Nurburgring webcam

Above is an up to the minute photo from a webcam set up at the start gate at the world famous Nurburgring track in Germany. From what I've read it costs around $8 to do a lap of the track. Track is around 12 miles in length and I would love to drive it someday. Due to the time difference you may not see anything here, but over the last few days I've seen Ferrari's, Porsche's and other exotics lined up ready to go. There's even a guy in a yellow Ford GT who keeps showing up.

Pandora

Take a trip over to http://www.pandora.com for a great music website. Basically it's a computer DJ that creates a "radio" station for you. Enter the artist or song you like and the site will choose music that matches the selection you entered. It's a great way to find new artists to enjoy.

Check it out=)

Pictures of the almost finished deck

Just have to cut the excess 2x6s (we had planned on a 12'x12' deck first but went with 10'x12' after we had purchased the wood. After we get the excess cut I need to rip a small piece to go at the end, add stairs and then do the railing.

Decking done

It's late and I should be in bed, but I just wanted to say that the deck boards are on the deck now. We ran into a few other small snags that slowed us down, but it's all done. I did find out that joist hangers are very sharp.

Anywho, until I get some actual pictures of the deck (it was almost dark when we finished), here's one of us working on the joists. I have my hand in my pocket because I'm reaching for a nail, not because I was standing around doing nothing=). Good shot of the ground hogs sticking up there as well.

The deck is 10'x12' for those wonding.

One in and one not so in...

So that's me and my father-in-law working on the second groundhog anchor. The first went in much easier than I thought (still was quite the workout). With the second one we've run into a snag. After looking at the pictures of our house construction more carefully it would appear than about 4 feet under where we placed the second hog it is undistubred hard clay. We bent the two steel bars we were using as well as the receptacles on the sleeve. We have a solution to fix it however and I'll just leave it at that=)

You can see the first anchor sticking out of the ground by my right foot. I'm the bald guy for those who don't know;-)

Workout tomorrow

So Marla and I picked up two groundhog anchors today. We'll be starting on the deck tomorrow and they will be the first step. $142 + tax each which was less than I thought they would be. They do look a little daunting but I reviewed some pictures from when our house was being built and we'll be pretty much going into ground that was excavated when the foundation was done.

Here's the 8 foot ground hog in all it's glory. We'll need to make small posts using 2x6s to go from the L braket at the top to the beam for the deak. All of it up to the top of the flights need to go in the ground (the flight comes off and is installed when the groundhog is fully in the ground).


We also got the equipment needed to screw the hog (ha ha) into the ground. It's a pretty hefty sleeve with four receptacles for a 6 foot steel bar to fit on. Slip the sleeve over the hog (mmm sexy) and use the bar to twist. Should be fun.

Northwest Passage
By: Stan Rogers

Ah, for just one time I would take the Northwest Passage
To find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea;
Tracing one warm line through a land so wild and savage
And make a Northwest Passage to the sea.

Westward from the Davis Strait 'tis there 'twas said to lie
The sea route to the Orient for which so many died;
Seeking gold and glory, leaving weathered, broken bones
And a long-forgotten lonely cairn of stones.

Three centuries thereafter, I take passage overland
In the footsteps of brave Kelso, where his "sea of flowers" began
Watching cities rise before me, then behind me sink again
This tardiest explorer, driving hard across the plain.

And through the night, behind the wheel, the mileage clicking west
I think upon Mackenzie, David Thompson and the rest
Who cracked the mountain ramparts and did show a path for me
To race the roaring Fraser to the sea.

How then am I so different from the first men through this way?
Like them, I left a settled life, I threw it all away.
To seek a Northwest Passage at the call of many men
To find there but the road back home again.

And if should be I come again to loved ones left at home,
Put the journals on the mantle, shake the frost out of my bones,
Making memories of the passage, only memories after all,
And hardships there the hardest to recall.

...................................................................

I find an easy relation with this song due to my movement across Canada from when I left university to now. I remember being on the Canada 3000 Flight from Halifax to Vancouver and thinking about how easy travel has become over such a short time in human history. If it wasn't for brave explorers before us we might still be farming in Europe or at least not travelling as freely as we do now in such a short time.

If you haven't heard this song before, or heard it in a while, get it. I haven't seen it on a legal download site, but it is available on the album, "Northwest Passage."

Weeeee!!!... I mean Wii

Wii. That's the name of Nintendo's new gaming system. It was code-named "revolution" and some say it already is a revolution due to the different control scheme Nintendo has designed. The main controller is a TV remote-like design and uses a sensor placed on top of or below a TV to determine where it is pointing. Internal accelerometers can tell direction and speed of the controller. Attachments include a "nunchuk" (as seen here) , a gamecube type controller and a light gun attachment.

Initial reviews at E3 are not what would be expected with Nintendo's promises of a revolution however. Some journalists are complaining about slow control and a lack of a true 3D feel to the controller. That leads me to believe that Nintendo is holding something back about the Wii. They have said the system can detect where and what the controller is doing in 3D space, however at E3 the contoller either used the accelerometers or the LED transmitter but not both at the same time. Four days ago Nintendo did announce a partnership with Pixart who has a multiple object tracking device, which technically should allow the system to track multiple objects in 3D space (ie: the controllers). That being said, perhaps Nintendo made a decision to just show a working version of the Wii.


That moves us on to the system itself. It looks very slick and is supposed to be very small. Nintendo says it is the same size a three DVD cases stacked on top of each other. An auto feed loading system is used and the system can handle regular CD sized media and the smaller gamecube media with no problems. The back has two USB ports and power. The "top" (when placed on it's side as in the picture to the left) has ports for gamecube controllers and slots for SD cards. The front flap as of right now if a guarded mystery. When journalists questioned Nintendo reps as to what is behind it everyone was tight lipped except for one comment of "that's the revolution right there."

Really? The controllers are not the revolution? What is then? Let's speculate here. Nintendo has said it hasn't released all the secrets with the Wii as it doesn't want to be copied by a competitor (such as Sony with it's new addition of tilt sensors for the PS3 controller) so they are guarding the "revolution" well. There are some tidbits that would seem to indicate where they are going:

-Both have said before E3 that the system would wow us with it's graphics. Having last gen graphics isn't exactly wow, so what's coming?

-A patent filed in July 2004 by Nintendo for a 3D projection device that responds to a person's 3D actions with a controller.
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1. A three-dimensional image generating apparatus for generating a three-dimensional image according to an operator's operation input, comprising: an operation input detecting means for detecting the operator's operation input; an object data storing means for storing object data for rendering objects forming a three-dimensional image; a displaying means for displaying an image projected onto a projection screen within a virtual three-dimensional space; a virtual three-dimensional space generating means for generating said virtual three-dimensional space based on the operation input detected by said operation input detecting means and the object data stored in said object data storing means; a viewpoint controlling means for controlling a viewpoint within the virtual three-dimensional space generated by said virtual three-dimensional space generating means; a display image generating means for generating said image of said virtual three-dimensional space seen from the viewpoint controlled by said viewpoint controlling means, which is projected onto said projection screen; a depth value storing means for storing a depth value of each pixel of the image generated by said display image generating means; an object arrangement position storing means for storing at least an arrangement position of a specific object in said virtual three-dimensional space; a determination point setting means for setting a predetermined number of determination points in a predetermined area containing the arrangement position of said specific object in said image; a determining means for determining whether or not a first depth value of the predetermined number of determination points set by said determination point setting means is smaller than a second depth value of said specific object; and a degree-of-hiding calculating means for calculating a degree of hiding of said specific object according to the number of said determination points where it is determined by said determining means that said first depth value is smaller than said second depth value.2. A three-dimensional image generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said determination point setting means sets said determination points in an area adjacent to and embracing said specific object projected onto said projection screen.3. A three-dimensional image generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in case where said specific object in said virtual three-dimensional space is projected onto said projection screen, said determination point setting means sets said determination points on the circumference of a circle adjacent to and embracing the specific object projected onto the projection screen.
*********************

-Nintendo had a 3D add on device for Gamecube at last year's E3 that was shown behind closed doors

-With regards to the partnership with Pixart, what kind of video game system would work best with a true 3D controller?

- During the ShoWest film conference, a panel featuring George Lucus, Robert Zemekis, James Cameron, Robert Rodriguez, and a satellite feed from Peter Jackson discuss their plans to integrate cheap digital stereoscopic 3D into major theater chains by 2007. Later Rodrigues said they were aware of a game machine that was going to beat them to the mainstream market.

- This is going out on a limb here but nintendo has said that the two I's in the name represent the controllers. What do the W represent? Pehaps the two projections from stereoscopic cameras?

So, in short form, it is possible that the Nintendo Wii will have a 3D projector built in. Will it use a screen to project the images? Most likely. Is this one baby step towards a real life Star Trek Holodeck? Seems to be=) Will it really be a revolution? Most definitely

Fishy is happy

Well, after dealing with a backed-up filter a couple of times now Marla and I decided to buy a heavier duty filter for our jack dempsey. Or as Marla calls him, your jack dempsey. We had a good hanging filter on the tank (aquaclear 300 now known as aquaclear 70) that had a max output of 300 gallons per hour (gph). It's probably a fine filter for non cichlid tanks, but with my messy poopy jack dempsey it just couldn't handle the fish's output. I did somewhat solve the backup issues by removing the filter sponge but that was the only form of mechanical filtration and within a short time the tank was filthy with algae.

Our new filter is a Fluval 304 which is made by Hagen. Output is rated at 260 gph but this is a much better filter (so far anyway). The total capacity is 6 litres which I would say is twice as much as the aquaclear and it hold much more filter media. Where as the aquaclear held one carbon sack and one... I can't remember what else I had in there except for the sponge.. anyway, three modes of filtration in total the Fluval has two large sponge filters and six compartments for other filter media. It came with three carbon sacks and three bags of "bio balls". The water output is definitely more forceful than the aquaclear and the filter is very very quiet. Set up was really easy with the exception of the manual neglecting to warn about the amount of time it takes for the filter to expel all the air trapped inside.

Other than that it's been fine. It's only been running for an hour or so and I can already see a difference in the water quality. Thumbs up so far for Fluval 304.

Here's a pic of the tank (35 gallons), the fish (can you spot him?) and the filter (that grey thing under the tank (duh).

Soon time for a trip to the U.S.

With our dollar hitting 91 cents U.S. today I believe a trip to our neighbour in the south is soon in order. I would like to skip Grand Forks and go a little further to Fargo (fahgo ehh.). It's a larger city and has more things to do. Marla and I have talked about going to Minneapolis - St. Paul but with a population of somewhere around 3 million and high speed U.S. freeways I think we'll pass for now. You got to work yourself up to that right? Madrid was intimidating enough for me when we went to Spain (last year this month actuall) and we didn't have to do any driving there. Madrid has a population of 6 million and 54 million visitors a year.

Anyway, back to Fargo. I've been there once before when on a Hotwheels run with some other guys. That was the day after we moved out of our house in Winnipeg and into my in-laws house while we waited for our new house to be finished. That's not something I would repeat again - eight hours with three 40+ guys who collect hotwheels or head out on a trip the day a lot of work needed to be done. That's a story for another day however.

The high dollar is also nice for us right now as it means cheaper fruits and vegetables from the U.S. I've noticed gas isn't increasing at the same rate as in the U.S. either. Not that they really have anything to complain about. When we were paying $1.15 last year they were bitching about what worked out to 75 cents a litre CDN. Then again, if you're not used to paying more, any increase will be bad.

Well, that's about it for today. Keep your feet on the pegs and your right hand cranked... oh wait a minute... too much TSN.

P.S. I found pricing on the groundhog anchors. $109.95 + taxes.

You really shouldn't...

apply for credit when you declared bankruptcy two weeks ago. You also shouldn't apply for credit when you aren't paying your 10 existing credit lenders. If you've been bankrupt two or more times in the last 10 years you should also really think about why you are applying for credit again. Being bankrupt once is ok, twice is just a no brainer that perhaps you have money management issues. Three times and anyone who grants you credit is an idiot.

That just some of the fun stuff I see at my job. Sometimes I wish I could talk to these applicants to help them get back on the right track with their credit. I used to do that when I worked at CitiFinancial. Most of the time it would go in one ear and out the other but that was the nature of the majority of the people we lended money. There were a few however that took my advice to heart and actually paid attention. Those few actually improved their credit rating in a relatively short period of time and typically paid us out with a loan from a major bank. On the majority of those payouts I was thanked for helping them establish their credit and teaching them how to handle credit properly. That made the job there worthwhile.

Now I just have to shake my head at some of the stuff I see - and I see a lot of it - while reviewing "high-risk" credit applications. Heck, even the agricultural applications I see make me shake my head at times. Just the other day I had a farmer who was $363,000.00 behind on his $1,100,000.00 mortgage. Why was he out applying for credit when for all intensive purposes it looks like he was about to lose the farm? Just not thinking straight I guess. I hear from our sales sources sometimes on deal like that that "he/she needs the equipment and they'll recover". Not exactly reassuring to say the least.

Well, that's enough for that rant. On the topic of my job, however, I find it funny that I make decisions all day at work regarding credit but as soon as I get home I can't decide what to have for dinner when given choices by Marla. I guess my decision maker is empty by that time=)

Found a groundhog

Not the animal though, the steel anchor/pile that we can use for our deck. While the website is somewhat limited it looks like they are actually manufacturerd in Winnipeg (www.groundhoganchors.ca). Essentially it's a piece square steel with an auger at one end and threaded at the top to accept different top plates. My brother in law, Grant, could make them easily at his shop but then we would need to pay an engineer to certify them. Still haven't found a price on them but I don't imagine they would be too expensive. They come with a bar to screw them into the ground and then you use the stabilizer (four trianle shaped wings) to well, stablize. We'd be looking at 4 - 8' x 1.5" groundhog which has a load rating of ~ 2500 pounds.

Here's a picture of one:

Another Suzuka Endurance bike

I'm getting close to being 100% complete in Tourist Trophy now. I'm just about 80% with three more races series to complete. I've also been working on the licenses now and have 28/40 golds.

Here's the latest Suzuka 8 hour Endurance bike I picked up: Moriwaki Motul Tiger Honda CBR1000RRW.

Inspection time

When Marla went to pay for the basement permit yesterday she had a nice talk with the RMs (Rural Municpality) building inspector, Dave. From what we heard from the trades that worked on our house he is a no holds barred, do it right or expect to get in trouble kinda guy.

They were right.

Anyway, back on topic. Marla was talking to him about the basement plan and while he was looking at the file for our house he asked if he could come over today to do the final inspection. Final inspection you say? Haven't you been in your house for almost a year and a half I hear? Yes, final inspection. From our converation with Dave today only one house on our block has had it's permit closed by the RM as being totally 100% to code. Scary huh?

Our list wasn't very long, but there were still some issues to be resolved. He said the walls we put up in the basement were a little snug to the joists (about 1/2" and should be 3/4") but still within tolerances. All in all it was a very good visit but still not a final inspection since there are still deficiencies for our builder to take care of.

One of the things he commended us on was not letting the builder insulate and vapour barrier the basement walls. He told us he's seen way too many houses with mold problems created that way. I mean, foundations are still not completely dry when the house is finished and the moisture escaping from the concrete doesn't go out so it has to come in. If it's blocked up it's going to create problems. We didn't even have frost on our walls this last winter since it was dried so well.

So Dave has to come back for the basement once we get the outside walls insulated and vapour barried. That means the electrical rough-in inspection will need to be completed prior to that as I can't cover up any electrical work before it's inspected.

It also looks like our deck will cost us a bit more money. We bought 1'x1'x5" concrete blocks that 4x4 posts sit in to use as footings for our deck. As of April 1st new building code is that any deck attached to a house (as ours will be) must use piles. He told us about a new product on the market called a groundhog pile that's supposed to be a precast pile that you screw into the ground yourself. I can't find anything on the net about them though. Ah well, we have a bit of time yet.

woodchips were flying and stuff

Well, the auger bit I picked up yesterday makes holes just a little bit faster and a little more violently than the spade bits I have. Kinda like a rabid wolverine or something. Woodchips fly, the stud shakes and the drill doesn't know what to do with itself.

Anywho, I had to keep myself from drilling holes in everythin it was that fun. It's nice having a bit that does the work for you. Now if I could just teach it to chaffeur me to work and back each day...

I also picked up a new measuring tape. It's a cheater tape. See, I have problems measuring in inches and it takes me time to figure out fractions that end in /8". You know, 5/8, 7/8, 3/8. So the tape I bought has that on it. It helped immensely last night when I was making some backing plates.

Again, no pictures of the basement. The camera battery needed charging, so I'll see what I can do tonight. In the meantime here's a tourist trophy picture because I actually have one of those.

I was playing around in photoshop with this pic. It's a Honda NSR 250cc race modified bike.

wiring schmiring

So I started wiring the basement this week. I didn't spend a lot of time on it and I don't think it's actually going to take that long once I get down to it. I did find out that while cordless drills are fine for driving a few screws here and there they don't hold up to continuous drilling - at least not mine anyway. After drilling 3/4" holes through about 12 studs my battery is pretty much done. It could be the bit is already dull combined with being a cordless. I'm going out today to buy an auger type bit as that should go through the studs faster and cleaner than a spade bit. I'm also going to look at a corded drill as well. That should make the work go a little faster.

No pictures yet as I didn't bother taking any=)