rambling othercat

I'm a 40 sumthin' computer geek. I like to barmp my sax with the band on thursday nights. I live in Toronto with my partner, and Grendel, a chihuahua.

Sunday, June 18, 2006


A rosebush is about the only thing blooming in my mum's garden this weekend. The spring flowers are largely finished, and the summer flowers have yet to appear. The lilies are coming, but this rosebush is the only colour besides some posies.  Posted by Picasa

Saturday, June 17, 2006


Grendel had a grand time bouncing around in the tall grass on LB's farm with Archie yesterday. He doesn't get many opportunities to run around off leash, so it was a treat to turn him loose. The golden retriever and the horse were both enthralled with Grendel, because they usually have farm sized animals to deal with. They didn't quite know what to make of the wee canine from the big city.  Posted by Picasa

Archie lives on a small farm in Valentyne ON. He's a friendly guy who towers over most everyone else. Grendel looks up to Archie.  Posted by Picasa

Grendel's new friend is named Archie. Archie was quite fascinated by the little fugger, as you can see from the puzzled look on his face. He's lived with other horses and fully grown golden retrievers, so he's not exactly sure what to make of an 8 pound chihuahua. I don't know what to make of Grendel myself sometimes, so I can sympathize with Archie.  Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, June 13, 2006


Hubris and Grendel recreating Goya's painting "Saturn Devours His Children." We all had a good laugh trying to get the lighting right, and then Hubris slaved over a photoshop console for several days getting it just perfect. No chihuahuas were harmed in the making of this artwork. In fact, I think the chihuahua bit Hubris.  Posted by Picasa

Whirled Cup Fever

For those of you who live in a cave, the World Cup is on right now, and despite the fact that Canada never makes the final tournament, Toronto is the best place to be for the competition. That's because everybody in Toronto is from somewhere else, and when the World Cup is ongoing, we aren't afraid to let our neighbours know our loyalties. Our daily cares are forgotten for a few weeks, and the only thing that matters is "the beautiful game."

I was strolling home from brunch with Sassinak when a convoy of cars rolled past. The vehicles were festooned with South Korean flags, and the occupants were doing their best to let the whole street know that their team had just won. Good for them. And fortunately, it's not just South Koreans getting into the act. If the Portuguese or the Italians win a game, it's pretty hard not to notice their fans parading their colours. And the same is true for all the rest of the thirty two teams. If they win, there are good chances that they have some fans in our great multicultural city.

As for me, I've drawn Angola and Trinidad in the pool. While I'd like to see both teams do well, neither are favourites, and Angola has already lost one game. I think my 10 bucks are quickly disappearing and likely to go into the mad sailor's pocket. He drew Brazil and Argentina. So I am just going to smile and enjoy the celebrations, and think happy thoughts about the World Cup tournament in four years time. Perhaps Ireland will make it back in, and Canada might pull off a minor miracle and get into the tournament too. The only thing I can hope for in the short term is if someone scores an upset against Italia, and I can tease Sassinak. I will buy her a Moretti to drown her sorrows.

Go Trinidad!

Saturday, June 10, 2006

Sour Apples

I'm irked. For the third time since I got my MacMini computer, I've had to reinstall the OS-X from scratch. Here's the scenario: I put an audio CD into the drive, and usually, Itunes starts up and plays the disk. The lewd pulsating rhythms come out of my speakers, and I am a happy guy. Once in a while, the computer gets into a retarded state, and refuses to do anything. I can't kill Itunes or eject the disk. I can't tell the computer to shutdown and restart. My back is to the wall, and I have to push the power button.

This is where the real trouble starts. For the third time, I got a nice little folder icon in the middle of the monitor with a flashing question mark. Invariably this means the partition table on the disk is corrupt, and I've lost all my data. The disk first aid utility can't fix it either. I have no option but to erase the disk and start from scratch. It wasn't so bad the first couple of times, but this time I've lost some real work. I think if someone tells me that Apple computers are superior to Intel based systems running Windows or Linux, I'll have no choice but to laugh in their face and tell them my sad tale.

I'm sick of this, and I'm going to pout until I get my little computer fixed. I'd like to see Apple exceed my expectations for once. I've been abused by Microsoft and Intel for years. It's Apple's turn to see if they can do better. So far, I'm thinking there isn't much difference. I'm going to "think different" and show contempt for Apple too. So far, I'm not exactly jumping for joy because I've got another brand of computer.

After several hours of fiddling, I've finally got it back to a state where I like it. This time I'm going to make a backup or two so I don't have to mess around for so long if it happens again. Then I'm going over to the computer shop to raise hell.

Needless to say, this blog entry was composed on my PC.

Thursday, June 08, 2006

You are what you eat, or I've got a squirrel-dog

Grendel's not doing so hot on the grade 2 stuff. It's a lot more complicated, and I've been dragging my butt trying to be consistent with the little fugger. We need to perfect the down-stay-sit commands on the long lead. Grendel, the 8 pound terror, has to be manageable at the end of a 20 foot lead. It's tricky getting him to behave on the short leash. Slowly but surely, he's getting better.

To his credit however, he sits well on command, and sticks to my left heel when he's at my side. Good on him. He's also learning to be a diplomat. You ask "diplomacy? Huh?" I'm giving Grendel treats while I'm teaching him to shake a paw. It's just one of those things that every dog should do. Oddly enough, I have found that the wee dog quite enjoys roasted peanuts. The great big Virginia peanuts at the St. Lawrence Market are his favourite.

My dog is a little nuts, so I guess the title is apt. I'm inclined to check with the breeder to make sure that Grendel's mum Rosie wasn't accidentally mated with a black squirrel and not Paco. At 8 months of age, it's a little late to be asking about my money back, and I love the little fugger anyway, no matter if he's part rodent.

Sunday, June 04, 2006

That's Showbiz

For those of you who don't know, my partner PJ is working on a show for History Television Canada. He has had the remarkable luck of turning his hobby of genealogy into a paying gig. Next to one of his co-stars, he's the ultimate library/archive geek, and knows piles of stuff about local and Canadian history. He doesn't lose trivia contests. It has all been very exciting.

The production company has wrapped the first four shows of the season, and to celebrate, the producer invited the cast and crew to his home the other day for some drinks and some upscale nibbles. There was sushi, and brie, and fresh baguettes, and... a whole bunch of people who didn't bat an eye when PJ introduced me as his partner.

I have got to say that I'm very pleased to have met these folks. A lot of times, I have to pretend, and hide my relationship from people I interact with. Not so with the showbiz crowd. I didn't have to hide and make less than complete statements like "I'm PJ's roommate", or "I'm PJ's friend." The nice folks at the party were quite unfazed to meet me, and happily accepted me as PJ's partner.

A lot of things have changed in my lifetime, and I am glad I live in the heart of Canada's largest and most liberal city. With the passage of same-sex marriage laws this past year I feel like I can dispense with the habits of keeping my trap shut, and being less than forthcoming with people I meet. I don't think I have had to lie, but I haven't told the entire truth at times. And, that can wear on you after a while.

When I was growing up in small-town Ontario, it wasn't unheard of to hear of gay people getting beaten or worse because their "secret" got out. We've all heard of the high incidence of suicide among gay youth. I have lived my entire life wondering if I'm going to be a victim of some kind of discrimination just because I'm the way I am. I can't complain, because I've never been beaten up, but I've certainly heard all the "fag" jokes, and the standard bigotry that a lot of people spout without even thinking a second time.

How refreshing then, to meet people who work with and happily accept couples of all sorts without reservations. The rest of society could take a page out of their book. Couples of any kind are free to marry and conduct their lives openly and less fearfully because our society is changing, and I like to think that Canada is leading the world in some ways. What a wonderful eye opener to have met all these nice people at the party. It's just a small example of how things are changing for the better.