Announcement

New Year’s Resolution

You might it’s a little early to bit thinking of next year, but I never think it’s too early to set goals. I’ve been thinking of the hobbies that I enjoy on the side and I realized that I haven’t been doing any of them the past couple of years. Lindsay and I were so busy with moving to our new house, our wedding, our honeymoon, work, landscaping the front and back of the house, the building of the gazebo, the basic chores that need to be done around the house, and spending time with each other.

Now that we’re finally got our house in order (unpacked, furnished, decorated, routines in-place for chores, and finding time to spend with each other), the gazebo built (we just have to finish the trim and perhaps install a couple of outlets), and the landscaping pretty much done (we still have some edging mistakes to correct, a small fence I need to build for Lindsay’s garden area and gravel to add to the driveway), I can finally spending some time enjoying my hobbies.

So I’ve decided to start a series of YouTube videos I’ll call “Lessons in Instrumentals”

The aim is to combine two of my major hobbies: songwriting and production, and videography. I plan on attempting to write, produce, mix and master one instrumental a month by allocating 1 or 2 hours every Saturday morning while Lindsay is sleeping. I know the project is ambitious, but I’ve got to start somewhere.

The other hobbies I’d like to return to as photography and writing, but I don’t have a plan for those right now.

Thought

Airlines and Overbooking

I just read the following article on CBC:

Couple bumped from Air Canada flight booked 2 months in advance

It got me thinking about how airlines can avoid overbooking while still

As this YouTube videos has shown, airlines overbook flight in order to make sure a plane is full to make the flight worthwhile. The problem is when everyone is able to make the flight and there are not enough seats available.

Here is what I came up with:

  1. Charge for seats as per usual to people that book months in advance (this now includes an insurance fee).
  2. If a passenger can’t make the flight for no good reason, the passenger can go on standby for the next flight with a refund of the difference between full price and a discounted price.
  3. If a passenger can’t make the flight for a good reason (medical), insurance pays for the flight to the airline and the passenger gets compensated by insurance after an investigation.
  4. For flights with missing passengers, stand-by passengers can a book a seat at a discounted price.

This way, an airlines doesn’t have to overbook, but rather is concerned with filling the flight. Legislation should then be passed to make it illegal for airlines to double book seats.

Thought

US Election 2016 Thoughts

Lindsay and I watched most of the election coverage yesterday evening, but I ended up going to sleep around 10:30. I haven’t been feeling well the last couple of days and my energy levels aren’t at their normal levels.

I went to sleep with the thought that Hilary could still win, but to my surprise, I woke up to a Trump presidency. I read some of the comments online. I read emails from my friends. One email got me thinking, though.

I followed a link to Trump’s victory speech. As I read it I began thinking, “Is Trump far more clever than we give him credit for?” We’ve all heard and seen his behaviour during the election. It was clearly targeted for White America. His victory speech, however, did not sound like “that” guy at all. I sounded more like something Trudeau would say. Trump obviously has speech writers writing multiple speeches for multiple possibilities. If you won the house, the Senate and the Presidency, wouldn’t your speech have a little more gloating?

What if, in the end,  he announced at the end of his term that he rigged the election? What if all the bullying, the insults, the targeting of White America was all so that a Democrat could make it into the White House again. It would either be Hilary or Trump, as a closet Democrat?

One thing is certain, with a Republican majority throughout the entire government, Trump shouldn’t have a hard time getting his agenda through for the next two years.

Announcement

Status Update: Reading

Over the weekend, I managed to finish two books I had started previously. The first was called The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion. It is the sequel to The Rosie Project. The second was Diary of the Damned by Michelle Muto. It is the sequel to The Haunting Season. I’m still reading Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson. I’m getting close to finished, but it might still take me a while. Afterwards, I plan on reading the Harry Potter books including the Cursed Child and Fantastic Beasts. That’ll keep me busy for a while.

Literature

Status Update: Reading

It has been quite some time since I last updated my blog. It is time to get back into the swing of writing again. I think the best place to start writing is to share what I’m reading. I am currently reading Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson. I started it back in April/May and I’m just getting to halfway through the book. Mind you, I’m not reading every night like I should. The summer has been relentless at absorbing time due to landscaping, construction projects and migration from self-hosted to cloud hosted services.

With the school year started, I might find myself having more time to read and perhaps write in my journal that I keep for my non-existent kids to read when they’re older. I’d also like to keep blogging so that at the very least, I’m able to brain dump the swirling thoughts in my head to make room for more thoughts.

Religion

New Church

When Lindsay and I first met, she introduced me to Oasis Community Church. Since we’ve moved, we haven’t been to church. Oasis is just too far away at near a 45 minute drive one way.

Yesterday, her and I tried a church in our area: Riverwood Community Church. It is very similar to Oasis in many ways.

During the sermon, we were encouraged to join the 22 selfless challenge. Basically we SMS subscribe for notifications and we get daily challenges of being selfless. Without even knowing the challenge, I managed to complete it.

Hopefully I’ll be able to keep up with the challenge over the next 22 days.

Literature

Status Update: Reading

Tonight I start Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. I know, not another biography, but I just finished fiction and I don’t have another fiction book in my library to start, so I’ll go with another biography. Worst still? I have another biography to read (Albert Einstein). Oh hallo!

Literature

Status Update: Reading

Today I finished reading The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling. I can’t say I love it. I haven’t read the Harry Potter series so I have nothing for comparison. I found the book to be pointless, like a bad soap opera. I couldn’t relate to any of the characters or connect emotionally. I had high hopes when I bought the book because my fiancé loved the Harry Potter series.

Thought

Patricia Beach

Just wanted to share my thoughts on Patricia Beach. Note: I didn’t do a lot of exploring.

First, the pros:

  • The sand is great, better than Grand Beach because the shore isn’t as rocky.
  • A chip shop that takes Visa and Interac although I didn’t try the cuisine.
  • Clearly marked garbage receptacle that double as markers to the chip shop, wash rooms and parking lot.

Next, the cons:

  • Some parking spots aren’t paved so you end up parking in vegetation.
  • The beach has a lot of little vegetation growing.
  • The wash rooms are really outhouses because they lack running water.

Because the beach is park of a provincial park, there is a $5 entrance fee.