Overlooking the town of Fernie

I have been out of it for the last couple days. I heard about the problems in southern Asia, but not watching the news or reading websites ... I did not hear the details. However, after watching CBC last night I was horrified ... and have to agree with Krishen, our lives seem a little too irrelevant.

Yet, what a situation like this reminds us is to live life to its fullest ... and yesterday that is just what we did!

Kurtis was showing us all the "real" runs

Kari was showing us up all day

After almost 4 years I enjoyed putting on the skies

You really felt like you were at the top of the world

We got snow for christmas. Christmas evening saw a dump of about 10cm, which is not a LOT ... but it is enough to make a couple of us smile :) Picked up a pair of hiking boots for about 75% off on Boxing day ... figure at $25 it is a good buy even if I use them just this week. But with the colder weather has come the sniffles and the sore throats ... we are determined not to let it get the better of us - face washes for everyone :)

The last night all the 'siblings' were in town we headed out to see Ocean's Twelve ... good flick but a late night. Once again it was an early morning as we were meeting Dad (Melissa's) and taking a trip out to visit her family in Bow Island (an island of settlement in the ocean of farm land). It was a nice scenic drive as Dad took us on a "short cut" that lead us to some frozen gravel back roads ... which I must say at a 110 km/hr were a lot of fun! You gotta love the country!!! Eventually we found the town of Brooks (which was almost a complete loop from where we left the TransCanada) and gas station ... which was needed! As well as fuel, they had a map and knowledgeable staff and we were finally once again on the right track ... this time no short-cuts.

Dad's shortcut to Oma's

So, we have continued to be busy visiting with family and enjoying the scenic country-side. Tomorrow we are up at 5am for a trip to Fernie for a skiing adventure. One of the things I miss most about home ... the slopes. I hope to have the camera to share some of the excitement ... we will have to see.

Traditional family gift opening

We were up early this morning ... as is the typical christmas morning tradition. Melissa and I got away with some serious loot. Some for us ... and some addressed to "the unborn". We all shared in brunch with pancakes (with Maple Sirup), eggs & bacon, and egg nog. It has been so much fun spending this time with family ... did I mention we love being back at home? It is actually snowing for christmas ... light flakes ... but snowing non-the-less.

The grandparents

I snagged a set of hockey tape from my favorite sister (and her boyfriend - who also got our "unborn" a Canucks hockey stick

So ... after santa, after brunch, after gifts ... what do we do? We put on the hockey game. The Junior World Championship starts today with Canada vs Slovakia. I will have to get a couple of these games taped before heading home ... it might be the only hockey we see this year :)

Time to sit back and relax

Sorry Darren ...

Calgary city scape

We had a little snow ... just a taste

Coffee break

And you just know where we were going

And we always work in some of the past time

Our early rise was greated by sunshine before we left Tampa. A quick stop and plane switch in Phoenix and we carried on to Calgary. From the airport we visited my grandfather before heading to my parents for dinner. Then it was off to Melissa's brothers place to visit with their family.

The flight went smooth ... all our bags arrived (can't say the same thing for my Aunt who came in from Toronto via Air Canada) ... and customs people once again greated us with smiles.

As for us ... the smells, the sights, the dirt ... its home and we are so happy to be back. I hope to get more pictures up in the next few days. And just in case you guys back in Florida are feeling kinda chilly ... it is suppose to get to -30 Celcius next week ... oh ain't is great to be home :)

... baa rumpa-pa pum!

In the wee hours of the morning we awaken to packed suitcases and twinkling stars. So begins our trek to the north (oh! the coffee tastes sooo good). We fly out at about 7:30 this morning and arrive mid-afternoon (presumably) ... once again in the Great White North.

Hee hee ... we are so excited.

Yesterday marked the end of the 3-month "vacation" for our two Portuguese interns. We enjoyed travels to the beach, Myakka, and the east coast ... not to mention Halloween. It was a blast both in and out of the office.

And, girls, if you do end up reading this after you get home. We wish you the best and will miss you.

Finding the goodies and the Christmas party

Well, this has been a great week ... can't you tell? I have been so busy that I have not been keeping you all up to date. Hope no one is upset :)

Wednesday - The two gentlement of Verona

For "date night" this week we took in a play, William Shakespeare's - The Two Gentlemen of Verona. This was our first change to catch our friend Erik in action ... and I must say, he is good. Great presence on stage, captures the attention of the audience, and visibly enjoys what he is doing. This in addition to the rest of the Asolo - FSU theatre company who also did a fantastic job. I can't wait until their next production this spring ... congrats ... even with your broken leg :)

Friday - Company holiday festivities

Friday was our annual company "Holiday party". It was more relaxed and entertaining than last years ... the food was great, the music was good, and the drinks ... well ...

I decided to skip the camera ... so you will have to check in with Krishen when he gets back from Augusta, GA

Saturday - Another of Jeff's BBQs

What can I say ... it was another great night at Jeff's. Chicken wings, veggies, M&Ms, and Bratwursts ... oh, we also had a blast playing Grand Theft Auto

In every life there comes a time to move on ... today it is IBM. At 9:11PM ET Reuters announced the sale of IBM's PC unit to the chinese PC marker Lenovo. IBM no longer will be making laptops and desktop machines ... but instead will focus more on services, software, and servers (the three $'s) (not to mention chips and storage)

... or will it?

Just for fun ... there are several rumors that IBM will be partnering with Apple. Such speculation is laughable since it is only coming from people scratching their heads about what IBM is doing. I am not going to get into it (which would probably be a discussion more for Technobabel)

Personally, IBM is like an old friend after spending 3 years working in their on-site support department . Even back then you were could often see other PC brands during an install instead of the typical IBM machine ... which I must say really lacked some style. I imagine that it has just become cheaper to use 3rd party hardware than sell the IBM brand.

So ... who's next to get out of the PC business? Dell, HP, Apple, Gateway?

This just in ... Canada charges president for war crimes!

The article was absolutely hilarious ...

... protester justified Bush's arrest with a hypothetical analogy. "Let's say I heard that my ex-convict neighbor is stockpiling weapons in his apartment. I call the police but they don't act swiftly enough. So, in order to protect my family from this threat, I take matters into my own hand and break into my neighbor's home while torturing and killing members of his family. Of course, I do not find any weapons."

"If justice is to be served, regardless if my claims had proven true, I would be thrown in jail forever for acting like an insane, murdering, vigilante cowboy. All we ask is that George W. Bush – who did the same exact thing in Iraqi on a larger, more horrifying scale – be likewise held accountable."

But by the time I really thought about it the site was already down (DUH!) ... however, I did manage to find a cached version on Google and saved a PDF version for everyone.

Another spoof along these lines can be found here.

-- Now, we all know that Bush left Canada just fine after a relatively successful visit. Canada is stepping up a bit and asserting itself as a nation a little more (good to see) ... but this is definitely the first step to thaw the chilled border, something I believe is important to both countries. [But ... you have to love the humor that ensues]

Technobabel gets an entry. I know you have all be waiting for it ... well, this 2AM post is bound to get me in trouble tomorrow (why am I still up??).

Today, its RSS and Smart Feeds. NewsFire released an update that fit nicely into a discussion I had a couple weeks ago ... so guess this is as good a time as any to get it down on paper ...