snowboarding.....this winter: argggh, yea!

i am writing this one-handed; hence the lack of capitals: i am not trying to imitate ee cummings or to be cool. come to think of it, i don't really have to try to be cool : for i am so macho when the chips are down. take for example my pumpkin: my pumpkin owns, it looks like picasso himself carved it. there, that's enough proof of my cool being. it is all in the orange, hallowed glow: people always say that i have a certain glow, so it must be so! am i the pumpkin ? am i the glow? what rubbish this zen hall o ween stuff is!

the last two words in the title are part of my manly harsh call, which, i have been known to let loose when i am particularly excited. i am very keen to start shredding the runs this winter. both of my kids are extremely keen to start snowboarding this winter: can you hear my manly man call right now? this is going to be so coooool. notice how i emphasized the coolness with those extra ohs? i am so keen to cut some turns....

i used to surf back when i was young and just a little less harsher than i am currently. i think some of the skills will transfer. i am hoping my buddy krut will pursue the sport at some point, too.

i walked with echo my dog yesterday and it was so beautiful alongside the dike at 264th street. it was windy; i love the freshness of it.

Sunday morning...Echo is a dude Hund!

Finished making and hanging the picket gates to contain mein Hund, a Siberian Husky named Echo. I love my dog; he's such a great walking companion, he never bothers me. Oh, sure he is a predator by design, and he will attack and devour any stupid self-serving squirrel or feline that enters his arena: but I like how harshly he deals with things that transgress him, it brings to mind the way the Trinity will consume with fire those who failed to repent in this age. Yes, he is a charming beast who desires above all to be part of the pack, a part of the family. I appreciate his loyalty to our 'pack'. Echo is a manly man's dog; that is why he is such a joyful fellow to be around.


Another article which indicates the superiority of OpenBSD over any linux distribution -- well, Gentoo's not quite god-forsaken..yet -- and over any run of windows by Gates. http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1375194866;fp;2;fpid;1

Time to get up and pray before going to the Liturgy. Luke has arrived to snuggle; he's way better than my mo. thru fr. alarm clock:)

Going to watch the decalogue

Ramone talked me into this cool dvd by mail program over at videomatica.ca; we get two dvds sent to us at a time, with no limit on due dates, or on how many flicks we can see: they come as quickly as we mail the pre-stamped envelopes back. It is all based on a set monthly charge. So far we have seen a lot of very fine films. I am a huge Kurosawa man; and I have had the opportunity to see some of his less popular films recently. Rhapsody in August is the next one I will get to view...

The Decalogue is a series of 10 short films with each story taking as its theme one of the Ten Commandments. The rating for this series on imdb.com is very high and so are my hopes for it.

I enjoy different types of films for different reasons, and the main reason I would watch a series of films like these is because I am hoping to get some insight into.....something. Contrary to what my wife will tell people, I am something of a manly thinker; and a thinker such as myself does require thoughtful simulation in the flick watching department on occasion.

I think my tolerance for violence in movies is higher than most of my friends....I guess that's another one to talk to the priest about. Oh, I left my numb-chucks and switch-blade outside beside my rocket launcher....I must go retrieve them so they don't rust in the rain:) Am I not a dude, even a harsh dude? Indeed.

Got my Puffy cd...

Holy jumping Jehosaphat! I found my copy of OpenBSD 3.8 in my mailbox; well, actually ramone did, but she delighted me by letting me open up the package. Also it came with some stickers -- which today I stuck on my overhead projector cart at work -- and a very fashionable t-shirt with puffy the blowfish dressed up like Indiana Jones on the front. Puffy is the mascot of OpenBSD, symbolizing the secure and protective nature of the operating system. Whew, what a day: I mean how cool is a day when the Canucks win on the road and I get my OpenBSD cd, stickers and t-shirt....it is a slice of geek heaven. Just let me at that brown t-shirt and that korn shell commandline...what excitement: even ramone was almost nearly in mild pandemonium!? Well, enough of this, or I might become like a door unhinged. Woe, I am so ...me.


Back at work and I am a marking machine. I am very interested in getting into snowboarding this winter. When I was younger, I was proficient at board-sports. Both of my kids are keen like me. So it should be very cool.

Perhaps I will stick my puffy stickers on my snowboard? Wouldn't that be manly? "Move or face the blowfish." Sometimes I am so harsh, but never as harsh as this dude: http://www.xmission.com/~maddox/

That link is not for anyone who gets offended by harshness. Be warned. But he is quite funny at times; if you find harshness rather funny. That's a sad comment about me I guess...another one for confession.

Tiredness....I will rest.

OpenBSD 3.8 will be released in early November

I look forward to installing OpenBSD 3.8; I have used this unix-based OS for a variety of purposes since version 3.1 about 3 or 4 years ago. These two sites are useful for keeping abreast with this exceptionally secure operating system: openbsd.org and undeadly.org. I have the utmost respect for the aspirations behind this project, and I have helped to fund it over the last few years. I use only two operating systems now: OpenBSD and OS X. And both are BSD-based; I love OS X's Aqua GUI, while I love OpenBSD's commandline efficiency. My favourite applications are lftp, lynx, mp3blaster, and emacs. If I could get Photoshop and quakeworld to run on OpenBSD, then I might have no need for any other OS. But, alas, this is not the way it is.

An aside: I voted today with a big YES to end this illegal strike. I am hopeful that the 'yes' side will win the day tomorrow. I detest the political overtones this job action has taken on, and I want absolutely nothing to do with that side of this strike; as it seems to me to have very little to do with what I was originally taking a stand for. How twisted ideals can become...

I have been walking a lot lately, and reading Peter Leithart and George Grant. Time to make my move to smooch ramone.....later.

Looking Up

With Vince Ready making some recommendations, the BCTF membership will get to vote whether to go accept them or not.

I will not hide the fact that I will vote for it. The thing the more miltitant membership of the BCTF need to ask themselves is this: will Ready or some other arbitrator actually give /recommendation a better deal next week? That seems unlikely, even unreasonable. I say we should cut our losses and weigh the benefits of these recommendations. Consider as well that we will be negotiating a new contract over the summer of 2006.

Even though I strongly oppose the way the Liberal government used the Law to run away from a contract , I I still cannot say that I support, unreservedly, the breaking of a court order about this relatively small issue in the big schemme of things. If it were about a more important moral issue , t hen I could see holding out longer or even being willing to put my life and /or lifestyle on the line. But this is not like that.

The best thing about this strike is that it has made me trust more in my Lord Jesu. Not a bad thing, but I wish He could've done it in a nother way ---the php is s crewing up ---- like, for example, made my friend suffere to show me the value of it in pulling me closer to the Unknown God. It remionds me of the pulley by George Herbert.....I dislike obedience less ons when they happen to me; to others, i sort of enjoy them with a slight chuckle. Ah, my sadistic piety. I will have to confess this rot to my priest.....

Be of good cheer, Thomas, you gett o work on Monday....we will seee. I will stay prayerful about this.

woe to the php!!!

The Strike....out.

I am a public school teacher of grades 8-12 in British Columbia. As a corollary, this means I am forced to be a BCTF member and pay dues and follow the union's rulings. I have no other option if I wish to teach in the public school system in BC. If I were not so greedy I could take a job in a private school and give up more of my time and earning potential. Neither of these aspects appeal to me at all. Yet I do not like the union I have to work in; it is a compromise I have had to agree to. It is one decision I do sometimes regret. As of Oct.7th, I have been on strike. And this strike hurts us a lot; to some extent, I have lost my sense of the purposefulness of this strike. I think it is time for me to use this situation to focus my trust on Christ my God; for in theory I know I should just trust in Him as do the 'lilies of the field', but in practice it is not so easy to just trust a Being you can't see or directly experience. Oh, I know some will say that they do have direct experience of the manly man giving them the-what-is-up. And that must be so pleasant for those of you who do get such manly experiences. But I don't get them; when it comes to spiritual experiences, I am like a dry and weary land where no water is. But back to the issue: the strike and my trust in the Unknown God, Jesus. Should I cross the picket line and risk being blackballed for the remaining 18 years of my professional life? I think I will hold out until Monday, October 24th.