A waste of bits and bandwidth

Ever feel that no what you do and no matter what you try you’re just going against the grain? Everywhere which way I turn, I end up with a sliver…

At some point in the past I was trying to come up with some drivel for the blog and decided to skim the archives to see if that would spark any sort of creativity. We all know that never happened but it has become a bit of a tradition for me.

March 28th, 2010 – Seems that I’ve spent most of the 2000′s (?) wondering what I’m doing. I’m consistent if nothing else. I shudder to think that ten years ago, the NASDAQ was over 5000 and I was still in school about to ‘live the life’ of a dot com rock star. Little did I know at the time that would mean be broke, work a lot but have a ton of fun. Ten years in tech have passed in the blink of an eye while in the shop, they dragged on and on. Does that I mean I’ve been having fun?

So now I find myself having many of the same thoughts that I was having ten plus years ago and wondering what the next move is. Back then I had a few ideas and after some consideration, I ran with one. This time around, fewer ideas and now married, I find myself less able to throw it all away and start over.

I do know that tech is a young man’s game and that I’m on borrowed time…

March 28th, 2009 – moaning about the Blenz at Robson and Bute and various other randoms.

March 31st, 2008 – bought my second MacBook Pro and seemed to be writing about the new YVR Apple store with some frequency.

March 27th, 2007 – writing a post about what the hell I’m doing with my life. Fairly predictable…

March 27th, 2006 – a rant of sorts on Web 2.0 which resulted in the 30 Boxes founder actually commenting about my post. Kinda cool, I suppose…

March 27th, 2005 – hey! I was in Tokyo for the first time! I survived the flight from Korea and bus into Tokyo with the worst head cold ever. Good times. This was only weeks before I started at Atimi. I can’t believe that was two years ago. Hmmm…

March 28th, 2004 – I posted on the 28th, blowing the whole freakin’ streak I was on. I was back in Hooterville and apparently, somewhat dismayed at being rejected after a bad interview. Frankly, that could have been anytime since 2000. Probably a month on from my first visit to Korea. That was a cool trip.

March 28th, 2003 – Good grief. I was going on about how I had just pulled my longest day yet at the Company That Sucked yet I was so happy to be there. I use the past tense as there’s a good chance they don’t suck anymore and after being outta work for nine months, I was pretty happy to be there. That wouldn’t last…

March 28th, 2002 – No idea as the first blog post wouldn’t come until September. As I recall I was working crazy, stupid hours at Infowave !!Link to Flickr Screenshot!! and waiting for the other shoe to drop. I believe it dropped in June…

March 28th, 2001 – Again, no idea but I had just started at Infowave, not having the slightest idea of the impact it would have on my life. All for the best too…

March 28th, 2000 – I know I was in school and still in the shop full time too. My final push after a near mental break down as grad was only two months away. I didn’t go to the graduation ceremony and told them to mail my diploma. I guess it was a means to an end…

So there you have it. A day in the life for the past 7 years or so. Seems like yesterday…

Saturday morning we were off to play paintball with some friends. It was a good day for it and we were both looking forward to playing. It was pretty busy but we were told the wait would be “between 20 minutes and an hour…” We sat there for almost two hours waiting to got into the game and there wasn’t much sign that it was going to happen anytime soon.

The point of this is that I decided against bringing my camera figuring I would get it muddy, covered in paint and probably broken. Plus, trying to take pictures while not getting shot is probably not a recipe for sucess.

After sitting for ages waiting to get in the game, we figured that enough was enough. We bailed and went to Steveston to have a look around.

We had a really good time exploring around there a little and I spent a good deal of time thinking about all the cool shots I’d be getting if only I had my camera. What all this rambling means is that I didn’t get any pictures taken this week. Next time, I suppose…

Be forewarned; this crap post has been sitting in the Drafts folder since before the season started. In the meantime, USF1 imploded comically, Campos Meta 1, was saved and renamed HRT and Stephan GP were told to apply for 2011 like everyone else. After all the hype, the Bahrain GP was painful to watch.

For 2010, the FIA selected four new teams to to be included from an application list of over a dozen. Ok, good idea; three works teams have bailed, so let’s get some privateers in here. The last time new teams were solicited, more than a few fly by night operations turned up and subsequently dropped out of, Formula One.

So it’s been with great anticipation that I’ve watched the new teams make their way into F1. Lotus, USF1, Campos Meta 1 and Virgin (nee Manor). Lotus and Virgin have both launched their car and taken part in pre-season testing while Campos Meta and USF1 have both failed to get a car together.

I can’t really understand how the FIA has allowed this to happen. Was there no due diligence done on these teams? It’s not like there weren’t other options; existing and successful race teams wanting to make the jump to F1. If David Richard’s bid was accepted, Prodrive/Aston Martin would have gotten a proper car together.

So, two weeks until Bahrain and USF1 definitely won’t be there, Campos Meta 1 might be there and Stephan GP have shipped their gear but have no entry and therefore, no tires. The Serbians are a bold lot having leased the 2010 Toyota and seemingly signed Kazuki Nakajima and our very own Jacques Villeneuve. Campos Meta 1 will be using the Bahrain grand prix weekend to do their first testing and the remaining folks at USF1 will be doing whatever people do in Charlotte. Watching NASCAR no doubt…

It’s interesting how the smallest of things can lead you quickly down a path which leaves you wondering how this new found realization can possible be true. Like waking up late and trying to comprehend what the clock is telling you. For a short while, it just doesn’t add up.

What started out as a search to find out when I bought my iPod leads me to all these pictures. Pictures that, as I looked at them, would have wagered were taken in the past 6 to 8 months. They were actually from early 2008.

Maybe I just blocked out 2008. 2008 brought some ugliness which caught me off guard. By the time I realized what was happening, it was too late to react. When the sources of the disappointment were considered, it only served to twist the knife. Water under the bridge now but things aren’t the same anymore.

2010 seems to be off to a decent start. Not great mind you but decent. Having wheels is great and we’ve been putting some miles on the car. In the early days, remembering that we actually had a car was the challenge.

We were out with some friends yesterday and they asked what we had done the previous evening. “Oh, we went to Burquitlam for dinner” without any thought that it might be considered odd to drive from the West End to Burquitlam when the West End is teaming with great places to eat.

Be that as it may, we are on the road quite often and discovering tons of new places that ‘we love’, would be ‘good places to think about buying in’ and ‘will be awesome this summer!’.

I read once that life is like a roll of toilet paper; the closer you get to the end, the faster it goes. At the time I thought it was an odd analogy. Now I’m thinking it’s actually more true than I could have imagined the first time that I read it.

And what started out as a rare blog post about how time flies, using the purchase of an iPod as a milestone, turned into a ramble about how some unpleasant things have happened in the past.

I’m sure there is a Haitian somewhere with a different definition…