Going another round with Applecare

The ibook is dying a slow death.

Okay, it's not really so slow anymore. A better description of its current state would be 'dead'. It won't even boot off the recovery CD. So yay for me, I got to call Applecare yet again. For the record, I was calling about my 12" ibook G4 - I don't have one of the intel products, and don't know if their service record is better or worse.

After reading the forums, we strongly suspect a failing logic board. Honestly I don't care, so long as Apple returns it to me in working order. It's just a bunch of hassle, especially with the nearest Apple service center at least an hour's drive from here.

In summation: when it works, the ibook is a great little computer. But it's reliability record (at least for us) has been spotty at best. I'm just very glad that we got Applecare when we bought it.

My Apple reccomendations have been far fewer these days.

The return trip to Vernon

First of all, we made it in one piece. The weather wasn't too bad, so I was able to 'add my percentage' to the posted speed limit for most of the trip, which was kind of cool, since we were driving in our upgraded rental car. (Pontiac G6, for the curious) We were about two hours into the trip home when we realized we had my cousin's cell phone with us. The day before she had asked us to hold it for her as she didn't want to carry a heavy purse. She forgot to ask for it back, and well, we forgot to empty our pockets I guess. But still, nothing a visit to FedEx can't fix.

My buddy Kevin picked us up at the airport (that's where we rented the car from) and was kind enough to get Louise from the kennel along the way. We got the gear packed into his car, and were on our way home. All in all, it was a nice vacation and I'm glad we were able to get away. There were friends we were able to see, and friends we somehow didn't cross paths with - we'll try harder next time, for sure! Anyway, as for now, I think I am going to just enjoy a full night's sleep in my own bed.

Richmond Night Market

One of the things my wife and I planned to do on our trip to the Lower Mainland was to visit the Richmond Night Market. So last night was the night we chose to head over and check things out. We have been there before, so in part it was to see how things have changed from the past, as well as to enjoy some 'interesting' Asian foods.

But that is always half of the fun. Sorry, no food pictures in the Gwilli style - but we had octopus balls, lamb kebobs (mine were extra spicy) and some deep fried thing that was shaped like a fish and had red bean paste inside. We may have had something else, but I can't remember. We were going to have some shark fin soup, but couldn't find some that we liked well enough to order.

On stage, there was some sort of a game show - like the old Dating game, or singles match or whatever it's called. The basic premise was one lady was able to ask three gentlemen (who were hidden from her view, but not the audience's) some basic questions, and then she chooses one to go out on a date. The whole thing was unscripted, corny and very informal. So of course, I enjoyed it. My wife picked the guy who would win while eating one of those fish shaped donut things. (I'm a bit of a fast eater, so mine was already gone.)

Other than that, we didn't buy much at the night market, other than a new coat for Louise. One of the kiosks was selling dog clothing and our problem has always been finding clothes that fit Louise. Come to think of it, that's also a problem for the rest of us too. Anyhow, the seller was very pleasant, and a little bit entertained when he found out that our method of measuring the neck size for the dog garments was for me to try it around my neck. You see, I have the same size neck as my dog. If it doesn't fit me comfortably, well you get the idea.

Anyhow, we had fun, and barely managed to catch the Night Market. It's seasonal, running from May to October. I'm sure we will be back next year though.

Headed to the Coast

Once again I find myself rushing around in the early morning trying to get ready for a short trip set to begin tonight.

I love it.

Even though last night was spent cleaning litter boxes, doing laundry and dishes and other cleanup chores, I feel energized. I woke up a half hour before my alarm was due to go off - in part because Sophie or Sassy made some noise - but also in part because I was excited to start the day.

All of this enthusiasm, despite knowing I will spend today testing an import/export routine for accounting rules used by our application. It sounds was more fun than it actually is. What - didn't sound fun to you? Don't worry, it isn't. But I don't care. It is a good task for today.

Anyway, I have enough to do without adding more to this site. Have a good weekend - I'm hoping that I will.

Smoke filled dreams

So yeah, the smoke around here is getting pretty thick. When I ride my bike into work in the mornings, I can look at the sun with only my sunglasses on. The colour is a burnt orange that looks similar to the moon that shines at night. I'm used to a harvest moon only appearing once during the fall. This year, we have had it for about a month so far.

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones though - the smoke doesn't really bother me like I'm sure it does some others. It's just an interesting effect, although I'm sure it's going to be the cause of some colder weather.