I have been trying for months to write a typical email, "What I am DOING", as I have done
in the past. It is getting difficult to make pretty pictures along with text in an email, since Gmail
and Yahoo, etc. have deliberately put in software that BLOCKS html coding -years ago, you could
put animated graphics and sound in your email, as you typed- this is not possible. So in order
to get the photographs and animations visible, I decided to put them on my website, so that
there is the benefit that people can "chose" to go to the LINK, or not, rather than have a long
unmanageable email with pages of scrolling- particularly since now, many people get email on
their cell phones, with tiny displays, and severely limited sound and graphic capabilities..
My website , kidbots.com is about kids making home made toy robots, and USING old computers
to program and control them.
ABOVE, is a typical "business Card" I print off my computer. My buisness cards are
laminated on both sides, with PLASTIC, making them durable, waterproof, strong, and
thick, so that they can easily be removed from an envelope, (where I carefully tack it in
place in the "Return Address" area), and thus, used once again, as business cards!
As you can see above, they have my EMAIL address ( so anyone can email me), my
website on the INTERNET, kidbots.com, (where they can email me ), and two (2)
cell phone numbers where anyone can TEXT MESSAGE ME! By using the www.whois.sc
type of internet "lookup" services on the web, ( there are hundreds of them), anyone
can instantly look up my REGISTERED, name, address, and phone numbers, for
kidbots.com and the email CONTACT information. All in all, dozens of ways to
contact me, in the small space of a standard business card!
My normal card is a Credit Card sized CALCULATOR, that I just stick my address label onto...
I have been using these for over 10 years, but someone in CHINA found out over a year ago,
and all the Dollar Stores and "Buck Or Two" outlets stopped importing them to CANADA and
the United States. Searching on the web for "Credit Card sized Calculators" I now find
"BUSINESS CARD CALCULATORS" which , instead of costing 20 CENTS, now cost
up to 5 DOLLARS! in fancy packaging, with the "Feature" that they "custom" emboss your
personal BUSINESS CARD information on the front, in shiny gold or silver lettering!
I now use calculators, from the "dollar stores" that are twice as big, but thin...
If they find out in CHINA, that I am using "these" calculators, they will stop shipping these as
well!
On kidbots.com, is a hidden folder, kidbots.com/WEBADD that you can only reach by typing
it in, in the GO TO browser window. My Web SERVER is in OTTAWA, and is LINUX based,
so that you must type in CAPITAL LETTERS where shown, since, unlike "Windows", the LINUX
Capital letters are NOT the same as small letters...
In the folder WEBADD are lists of photographs, and movies and animations and sounds etc., that
I am archiving on the web recently. Since every time I move, I loose hundreds of photographs and
files, I thought this may be a good way to save some of the things that I am working on at the
moment... ITEMS in the list end with typical things like .jpg or .gif, or .txt etc.
FOLDERS end with FOLDER/, and if you click on them you get another list. Inside the FOLDER/
should be another file with the same name, such as FOLDER.html , (Hyper Text Markup Language)
which is the html WEB PAGE for that folder. HTML pages are what your browser will "SEE"...
An example would be kidbots.com/WEBADD/HYDROGEN_FUEL/ which is about burning
water ( HHO, H2O ) in an engine, instead of gasoline. It is not really an invention, until or unless
I crack the secret frequency need to vibrate water molecules so that they RESONATE exactly
at the right speed to tear themselves apart, giving pure Oxygen, and pure Hydrogen...
The link, inside the HYDROGEN_FUEL/ folder is:
kidbots.com/WEBADD/HYDROGEN_FUEL/HYDROGEN_FUEL.html
Just in time for the END of the WORLD, the much hyped Mayan Calendar "END" of a 5,000
year cycle, "estimated" to be around the 21st to 24rth of December, 2012, and popularized
by the movie "2012", I am moving, since my lease here expires at the end of this month, so that
on APRIL 1st, "April Fool's Day" (the start of the fiscal year for the Government of Canada )
I start a new segment of my life. I had hoped that with all the ties to CHINA and the "far" East
that are found in the hundreds of thousands of immigrants here in Vancouver, I could see if any
of my inventions and ideas would turn into viable products that could be marketed - and give
a bit of extra income - however, any idea I have had, and shown to groups who actually have
factories overseas, has been either ignored, or, simply stolen and manufactured in my absence!
FIVE (5) factories were making versions of an electronic device that took me 6 years to finally
prototype, and MUCH to my amusement, 3 companies in China are now making versions of
a door lock that I started to make - to keep the thieves, who were stealing my prototypes and
electronics, constantly, ...OUT! Since I never finished the lock, making 5 or 6 revisions; all
the versions now being MANUFACTURED, contain flaws from my early prototypes! Funny as
Hello.! Excellent skills in Break and Enter, (B&E) and COPY 101,-- zero skill on Engineering!
I will be hilariously delighted to post the original lock designs and prototypes...!
I have now put an entire section on this website, INVENTIONS , where I am listing all my
inventions, since I have given up even trying to do anything in "Canada".
I have also added a section, in view of the Incredible " In Your Face " presence, about
VANCOUVER THIEVES ! This will be a BIG page once it gets going!
I don't speak Chinese, so that this pre-requisite to quickly and efficiently do business
in "CHINA" is not available.
I have invented hundreds of things, and continue to do. So far I have only listed my Coffee maker,
My Permanently mounted Fireworks, and my Power Bar... etc. I will likely only be able to document
a few more before I move... (I hate moving - everything is packed, inaccessible, and in diss-array..)
Since I spent most of my life in ONTARIO, ( referred to as "Ontarrible" out here in Lotus Land),
I really am constantly amazed at the incredible scenery and beauty out here in British Columbia.
Depending on the time of day or night, and the weather, and the lighting, it is like living in a Post-
card.
> > > > > > > SCROLL PICTURE TO THE RIGHT > > > > > > >
ABOVE, Kensington park, at the corner of Knight Street and 33rd Avenue, is 1 minute from my house.
The Sunrise and Sunsets and even starry, moonlight nights, are amazing (for me) to watch, while people
who have lived here all their lives just don't seem to notice at all!
Since the backdrop of the MOUNTAINS allows permanent fixtures, I invented
PERMANENT FIREWORKS !
This way, the City of Vancouver can have fireworks, every night, at the flip of a switch!
The other factor is the WEATHER - I take snap shots of the weather reports on my computer, and
below are a few over the past while...
Here is a look at the weather online right NOW:
Which, goes to show that, while 'yes', there is magnificent scenery- there is the RAIN factor, and I often
have to run out between the rain clouds to get beautiful pictures!
Lately, in February and March, even though the flowers are starting to bloom, we have had sudden
reminders of "winter" and you can wake up in the morning to be greeted with a wintery scene, straight
out of Ontario...
Then, after a day or so of rain, and under the afternoon sun, the whole place looks like the middle of
summer! This tiny lake and surrounding park, is 20 minutes walk down my street!
This is also the only place in Canada where you can get sudden PINK FLURRIES filling the sky
The shrubs and trees can remain green all year around, since it rarely freezes, and in very short
order, all the flowers burst out in a rainbow of colours, since plants from around the world can grow
here, with amazing diversity... There are PALM trees in the front of this house and rare, exotic
trees and bushes grow everywhere.
THE TREE BELOW is a KIWI tree, covering the entire front of a house.
A close up shows bunches of fresh, wonderful kiwis conveniently within reach of the
front porch!
When I am walking down the streets, I often see a front yard or a garden that is bursting out in colour,
and stop for a moment to shoot a picture. Sometimes, even when driving, I will see something very
colourful, and drive around the block, park, and take a photo shoot (Drive-By-Shooting)...
There are thousands of interesting, and unique "ARTISTIC" touches in Vancouver, and I think you
see more "art" more often, in more unexpected places, here, than any where else in Canada.
Just walking down any street or back alley is surprising...
Back alley...
AS you get closer
And closer still....
Walking down the street, are hundreds of unique "artistic" touches...
ABOVE, would of course, be the Entrance for the Tree Elf...
If you drive down a street in a hurry, you miss hundreds of amusing, very artistic exhibits...
Throughout the city, for example, scattered along QUEBEC street, near where I lived once ( I moved
in Vancouver over 6 times ), are strange monoliths, that in one location, a small tag stated
"Mormon Iron Marker", and no-one here can tell me what they are! I talk to people who live on
the street beside the stones, and have talked to city Hall people, but no one knows!
These things look like something out a Star Trek movie, left by aliens!
Sometimes, the house IS the art!...
If you look around the nearby Condominium, 5 minutes away, you will find surprises there...
From a distance, it is just another building, until you walk in the courtyards...
The drawback, though, is that houses are ridiculously high priced. Since many people from around the
world "want" to be here, especially millionaires from China and the Orient, the housing market reflects
the millionaire budgets...
BELOW is a typical older house here- because of the recession in the United States, the house was
marked WAY down from $1,000,000.00 to the LOW low price of ONLY, $750,000.00 !
With a 60 AMP fuse panel, no insulation, and daylight showing through cracks in the basement walls,
you could get this for $38,000 in Northern Ontario!
Within days of being sold, it was torn down, and construction started on a typical, new, multi million dollar
dwelling.
I had a chance to help a friend who was working on a typical, new, $8,000,000.00 house...
The top, left photo is the ELEVATOR, to quickly go from the 3rd floor to the underground parking...
There are entire CHURCHES in Northern Ontario that are not as big as the front lobby to this house!
If you open any local magazine, you will always find advertisements for new homes...
Let's take a closer look at these typical homes...
An article in one of the local papers stated " Living in Vancouver is a PRIVILEGE, not a right"... and when
I ask typical Canadians here if they feel "privileged", they say NO, they feel stressed out, trying to pay the bills.
With the recession slowly grasping the economy out here, after a welcomed delay, the prices of everything
are sky- rocketing, and I am on the verge of NOT being able to afford just to live here..! I know dozens of
people, who, in the last 2 years, sold their homes here, and moved to Ontario or the Maritimes... One
friend here said that he made more money just selling his house, than he made in the last 20 years working
here- and moved to ONTARIO, where, he could just pay cash for a better home, and retire on the left-overs!
From my point of view, having LEFT Ontario, I am " Already here" and moving back would seem to be
a step backwards... I used my Family home in the frozen wastelands of Northern Ontario, as a "BASE"
for 50 years. It may be wet and cold here, but compared to the -30 degrees Celsius, and feet-deep snow
falls, I would have to think long and hard to move "BACK"wards...
Yes, there was a lot more room, and total wilderness 2 minutes a way, but the long cold winters really
get to you when you're an old fart, my age! Below, my pet in the back yard in Chalk River, Ontario...
The advantage of the wilderness, is that a "backyard" can be acres of land!
Another advantage, is that you can just go out and get your own firewood, from the back lot, the
good old fashioned way.. Free! .
You can also get your own food, free, in the local lake! Ice fishing is very popular.
TO SEE A SHORT WMV VIDEO OF ICE FISHING, CLICK HERE
As A bonus, up NORTH, you never have to worry about your BEER getting warm...
Even if you go outside, and serve beer on your patio, it is guaranteed to be cold!
I actually started this email before CHRISTMAS ! ... so there is a backlog
of Holiday Greetings and material ....
My room mate, LISA, and I decorated the living room with a touch of Christmas lights, that acted like a
night light. I custom wired LED ( Light Emitting Diode) light sets for the windows and the garlands.
I tried to match the exact style of the pre-wired little artificial tree...
One of the local radio stations played Christmas Music 24 hours a day, and as a result, I heard the
cutest Christmas song ever made, since "All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth", "I want
a Hippopotamus for Christmas" and Madonna's "Santa Darling"...
This new song was from A J and the Flip Flops, and when I searched for them on the internet, they
had the song with a FREE download. Near New Years, the FREE DOWNLOAD was changed
to another song, and you can search to see what they are offering now, but the song
DADDY ITS COLD OUTSIDE , which played 15 times a day, was a wonderful kids' Christmas song!
THIS song , is magical, in that it was NOT recorded and over-dubbed a hundred times in
'"professional" studios, (ruining it), and it is a once-in-a-lifetime occurance, since, unlike the other
songs mentioned, it has a REAL child, not someone "pretending" to be a child. In a few months the
A J singer will loose the "child" pronunciation, and the song could never be sung again! Usually what
happens is that the child gets "professional" singing lessons, with "round, -O- pear shaped syllables," and
opera -like diction, and ... the background recording is sent from New York, over-dubbed, then sent
to London, England, re-over-dubbed, then sent to Los Angeles, for a final re-re-overdubb, and the
result "sounds 'professional' " ( canned studio music ! ).... This recording is EXACTLY what you would
hear if A J and the FLipFlops sat down and played it in front of you, and is more magical, just for
that!
If you have small children around at Christmas, this song is a MUST!
To HEAR the song, you can click here, DADDY ITS COLD OUTSIDE ...
My Firefox browser has changed so that I do not have the OPTION to DOWNLOAD,
since it just PLAYS, whether I like it or not, so to DOWNLOAD the free song,
CLICK here, DICO.mm3 ..., download, and then change the file extension to .mp3 .
the mm3 is a deliberate error to stop the browser from grabbing it and playing it without
your permission...
I also have a couple of cute CHRISTMAS animations that I send out each year...
TO PLAY the animation above, run the SWIFT FILE , which most browsers should just open
with a FLASH PLAYER, built in. Firefox, Internet Explorer, OPERA, and Chrome, all play this.
SANTA WITH DEER Click HERE to play
Another cute Christmas animation is the song WHITE CHRISTMAS
TO PLAY the animation above, run the SWIFT FILE , which most browsers should just open
with a FLASH PLAYER, built in. Firefox, Internet Explorer, OPERA, and Chrome, all play this.
WHITE_CHRISTMAS Click HERE to play
I have my own Microsoft POWERPOINT Show, christmas, card.
To RUN the Power Point Screen Show, ( a .pps file ) you can CLICK HERE.
If you do not have Microsoft Office with Power Point loaded on your computer, you
can download and install a FREE Power Point Viewer ONLY, by CLICKING HERE
I erased the 24 Meg new version ( too big ) and put in an old WIN95 version. When
you install ( I use XP) it complains that a win95 file is wrong, but has "IGNORE" and
works just fine. It opened all my Power Point cartoons. The New PPS reader is 3 meg.
You can also download and install a FREE, OPEN SOURCE, " OPEN OFFICE" from the internet
that writes and reads all Microsoft WORD documents etc. It is a handy tool to have.
OPEN OFFICE DOWNLOAD, CLICK HERE Again, it is not for CELL PHONES!
The more I think about WINTER, the more I miss my place in Los Angeles!
As many people already know, I have a very GOTHIC friend, born in ENGLAND,
( for those of you who would difficulty imagining such a person, just think of
J K Rawling, the author of HARRY POTTER ), who introduced me to GOTH.
Now, of course, years later, my friends all have kids, and THEY have to deal with kids who are interested
in GOTH !
So, here, for them, is a quick look at what happens to GOTHIC KIDS . . . .!
CASE STUDY # 1
Here is a young lady who suddenly turned GOTH, wore black clothes, and got tons of tatoos...
CASE STUDY # 2
Here is a young lady who, again, started wearing all black, and put on loads of GOTHIC makeup...
What in the world do you think happened to these two poor kids?
More on these two GOTH kids later...
Since GOTH is centered around HALLOWEEN or more properly HALLOWED EVENING
I really delve into all things HALLOWEEN !
As it turns out, PUMPKIN PIE is my favourite pie, all year around, but it is more easily
found around Halloween, so I spent a LOT of time trying different recipies to find the one
that I like BEST....
I developed the SWISHA DAM GOOD PUNKIN PIE, since I was in the North of Ontario
near the huge Hydro dam, which locally, everyone just called "SWISHA".
TO DOWNLOAD a full PAGE SIZED " .JPG " photo of the recipie for printing,
CLICK HERE
TO Download a full page Microsoft WORD " .DOC " file for printing,
CLICK HERE
NOTE that this is an EARLY version of the recipie- I can't find the final revision, but will look
for it sometime when I am "moved" to a new location, and have time to review all my backup DVD's...
It is rare, but I do find people who HATE pumpkin pie, and they have another
explanation for the manufacturing of pumpkin pies... !
I often find Halloween items, and customise them. I got a typical skull with changing LED lights inside,
but they were powered with two tiny AA batteries, were not bright enough, and drained the power
in 1/2 hour. I added more LED lights, and put in a wall power supply... The photo below is 1/2 done
since I kept adding lights until I had about 34 LEDs to get the brightness! I used scrap TRANSISTORS from
thrown out TV's and electronics, to power the additional LEDs. ( Cost = ZERO )
I also did a LOT of research and experiments to see how to keep ordinary PUMPKINS
as fresh as possible, as LONG as possible, so that when I put LIGHTS inside, after
carving them, they did not sag, wither, rot, or turn to mush- it can take hours to cut, clean,
carve, and wire up LED lights inside a pumpkin, so you do not want it to deteriorate ...
RESEARCH finds all sorts of things to preserve flowers and gourds and many experiments
done over the years...
Chemicals include Specially Formulated GLYCERIN, ammonium chloride, potassium nitrate,
sodium carbonate, camphour, chlorine bleach/water solution, vinegar /lemon juice, candy apple coating,
paradichlorobenzene, nicin, natamycine, potassium Sorbate, Sorbic Acid, Citric Acid, Fumaric Acid
Lactic Acid, Malic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Erythorbate, EDTA, sodium tetraborate decahydrate (borax)
sodium benzoate, sodium sorbate, Erythorbic Acid, Sodium Diacetate, Sodium Succinate,
Grape Seed Extract, Pine Bark Extract, Apple Extract Tea Proplyphenols, Succinic Acid
Sodium Dehydro Acetate, Anhydrous magnesium sulfate, Strontium sulfate, Barium sulfate,
vaseline, clear furniture wax, vegetable oil, clear spray laquer, hair spray,
ABOVE, by using dollar store multi-coloured LED light displays from various items, you can get
nice safe, 3 battery light sources. I wired in 2, 3, and sometimes 4 AA or AAA batteries, to last longer
than the tiny button batteries that are provided. You can also wire in wall adapters of about 4, to 7.5 volts,
depending on how many batteries are originally in the light unit. Usually you can ADD one extra battery
fairly safely, or, if using a wall adapter, use a higher voltage. Note that you must put a meter on the
wall adapter, since some " 5 volt " adapters may deliver an actual 9 or 12 volts - at lower amperages!
The PUSH ON stick-anywhere lights are a great, fairly long lasting source of safe, bright lighting.
I use white paper, covered in scotch tape ( to prevent soaking up moisture from the Pumpkin)
as a diffusing material over the openings, if there are multi-coloured lights, and if there is just white
LEDs, I use yellowish paper- just print off a sheet of your choice of yellow on your home printer!-
then you cover the paper with wide clear tape to prevent it getting soggy, and FINALLY, to seal
in the moisture, and prevent the edges of the cuts from withering, COVER ALL OPENINGS on
pumpkin itself, with wide, clear TAPE - it works like a CHARM...
After trying a dozen chemicals and procedures, I personally found that a big pail with a STRONG
CHLORINE BLEACH solution ( more than any other instuctions would list ), was the best preservative
** That was available in CANADA ** many of the Embalming Solutions and caustic Chemicals
that are used in the United States and Europe, are NOT available in Canada ! !
If you take your raw pumpkin, there are a few tricks...
/ #1 -- Cut the hole for the access and lights
IN THE BOTTOM ! Don't put a hole in the top! This allows you to put the lights on the round
section easily, and then set the pumpkin on top, and the round section does not try to FALL INSIDE!
#2 -- If you use a paper diffusing cover over the inside, tack it in place with little metal sections of
cut coat hangar - I originally used toothpicks, but you need the large, round, solid ones, and it was
easier to just cut coat hanger pieces, with the added bonus that you can bend the end over to hook
the paper or pumpkin pieces.INSERT the wire pins at a 45 degree angle so they stick deeper into
the pumpkin, don't stick through, and are much more difficult to wiggle loose.
#3 / once you carve the face, soak the entire pumpkin and the access cover in a pail of strong chlorine
bleach and water for as long as possible- 2 days, 3 days is fine! Many texts state "overnight" which is
fine, but the pumpkin will actually, over 2 days or so, plump up with the bleach solution, firm up, and
become extremely anti-moldy...
#4/ Put in the diffusion layer, the lights, ( fasten the light module to the bottom with wire hooks ), and
use HOT MELT GLUE with a glue gun to seal the bottom edges so that air does not get at the
edges - this prevents moisture loss, shrinking, and mold.
#5/ Cover all the face openings with wide, CLEAR TAPE. Again, this seals in the moisture ( and the
chlorine) and prevents withering and drying out. Works very well, is very cheap, and available anywhere.
I made a quick PUMPKIN PRESERVATION document in MS Word, below
To DOWNLOAD The full page document file CLICK HERE
.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
OK , back to those poor, unfortunate GOTH KIDS,
>
Whatever happened to them?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
CASE # 1 :
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
Angelina Jolie
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
CASE # 2
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
What do the experts have to say about " GOTH " ?
So parents, relax. My GOTHIC days were just a silly phase that I am going through. Someday, when I grow up,
I am destined to become well educated and successful ! Your kids will too !
Speaking of GOTH, I met a friend in TORONTO , long, long, ago, and far, far, away, who was GOTH.
I lost track of her, but, on a CBC ( Canadian Broadcasting Corporation ) TV special, years ago, they
ran a program on STREET KIDS in TORONTO, and in the night shadows, with a hood pulled over her
face, was, I am fairly certain, my friend Danielle. -- Living on the streets! I never heard from her again.
I was watching a MOVIE on TV, and was surprised to see a VERY close reminder of my friend Danielle,
played by the actress NATALIE Portman. Later, I found out that Natalie was in STAR WARS, as the Princess/
Queen, mother of Luke Skywalker, etc. ! Recently, she has made headlines in The BLACK SWAN.
I put in a special folder dedicated to Natalie , ( and rememberance of my friend Danielle )
The screenplay for "The Professional" had SOOOOoooo many identical circumstances in portraying
Danielle, such as clothing, and circmstances, that I almost think someone, in the writing actually knew
her, and was in TORONTO, where she lived... Uncanny.... I can only hope that Danielle faired as well
as her BIG-Screen counterpart!
As NATALIE appeared in the movie "The Professional" she looked like:
After a lifetime of acting in countless movies and stage and theater , TV, and
international modelling, Natalie now looks like:
To see a short clip trailer of Natalie, in " The Professional" you can CLICK HERE...
This download is an .AVI movie, that should play in most computer players. A FREE sound and
video player that plays EVERY SINGLE known format, is at this link to KLITE CODEC
NOTE: if you do install KLITE, and it works wonderfully, then just quits one day, I have run into
the problem repeatedly - If ANY other multi-media program "UPDATES" itself, or if you
INSTALL another Media player, the DEFAULT is to OVER-WRITE KLITE, with new,
codecs and files, ( with proprietary, specific, limited versions!) destroying KLITE! , so just
re-install KLITE again, and everything is back....
It is FREE, and I always KEEP the "INSTALL KLITE" program in a folder,
so it is just a simple click...!
Anyhow, enough talk about GOTH, I am going out to see a movie, like the new UNDERWORLD...
Another holiday I missed getting an email ready for, was Valentines Day...
Or , if you're not GOTH, the regular Valentines Day, Valentine Angel
I have another animated valentine card using Flash, that should play
in most browsers
To DOWNLOAD the EXE file ( many websites block ".exe" files since hackers use these
to open viruses- however, my computer, and anyone else's has never found a virus in this
file. Your computer, and the web browser should SCAN FOR VIRUSES ...) , CLICK HERE
Since I deal with a great many computer science, and physics Engineering, and
Scientific people, it would not be a complete Valentines Day without supplying
the necessary documentation., and mathematical equations.
CALCULUS OF LOVE
I hope that the detailed equations and explanations satisfy the scientific crowd.
you can download the JPEG picture for printing, CALCULUS OF LOVE.jpg, HERE.
EVERY YEAR around this time I invite everyone for a little BAR B QUE to get
away from the cold, and charge up with some sunshine...
To Play the Microsoft Power Point Slide Show Invitation, you need to have Microsoft Office Power Point
installed.
If you do not have Microsoft Office with Power Point loaded on your computer, you
can download and install a FREE Power Point Viewer ONLY, by CLICKING HERE
Download the file, open it, run the install, and then you can see Power Point Slides.
I just changed this from a massive 24 Meg version to a tiny WIN 97 version - only 3 Meg.
When you install it, unless you are running Win95, (I am running XP ), there is an error that
a win95 file is wrong, but, there is an "IGNORE" button, and it installs just fine.
This tiny version played all my Power Point files. I figure the barely-can-do-it tiny file
approach is better than the massive download... if you want free, FULL features, read below.
You can also download and install a FREE, OPEN SOURCE, " OPEN OFFICE" from the internet
that writes and reads all Microsoft WORD documents, PPoint, etc. It is a handy tool to have.
OPEN OFFICE DOWNLOAD, CLICK HERE
TO GET THE ANNUAL BAR B QUE INVITATION, CLICK HERE
Hopefully I will get enough people interested, to make the trip worthwhile!
On this trip, I will take my UKULELE - an instrument that I never even looked at in the past,
but it was brought to my attention by the dynamic and vivacious RANDI, who dropped
by a while ago, out of nowhere, and dissappeared as quickly. She just decided to go out and buy
a Ukulele, even though she had never played one. I was amazed at how much sound could come
out of a tiny instrument - In "MY 50 FIRST Dates" , the movie, the character plays a Ukulele in
Hawaii and I never thought about it. I play 12 Stringed Guitar, which is a HUGE instrument by
comparison -- with the dissadvantage that you cannot easily take it on an airplane...
The Ukulele can pack easily in a typical suitcase!
The Ukulele cost $30 and the super duper electronic TUNER was $18, and well worth the money...
The most beautiful ukulele song I have heard, is from the hawaiian composer who died recently,
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole with his version of SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW.
It is easy to play, and somehow magical.
To hear someone's version from youtube, CLICK HERE
The JPG version of the chord pattern that the youtube guy used is CLICK HERE
The TEXT version of the chords used is CLICK HERE
((The most wonderful ukulele music I have NEVER heard is the collection of early songs from
Joni Mitchelle, --- only a few very, very lucky people were honoured with her performances.
She is now happy painting, full time in North Vancouver, and is not performing a great deal.
There are thousands of people around the world eagerly awaiting a release of her early works.
I am one of them! ))
In any event, I really owe RANDI a BIG THANK YOU! If she had not stopped by, I would not
have re-discovered the MAGIC** of the UKULELE, and the song. Randi is as magical as the song!
Speaking of MAGICAL, here is the most magical computer program I have ever bumped into.
To open and run the FLASH, Swift, MIND READER file, which should work in most browsers,
just CLICK HERE
I met another friend who takes the same BUS route that I do. She is the sweetest, most loveable
person you can imagine, but I had the feeling from the time we met, that I had seen her somewhere...
Here in Vancouver, there is a FREE newspaper, with excellent articles and coverage of
issues that regular news papers ignore. It is the "underground" version, as were its roots.
The Georgia Straight is very popular, and you can pick it up at almost every bus stop.
To PAY for the paper, since it is FREE, the STRAIGHT accepts many advertisements that normal
papers would reject - many of these ads are on the back few pages, in amongst the Crossword puzzles
Horoscopes, and SUDUKO.
Then I remembered why my friend looked familiar ! ...
Oh well, she still is the sweetest, nicest young lady I have met in a long time..
So what is the explanation? - simple,
as a beautiful model, she is using the money from Modelling Photo-Shoots,
to help pay her way through LAW-School.... , just a guess, but
it certainly makes sense.....
The Georgia Straight covers many ENVIRONMENTAL issues, which is a big concern as
the city of Vancouver expands into the natural habitat of the surrounding forests.
You do not have to go very far to find warning signs about wildlife..
Other concerns are for hundreds of smaller, less known forest creatures, like the
Tree Octopus...
Small, and shy, most people do not know it is even there.
To read about this amazing creature, follow this link to its WEB PAGE on the Internet...
As I pack, and back up my computer for the impending move, I find old documents and
material that I need to burn onto DVD's ...
One such item is my article, written for the Canadian Parachuting Magazine, from back
when I was in Ottawa, and parachuting on the weekends when the weather was good.
I would head out early, drive over to 24 SUSSEX Drive, where Prime Minister Pierre
Elliot Trudeau lived and pick up Gisselle, a young lady from France who was working there.
We would drive to the Drop Zone, about 30 miles south of Ottawa, and spend the rest of the
day taking airplane rides, getting bored, and leaving the plane half way through the flight,
at about 13,000 feet. The Winchester SkyDiving was run by Joe and Claire CHOW, and
produced a lot of international parachuting champions... There were LOTS of stories to
be told... I have not written about them all ... yet.... one takes place in RUSSIA, at a top
secret Nuclear Test site, goes over to the World Parachuting Competition in Italy, and
finally ends up nearly drowning me in Ottawa! Physics is an amazing science... The EARTH,
as it turns out, is tiny, and anything you do in one spot, affects the entire planet!
Atomic test blasts have been measured travelling around the earth 3 times! The supersonic
shock wave, varies from 1200 Kilometers/ hour to 2800 km/h depending on the type of
nuclear source, the altitude, etc. but these can be calculated in advance, so that from the
instant to detonation, you can calculate exactly when the displacement of air will reach
1000 miles away, 2000 miles, 3000 miles etc. within a second or two. Of course, if you
are jumping from a helicopter in Italy, that strangely sits there for over an hour ( at thousands
of dollars an hour ) for no reason, refusing to let you jump, on a clear day with almost no
wind or clouds, and then releases you to jump, with the goal of landing on a 6 centimeter
disk, thousands of feet below... and strangely, a sudden gust of air pushes you 40 feet sideways
when you are only 30 feet or so off the ground.... something is "afoot, Dear Watson". Since
I worked at Atomic Energy, I actually paid attention to reports from the U.S. about
surprise Atomic weapons tests.... No one in Canadian Parachuting, including the "former" World
champion, ( a Canadian), who was mysteriously blown sideways by an equally strange
dissplacement of wind, has ever mentioned it.
The typical shock wave above, is travelling over 1200 kilometers an hour!
The typical high speed film used, shows about 10,000 frames a second, after
the moment of "detonation", seen here as a white cloud above the ground.
After a few hundred miles of travel or so, it slows down to just a "wave",
of air which circles the earth... suddenly moving the air 30 or 40 feet, each time it passes by.
Nort'n was just barely more than a whuffo. His jump-stuff was, on the other hand, well seasoned
equipment, highly prized by the world's best jumpers in the 60's. His pack and harness were ultra -slim,
ultra- comfortable banshee jet fighter gear. His modified TU navy conical drew many envious looks
when it first hit the sky. Still showing the crest from Lile France, his helmet bore witness to the greatness
of its owner. This would have made him a Hero at the local D.Z. but for one detail - it was now the 80's,
and his hand- me -down equipment was antique.
Nort'n would trundle out to the D.Z. with his battered jumpsuit and his museum exhibits each weekend.
Jumping once, or perhaps twice a weekend, Nort'n went through all the student learning steps, plodding along
until the day he was off T.R.C.P., and on his first FreeFall.
Having eagerly 'jumped' out of bed that morning at an early hour, Nort'n was on one of the first
student loads. The sun was shining brightly as the first of the 3-D skygod loads orbited on their eastward
journey across the sky; first the tightly grouped Galactica formation, and then the opposing team's partially
assembled Zylon Empire space station. Here and there, a lone skygod floated upward in the azure with
picture postcard perfection. It was time for Nort'n to join the ranks of these skybound mortals.
The plane was now approaching jump- run. The jumpmaster motioned Nort'n to the poised exit
position. GO!! Nort'n jumped, soared like a bird (sort of), and without even looking, gave the ripcord
a good yank. He'd done it!! -- Looking between his toes, he saw the fabric inflate perfectly --
the nice blue denim, billowing in the breeze -- DENIM ?!?!?!?
Nort'n landed saftely only 2 miles from the airport, and was cheered up considerably when he
returned that evening to find that his jeans had landed on the disc.
As summer was almost over, with 'hard -luck' prospects and the great god of flub at his heels,
Nort'n packed in his parachuting for then. The whole winter was spent with Nort'n wondering how
to break even come springtime.
He would likely have packed it in for good if he hadn't met TwoFeathers, and honest to goodness
Canadian Indian. TwoFeathers looked and acted just like the others at the D.Z., but he knew a great
deal about 'the old ways'. When Nort'n mentioned his misadventures to TwoFeathers, the Indian
spoke to him about an old tale.
Back in the days when the tribes lived as one with the land, anyone needing advice, could, just
once in his lifetime, ask Manitou for directions. Thus a brave, leading a hunting party to find food in
days of hunger, could, in the spring, summon Manitou. The Brave, dressed with all his hunting gear
would walk to a stream's edge, toes touching the water, and back to the sun, and chant a summons
to Manitou. When the Brave looked into the water, Manitou would reflect him as the creature with
the qualities of his predestined success. If the brave saw a mountain lion, he knew his hunt would
be successful. Should the reflection show a mouse, the brave knew his time would be just as well
spent gathering grain and berries.
Nort'n didn't really believe any of this, and come spring, he headed for the D.Z. His first jump
was a disaster. As soon as he was through de-briefing, he gathered all his equipment together, stuffed
everything into his duffle bag, and to everyone's dismay, headed out across the field towards the
creek. He had landed in it often enough to know exactly where it was.
When he reached the muddy spring-flooded banks the sun shone brightly down on his back.
He moved forward in the mud, until his boots touched the calm waters of the lazy stream. Nort'n
spoke the ancient Indian words and half -expectantly, half -disbelievingly, looked down.
His tattered jumpsuit, worn out helmet, and museum piece gear were NOT what he saw
reflected in the pool. Nort'n belonged in the sky!!
