Sinned's weblog

On Saturday I picked up The Bourne Legacy when I was in a Coles bookstore. I greatly enjoyed reading the three "Bourne" book by Robert Ludlum and thought this might be a good read. Of note, The Bourne Legacy is penned by Eric van Lustbader although authorised by the Ludlum estate.

Overall the book was entertaining and I did have moments where I kept reading past when I should have. The book was a much easier read then the other books I found and I was finished it in about three days subsequently. I also found the book to have a Hollywood-like quality in the writing and story. This idea came from everything falling in to place and where needed unexpected skills were at hand. In general it read as if it were a movie script and a lot of elements suggested it would make a good movie in the usual Hollywood style.

I definately enjoyed reading it but I am not so certain it was a good purchase. The book holds less value as it is not at the same level as the original (which is expected) but it does really stand my test of time in that I am unlikely to read it again.

I have not posted here in a week or so and though I should. It was so long in fact I had to try several times to login. The login portion of the page does not render very well on my Blackberry browser but that may be the fonts it is using. The new browser actually parses the CSS stuff and tries to layout everything as if it was a full GUI environment. I applaud the attempt and deal with the aftermath.

Work is this busy beehive of activity and mostly consists of fighting with telcos and spammers. I learned some very interesting facts about the DSL industry in Ontario and Quebec but due to an NDA I can not tell you about them. I still can not believe that Bell is not able to offer a true GigabitEthernet service for DSL resellers today although I suppose if they force resellers to keep getting 100Mbit FastEthernet circuits they make more money. Seriously at some point offering DSL is too much headache when you are ordering circuits faster than they can provision them. After all that has been ordered is processed we will have at least 6 FastEthernet circuits for all of our DSL customer in eastern Canada when we could get 1 GigabitEthernet and be good until next year sometime. Ahh, to be an entrenched telco who can squeeze their customers cause there is no other provider out there.

In other work related findings, I have finally discovered that I can not use hash-bang notation for my SQL scripts. It is highly unfortunate but I have learned a lot about command parsing and the way Unixes handle it. The biggest issues I ran into are: the hash mark, #, needs to act as a comment identifier and the program must accept the script as an input parameter. Both sqlplus and mysql use characters other than the hash mark for comments so they will not ignore the first line of the script. Mysql does not let you pass it a script on the command line but rather it requires redirecting input, via the < operator. Sqlplus does have the option but it needs to be prefixed but an @ sign with no whitespace in between which does not happen in program execution via hash-bang. This little project came about after I started writing auto-executing AWK scripts and saw a possibility to eliminate security holes by having cleartext password in the command line of SQL scripts. I have learned how to improve the security with Oracle's sqlplus but mysql is harder to get around.

I think I will be seriously considering a purchase of MacOS X 10.4 Tiger on DVD. It should be out now that is past 6pm on the 29th of April. I read about Spotlight and I am totally sold on that by itself plus all of the technical stuff I read they did in the kernel to start standardization. Longhorn is not going to be here for over 12 months and Tiger is here now so I think it is a foregone conclusion that I will be totally converted before LH is here. Now I need to save up for a nice shiny Powerbook 15" and if I am lucky the future will hold G5 Powerbooks which would be damn fine.

In other OS news, I have to give Solaris 10 a better evaluation than I have so far. I have become annoyed by the huge differences in the OS but I read an article on how much Solaris 10 has layed the smackdown on everything by adding needed features and a better management infrastructure. Also the article said the JDS was simply awesome with Gnome desktop. For icing, this review was based on the x86 hardware so I figure with Sun SPARC I will get some hardcore stabilty and it will look good doing it. I have an Ultra 60 standing by waiting for the goods which I have on CD already. Ready Go....

Well I see Square One so I think I will end this post for now and may be come back later.

Today I decided to log in just for the sake of logging in.

I was like "Wow the interface is all slick and graphical now." It looks crazy good too since I logged in with Safari on my iBook.

Then I thought it was interesting how all of these icons looked strangely familiar. I proceeded to login on my Windows XP system just to see if it was just my iBook. Nope the same icons on my other laptop however they do not look as good as they do on the iBook (actually everything looks better on the iBook I find especially Final Flight of the Osiris.)

Since logging in I decided to make a few small changes and such. and see what other things exist in here.

For now back to my regularly scheduled programing.

We I think spring definately in the very near future (barring any more displays of Sunday's weather.) This is great as it means more time outdoors walking, riding, playing and everything. Spring also means the coming of patio season which is never a bad thing.

This post is a test of sorts as I am trying out the new Blackberry web browser. So far I am happy with it as it it quite capable as long as sites are not overwhelming in graphics. The new browser even support style sheets which make this site a very different experience compared with before.

Recently I saw the movie Sin City and was duly impressed. In my opinion it was awesome movie and I definately want to check it out again cause I know I missed stuff. For a first watching I give it an A++ as it kept me enthralled and was gorgeously put together. If these are the kinds of movies you get for not being in the Directors Guild then I say bring on the independents or non-conformists.

In other news, I have had significant problems with my knee in the two or so weeks. For those who know me this is not totally unusual however this time it is more serious. I am serious looking into what options are possibly including surgery although I despise the thought, somethings are necessary.

I am still piecing my condo together which I can tell will be a long process. This is because I am a lazy person overall and really only have my own motivation and timetable to follow. This is not a bad thing but does make it seem like I am not getting anywhere however by not spending the money I have allotted for household items I have managed to get rid of my credit card debt from earlier this year. Clearing debt is always a good thing as it promotes less stress and easier breathing.

I have more stuff on my mind but type while on the bus is starting to become nauseating. So for now I shall end this post and maybe come back later.

On a closing note, I expected to reach the end of the text box by now. My previous BB posts were not this long I do not think but I will chack that out later.

I hope.

So the start of this new month brought in a new era for me. I am now the owner of the door knob to my condo. The bank owns the rest for now but slowly I will get more and more.

I have also converted to the dark side of computing as I have bought a new (to me) laptop which is fruity in its nature. Yes that is correct I have purchased an Apple laptop, specifically I have purchased an iBook and so far I am quite happy with it. This site looks very sharp in Safari almost like it was made for Cocoa :o)

In other news, I have started a LiveJournal site and you can find me under the username sinnedmore if you feel so inclined.

I have started to completely reorganize my MP3s and I think I will breakdown and buy a couple of huge IDE drives for my server. This still has me hesitating because my SCSI performance simply kicks ass but alas my deep pockets are running dry.

This should get me to reinstall my system from scratch which will let me learn a new Linux distribution, I am thinking my next server OS will be Debian Linux. RedHat has become to annoying and I see very little else which I think worth considering for my needs. That and the Debian install site is a 100 Mbit FastEthernet connection away.

Oh well time to get back to work as the Solaris Install is calling my name.

Sunday evening was quite the snowfall and in hindsight it may not have been the best idea to go out travel on the streets. To my defense, It was not snowing when I left my condo however it was pretty white when I got to my destination and by the time I left at 12:30 am it was down right messy.

On the plus side, I have moved almost everything I own to the condo. I have a little more to move or toss, whatever my fancy is.

On the minus side the roads were horrendous and the taxi ride down the DVP in this weather was some kind of thrill ride I have never experienced before.

In the end I have got the stuff moved and had quite a trip getting it done.

Also, on Saturday night I checked out Fabio, DJ Fresh and Dieselboy at System Soundbar. What a blast!!! My ears are still ringing from the hard pounding bass that poured out of the place. I am most happy I checked it out and figured it may helpp make up for missing Bad Company the week before since I went to see Mickey FInn and Rowland the Bastard (I also saw 2 Live Crew being as nasty as they can be ;o) )

The two weekends were awesome overall and I am looking forward to checking out Anne Savage in a couple of weeks and then the World of Drum N Bass which has the likes of DJ SS and Grooverider (and it happens to be back at System Soundbar too.)

Well to break with the new tradition I am going to post again in like less than 48 hours. Shocking!!!! OMG Noooooo ;o)

So to carry on, I have had an eventful day which involved putting together a desk and wal unit from Ikea. Now this does not sound hard because Ikea stuff is like lego and really in the end it was not as hard as I originally imagined. I imagined the difficult because I had never seen the items fully constructed and I did not get any of the insert tab A in to slot B instructions (and yes I chose the phrase purposefully.) I received the two units in pieces and hard to work out where everything went (the base of the wall unit was already assembled but I had to take it partially apart to attached the top unit. In the end I feel very accomplished as I did it all by myself and got it right although I have some left overs (which I can place but choose not to.)

I went and caught Ocean's Twelve today which was a really good movie I thought especially as sequels go. There were some parts that seemed really bizarre but in the end everything was all wrapped up nicely. The movie was an excellent combination suspense/drama and humour with a really great cameo. I watched a matinee so it was definately worthwhile from my perspective. I also caught a trailer for Batman Begins and couple of other interesting movies I missed the name to or forgot.

On a food related note, I went to Frans Restaurant today for some dinner although dinner was around 12:30am/1:00am (so an hour ago maybe.) I have always liked Fran's as they are open 24 hours and have really good food. Convienently Fran's is located basically downstairs in the building and I bet if I tried hard enough I could get there without going outside however I techincally do not have access to the other build so I go outside. The other building where I looked at two condos where Fran's is located in the ground floor has access to room service which is provided by Fran's kitchen if you live on the right levels. I am quite thankful I did not go that route since I will get broke pretty quickly then. Anywho, the point behind this entry was to mention the Monte Cristo sandwich I had which was spectacular. It is a turkey, ham and swiss cheese triple decker dipped in egg and then fried. Absolutely an awesome sandwich and I had it with homefries which are always good. I highly recommend it if you are in to ham, turkey, swiss cheese and french toast..

Well that is more typing than I should be doing this quarter so I will leave you with those thoughts.

In keeping with my schedule of posts it is time for me to post again as new quarter has begun.

Seriously I have thought about posting for a little while but I ahve been quite busy recently. This whole holiday season just makes for an entire city of madness (that is the insanity kind not the irate kind.)

I have mostly been busy with the fact that I have the keys to my new condo and have needed to pack, organize and move all of my gear. This has consumed a fair bit of time as I have been anti-moving for sometime since mass amount of upheavals during my youth. Now i am moving to my own place which I will own (through the wonderful finanacial institution which thinks I am a good cause) and I can do my own thing there.

In other thoughts, I have found as a society we are are an interesting combination of lazy and impatient. Of course I am lazy so that makes me a rather novel person to comment on society however I am not impatient really. Sometimes I can be however overall I have learned impatience leads to stress and frustration which lead to nowhere worthwhile unless you are into breakdowns, depression and health problems (I am sure some people are into that kind of thing.) This was a general comment and will not be expanded upon at this time (maybe at some point later.)

In uplifting news, I have managed win a 32 inch flat CRT RCA television for my new condo. It is a really nice TV and now I have to actually consider getting some sort of cable TV service (my building is a Bell VDSL capable building as well as Rogers enabled.) I am also considering some game console platform too but I will have to think about that one a bit more carefully I think.

In future events news, I have noticed the on Saturday February 12th, 2005 there will be an interesting party at the Palais Royale. The party will be featuring Mickey Finn and Roland the Bastard which has me hooked because I would love to party with both those DJs. The party is also featuring 2 Live Crew which is totally crazy (that is crazy good of course not crazy insane just to clarify) and that is just icing on the cake as it were. As fate would have it I am not oncall for the Saturday so it is a sure bet that I will be there to party all night long.

In fuzzy future news, I am seriously considering a vacation to the great city of London, England. I was thinking about how cool it would be to go to a super party in England (such as say Godskitchen's Global Gathering 2005 sometime in July) and maybe see some attractions in London such as Phantom of the Opera (mostly cause I missed out on it here in Toronto.) This is fuzzy news since I am not sure I can make it work but I can definately see about it since I can come up with the money needed for it.

Anyways that is enough for now as it is time to get moving on this new year as I have family to visit and cookware to pickup and such.

I guess I can have some holiday spirit and wish everyone reading this a Happy New Year may it be more successful than any other year you can remember. Cheers.

So I have not posted here in this wonderful forum for a while. Mostly I have had nothing I really wished to post here since everything pretty much sucks in some form or another.

Much has transpired in the last 3 months which range from losing my Blackberry (which I still pine after to this day) to having my bank account overdrawn by 8K to inspecting my new condo to filling out the paper work for the new condo to not getting the damn thing.

Grrrrrrrrrrrr.

I have payed for the month of October already however I will not get my condo until next month now. I am reaching the limits of my own patience because I have other thing in my life besides waiting for my damn condo. It is really unfortunate I decided to be the attentive purchaser and do the steps required by my lawyer only to be out half a paycheck for like 10 months.

So yeah whatever I am sick of anticipating my new life where I am not faced with missing every damn bus imaginable to get to work. My new life where I can go home and sit at a desk to use my computer. Have the ability to work from home and actually accomplish work. Planning for a move that seems to never want to happen.

Well I get to pay for another month of rent where I am now so I guess I have no pressure to be moved out by the end of the month. I could go live in a hotel until my condo is ready which may be cool however that is just a mess and what am I going to do pack for a 4 week vacation in the city since I have no clue when the condo will be ready.

Well that is the end of that rant as I am going to think nothing of it for a while.

I have managed to cut down on my spending greatly in the last couple of months. That is sort of nice but I miss not shopping for music and stuff since it is always interesting to find new stuff.

I suppose I can look forward to shopping for those other wonderful household items and that will have its own level of fun attached. It is kind of like getting new toys they just serve a more useful purpose.

Well until next quarter that is it for now ;o)

Last week at some point I put my name formally to a new condominium which is currently under construction. The location of my new place of residence is right downtown in the Yonge and Dundas area, the closest intersection is Victoria and Shuter. My unit is located in the 9th floor and I face west so I can see right over the Eaton Centre and if I look northward I can see Dundas Square and since I have a balcony this works out really well.

The unit has lots of nice luxurious feature like 6 appliances, granite countertops, hardware flooring, ceramic tile and a deep soaker tub. The layout looks really good and makes it so I do not need a dining room as such. This means more living space for entertainment purposes.

I get to move in to the unit at the end of September which will be awesome however with that comes the reality of a major increase in living expense. Also I have to save a ton of money for closing which is next year some time.

Anyways that is enough of that. Time to return to the business of making money to pay for this new place of mine.