The Wikipedia entry of the day relates to Robert A. Heinlein’s novel Starship Troopers. I was impressed by the novel when I was 14, less impressed when I was 20, and more impressed today. Heinlein wrote a good story and rendered the didactic and tendentious as palatable. I have never been clear on whether Starship Troopers represented the real stream of his thought, or whether the altered consciousness hippie ethic of Stranger in a Strange Land was closer to his heart.
Author: Tony Dalmyn
Domain Name Transfer
The original registration of sea of flowers as a domain name was effected through Domain Direct, which is affiliated with Tucows. I had signed up for a year. I didn’t buy a particularly expensive package, and I think their pricing was competitive, but I bought a bigger package than I needed. I thought I was going to host my web site and blog there, but they didn’t support server side scripts at that time. All I really needed was registration and DNS settings. Blogomania, where I host my sites, is not a registrar. Domain Direct extended my initial one year account to two years,, which put off the need to make any changes until early April. They started sending me renewal notices months ago. The renewal messages had links to pages on their site which gave me the option to renew my existing service or to upgrade. While Domain Direct offered simpler and cheaper services, there was no way to order them except by ordering a new account. Meanwhile, there are lots of services advertising domain registration service, with domain transfers priced at $10.00 or $15.00, with a year of service. I have a .ca domain and I need a CIRA Registrar, which narrowed the field.
A Cycling City
In my first three weeks in Victoria – it will be three weeks on Friday – I have been out riding about 8 times including one leisurely Sunday when I rode down to James Bay to see some houses for rent, and a couple of mail runs. I have had a couple of 30 k+ rides and a 51 k ride too.
Pictures
My Canon G3 digital camera and Sony desktop computer stayed in Winnipeg with Claire. I got a Canon Powershot 410 before moving. I bought it at Shopper’s Drugs. It runs on 2 AA batteries. It didn’t have a DC adapter and I didn’t want to use battery power while the camera was transferring files to the computer over a USB connection. The Canon adapter is expensive and it would have been a special order – which I wasn’t going to wait for. A card reader was a less expensive and quicker option. It works to transfer the .JPG files from the camera card to the computer. It seems to be a simple and faster way to move images – plug the card into the reader, and the reader into the USB port, and copy the image files on the card to a new folder or file on my computer. From there I can crop and compress images with MS Photo Editor and attach them to emails or upload them here. I couldn’t install the Canon image management software on my Pentium MMX Toshiba, under Win 98SE. The Canon software, which I had been running on the Sony before I gave the computer to Claire, had useful features for organizing files and getting thumbnail views, but I think there is nothing special about that. I can probably get the same functions in Photoshop – it’s a question of finding something that works on this machine, or waiting to get settled in and getting a more powerful home computer. Meanwhile I can shoot, save and send so it’s all working.
Diamond Lanes & Hills
Yesterday Colleen called. She was about the only person I knew in Victoria before I moved and she had agreed to take my forwarded mail. Canada Post wouldn’t let me rent a Victoria box from Winnipeg. She lives near Oak Bay, she had to leave for a squash game by 6:15. She gave me directions involving riding downtown on Douglas or Blanshard, then riding on Fort and turning on Oak Bay Road.
I road on Blanshard – a major arterial road, in a diamond lane for cyclists. On Fort, another major artery, the diamond lane is actually between the curb lane – which is for parking – and the 2 middle lanes. I was able to ride major routes without getting pinched by traffic.
The hills in the east end of Victoria are murder though. I am spending a lot of time on the middle ring, and shifting a lot. I think the rear shift cable was pinched on the trip because the shifts at 3-4-5 on the back cassette sometimes just hang. But I got another 15 k and my third ride in 4 days.
The next few days are forecast for rain and I should start looking at houses for rent.
First Rides in Victoria
It’s Sunday night. I arrived in Victoria Friday night and I have managed to clean up my bike and to ride Saturday and today. The weather was good – sunny and 10 degrees. I didn’t find my odometer/computer yesterday, and I didn’t get a precise record of my distance. I found it today and to my relief it worked after the sending unit and wires had been exposed to wind and spray for 2,500 kilometers.
Migrant worker
On Friday March 10, 2006, I arrived in Victoria on the BC Ferry, The Queen of Vancouver. I arrived in Victoria at about 5:30 PM. I didn’t take pictures. I called Claire from the ferry terminal in Vancouver and wish her a happy 21st birthday.
Crossing the Divide
Today, Thursday March 9, 2006 I crossed into British Columbia through the Yellowhead Pass, on the Yellowhead Highway, on the boundary of Jasper National Park:
Moving Day – Actual
The move was rescheduled, and the movers came on Friday March 3, 2006. The house was packed. I had set aside things to bring with me in the car – some cooking utensils, some plates and bowls to be able to start housekeeping in Victoria, a couple of suits, a supply of clean shirts, some casual clothes. I had set aside one bike, supplies for bike maintenance, helmet, shoes etc to be able to start cycling on arrival.
Moving Day – Planned
Blog entries have been scarce since the New Year.
I have listed and sold my house, which involved a thorough cleaning and staying out of the way as the purchasers visited with their agents. I have moved Claire into her first apartment.
I have been packing and getting ready to move. The movers will pick up my stuff, if all goes according to the last plan, next Tuesday February 28. I have had a few valedictory dinners. I have refused to have any functions at work. Complicated story. No time, mixed feelings.
As I am leaving, I am hearing stories that the Province needs to hire many lawyers to fill vacancies in Criminal Prosecutions and to staff Legal Aid offices. Private law firms are complaining they can’t get the people they want. What’s wrong with legal profession in Manitoba? Greedy, cheap, smug, oblivious and headed for more trouble.
I will have to review these processes after I get to Victoria. I may not post any entries until early March, after I arrive.