all gushy/feely stuff... but rather plain old "what's gonna be here" type thoughts. What will life be like for them here on The Rock... that is, of course, if they decide to stay here like we did. Maybe they'll learn from our mistakes and move on to warmer pastures... you'll notice I didn't say "greener" or "better" pastures... I said "warmer" pastures... because deep down, that's the only thing better than Newfoundland that they will find elsewhere. The weather. If for nothing else, this place we all love and cheerish can be a B@$T@rD of a place to live when it comes to the weather!

BUMP...Oops too late!

I get so annoyed at our friends in the municipal and provincial departments of Transportation. Everytime I travel our roads and see a sign that says BUMP, I get nervous.... because it means I am gonna hit that bump RIGHT NOW..... too late to brake.... BANG.... there it was, not a second to spare. Damn... have I twisted the front end, or maybe that's just my ears still ringing from the BANG. Either way, it P!!$$3$ me off everytime it happens. And it seems like it's the "norm" here lately.

Why can't they just place signs a couple hundred feet back before the actual bump? I mean it can't be that difficult a concept to implement can it? Now I know we may be challenging you to do something outside of your "normal routine" here, but for the sake of everyone and everything involved (i.e. our precious motorized comrades) perhaps you can try.

Lord knows if I had a few hundred feet to prepare, I'm sure I could drop 'er back from 120 kmh to at least 100 kmh!

Should Government Pay for Our Mistakes?

Well I'm sure this post will not be favored by everyone that reads it, but I'm not here for a popularity contest! This is my blog, and I am allowed to write about what I want here on 1/2 an Hour Later. :-)

Today I wish to voice my concern over governments' plan to compensate individuals in Daniels Harbour. Now, if you're not sure what I am referring to, then you might want to take a look at the CBC article Compensation in wings as landslides rock town.

Now, don't get me wrong here. I am not a heartless bast#$%d. I feel very badly for these displaced fellow Newfoundlanders. And I wish no harm on anyone. I sincerely hope that for the good of these people, and for the good of Danielles' Harbour, that they are able to receive some sort of financial support to help them get back on their feet again. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that the financial support should come from the government coffers.

If I was to build my house next to a river then I should be rightfully expect there is a good possibility I will have a flood on my hands at some time. Same goes for anyone that builds their homes next to the side of a cliff. The expectation should be there that your house is at risk. So I question why we, as taxpayers, should have to foot the bill to rebuild homes that should never have been built in those locations to start with. It's not as if the government forced these people to build their homes next to a cliff. If that was the case, then by all means, the government should step in and compensate them. However, I doubt that is the case (but please correct me if I am wrong here!).

Think about this for a second.... if the government was, for arguments sake, giving out $50,000 to each family to help with the rebuild of their homes (this is hypothtetical and there has not been any mention of how much money the government plans to poney up for this effort). Think about how long it would take you, as an individual taxpayer, to pay in that amount of Provincial Tax.

I just feel that our tax dollars should not be used for these sorts of situations. The next thing you know we'll be looking for compensation when we leave our vehicles unlocked and someone robs them. Exactly... that sounds pretty dumb right? Well, how different is it from this situation? IMO it's not that different at all.

Bombarded by Web Advertisements

Well I'm sure everyone can agree with me on this one... the plethora of web advertisements that exist today are so overwhelming that many times when I am on a website I just get so bombarded by the hoards of ads that are on the pages that I simply close the browser and move to a site a little more pleasing on the eyes.

I dunno if it's because I'm hitting 38 years of age and my eyesight is finally crapping out on me... or if it's simply the extreme volume of sads on the web today. Yes, that's right... I said "sads" not ads. Because to me it's 1) SAD that there are so many ads blocking up the web, and 2) most of them are "Shit" ads. By that I mean they are "S"imple "H"it me ads that require the user to hit their mouse buttons and click through to the advertising site. Advertisements on the web have not changed much in the past few years. While websites are moving into the new world of XHTML, and even into Web 2.0, the ads that get displayed are still the same old boring ads from years gone by.

A good example of this is The Telegram. I am an avid reader of The Telgram, but lately I have been apprehensive on going there because I am tired of all the Advertisements that are on the home page.

Again, is it me, or does everyone else find this as frustrating as I do.