Calgary Zoolights

Last night we (Branwen, Logan, Rowan, Bill, and myself) went to Zoolights at the Calgary Zoo. Hopefully the pictures give you an idea of what we saw and experienced there. Essentially, a section of Calgary Zoo is decorated with Christmas lights and you can wander around there after nightfall to enjoy the sights. As one can imagine it was difficult to take photos under these conditions (nevermind the -10 C temperatures), but I think my G5 did admirably. For those that care, I mostly operated my camera on full manual: aperture at F2.0, shutter speed 1/40s, and ISO 400. All of the photos are direct from my camera.

Update from Calgary and walking with Rocky

Hello again astute followers of the Flamie Blog. Just wanted to let everyone know that life is proceeding very well in Calgary with the Martindales. It has been a wonderfully relaxing time with good company, food, celebration, music, and ofcourse lots of presents. No particular event stands out, but it has just been excellent here. During the giving and receiving of gifts I was blessed with a wonderfully warm and comfortable hand knit sweater from Rowan, lots of new music, some comics based on Firefly, too many other wonderful gifts to mention here, and an iPod Touch! Holy crap, I didn't expect to get that. It is amazingly cool. I suspect the initial fascination with the touch screen and the accelerometer stuff might wear off, but it is still an amazing useful toy. With wifi and applications available to do almost anything you could want, it is so much more than just a portable music device. Fun fun fun... Anyways, today I went for a short walk with Rocky (the Martindale's dog). There was fresh snow on the ground from this morning and it was very misty/foggy in the low areas. All in all, a very refreshing walk.

Heading to Calgary

Hello devoted follower and fans of the Flamie Blog. Just a heads up that I'm heading off to Calgary tomorrow (Thursday the 18th), so it is very likely that posting frequency will be greatly reduced. Still I'll do what I can to keep everyone abreast on any exciting events. Sadly the kittens are not coming along, but thankfully they are being taken care of my some good friends. We dropped them off there today and spent about an hour with them helping them acclimatize. Ong-Bak was a little skittish at first, but definitely was settling in and tentatively exploring their apartment. Scimitar was in there like a dirty shoe, exploring everything happily and immediately found the resident cat's food bowl. I will definitely miss our little kitties, and already do, but I am so happy knowing they are in a very pet friendly place where they will have lots of love and company for the few weeks we are gone. That's it for now. I expect to be posting more, but in case that doesn't I hope that everyone has a blessed and wonderful Christmas time. Love you all.

Ong-Bak and his "Bump"

For about 3 weeks now, Ong-Bak has had a small bump on his jaw. It seems to us that it most likely a small infection caused by the cats fighting or something. About a week ago, I saw Ong-Bak with a patch of blood on his face where the bump is. Maybe it just burst on it's own, or he scraped it open. In either case, it drained most of the way and was much less of a bump for a few days. It has since returned to its previous size and has a nice scab on it from when it burst. Since Ong-Bak and Scimitar are being left with friends over Christmas, we figured it was a good idea to make sure it wasn't serious. We got a ride from a friend and took Ong-Bak to the vet. The young-looking vet inspected his bump, probed it a bit with her fingers, and said that it just felt like inflamed tissue, likely some kind of infection (possibly a bit of kitty nail got stuck in there or something). Of course there is always the possibility that it is some kind of tumor. Anyways, having the surgery to have a biopsy would be a little over $600. So, we headed back home with some anti-biotics, which he'll take for the next two weeks. Hopefully this clears things up. If it not cleared up by the time we get back, then we'll have to decide what to do for the little guy. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to bother him at all. I haven't seem him scratch at it yet, his appetite hasn't changed, and he doesn't seem sick. I know cats are very good at hiding pain, but his behaviour hasn't changed at all and he doesn't react unusually to being touched in the area of his bump. Anyways, here are a few pictures of the little guy. Since returning from the vet, Scimitar has assumed occupancy of the cat carrier (she didn't come along) and Ong-Bak has just been chilling out as usual. The first picture shows his bump, though because of poor lighting and his moving head, it looks mostly like a red bloody/burry splotch. It looks kinda gross now, but when it's "clean" it's just a small bump with a scab. This whole ordeal reminded me of the time Moses (the second cat we had as a family, and the first I really knew) got hurt fighting another cat or something and got a really nasty infection on his chest. Aaron and my parents probably remember it much better as I was still pretty young at the time, but I remember there being a lot of puss.

Scimitar: Queen of the Scimi-tower

As with most cats, Scimitar does not think too much of her human servants, sometimes referred to as "furniture" or the-big-thing-that-scoops-my-poop. Even her brother, Ong-Bak, is barely tolerable, but at least he is a cat. Fortunately, those human did one thing right, and provided her with a place from which she can watch over her empire, the "Scimi-tower". Seated high above the lowly peasants, Scimitar lounges regally watching her subjects carefully (when not napping). Clearly the superior cat, Scimitar has claimed the tower as her own and rarely allows her brother to enjoy its decadence. Though on occasion, outings must be taken to show the commoners that, even though she may appear soft and weak, she is in fact a ferocious beast, capable of dismembering any enemies of the throne, or lazy servants. Indeed, the best for Ong-Bak is often a chair.

Gem and Mineral Show

This past Saturday Rowan and I were able to hitch a ride with a friend to go to a Gem/Mineral warehouse. They had so many boxes of beautiful samples, I could have been happy to peruse their wares for days. As it was, we spent the better part of 3 hours looking around. I particularly enjoyed the large minerals that show their crystal structure macroscopically and the polished spheres. I really wanted to get one of everything, but I settled on just two things. An amethyst sphere and a pyrite cube (pictures following this post). Anyone that knows me, knows I love symmetry and geometric patterns, and if you didn't know that, well, you do now :) They had many spectacular minerals, but currently I couldn't afford anything more than these two small specimens.

That can't be right... (with a small afterward concerning coffee)

So I was sitting by close to our cats this afternoon during their usual sleep time and at one point I look over... Didn't seem to be bothering the little guy at all, which surprised me because his sister has a significant gut going on. Oh well, leave it up to cats to be comfortable and sleep no matter the circumstances. What's that? You are getting sick of post about cats? Well too bad! I sit at my computer most of the day searching for jobs, doing other job acquiring related tasks, and such, so the cats being cute/crazy/anything is pretty much my excitement for the day and will likely be the subject of many posts. Don't worry, I'll post about other stuff when I get some good material. By the way, does anyone have good suggestions for coffee to get? What do I like, you ask? Good coffee. Typically the darker roasts appeal to me, but I try not to limit myself based on what I currently like and branch out to try new and interesting coffees. Presently I'm drinking two flavours from Starbucks: Sumatra (Extra Bold) and Breakfast Blend. I like to get whole beans, because I use a french press and most brands don't offer grinds coarse enough to work well in a french press.

Cats and Job Search

I know the title of this post has "Cats" first, but I feel like talking about job search first, so too bad :) Besides, you are probably already sick of seeing the cats. Just a quick update on how things are going with the job search. Over the past week or so, I've been working on improving my resume and profile with the big online job search engines. Last week I received an email from a company that had found my resume online, gone over it, and thought I would be a good match for a current opening that they have. I replied quickly and am still awaiting further information. Then, just today, I received another email from a job I applied to online. They wanted the most recent copy of my resume. Maybe it is just a coincidence, but this is more interest that I have had before from companies. When more exciting or interesting things happen, I'll be sure to post. As promised, a few new cat photos. It is a gorgeous day today. Sunny and cool. Ong-bak was sitting on the arm of the sofa, looking out the front window, but when I came over to take a picture of him, he got up and snuggled right into my crotch. We often call him a little crotch monkey, because he always seems to want to snuggle right there. It is probably just because it is warm, but it is still amusing. After only a moment of snuggling, he noticed Scimitar was eating, and not to be outdone he jumped up and started eating as well. Anyways, that's all for now.

I suppose it is American Thanksgiving

Its Thanksgiving here, but since I'm sitting inside as usual not making much contact with the outside world, I don't really notice the difference, except that Rowan is spending the day here too taking a semi day off. Anyways, since nothing else is happening, I don't really have much to say, so once again I'll just post a few pictures that I like.

I made this!

For those that don't know, I knit. In fact I enjoy knitting quite a bit and recently have been knitting a lot. Over the past month or so I have been working on a blanket. It was a big project, but was done in 9"x9" squares, which helped to break it up into manageable chunks. Anyways, I've now finished the blanket. It's not huge, but makes a good lap blanket.

"Winter" in Los Angeles

So apparently winter in Los Angeles is accompanied by rainy days. Well the last few days have been pretty rain filled, with some surprisingly (to me at least) bouts of very heavy rain. Thankfully, even in Los Angeles, the rain smells wonderfully refreshing and the pitter patter sound is just as soothing. Weather in general is now cooler, hovering between 10-20 C on the overcast days. Though on sunny days it can still easily be in the mid 20's. I love the cooler weather, though I missed having a true Canadian fall and I know I will miss the snow of winter. Ong-Bak joined me in looking out the window at the rain. Scimitar has the right idea for what to do on a cool rainy day. Cats are always so smart.

Warning: This blog is under construction

As with many things, this site is a work-in-progress. Expect many changes, 404 errors, and other oddities during the construction process. My html skills are weak sauce, so don't be surprised if I break stuff. Hopefully the pretty pictures will stay up, if not, feel free to visit my Picasa web album in the mean time.

History of the Flamie

Here is an abbreviated history of why this blog (and many other things of mine) are called Flamie: Near the end of December 2005, if memory serves, I got a new car. It was purchased from our family mechanic's son. My Mom and I went to check out the car at the shop and I think the first thing we noticed was that this nice little white car had huge black flames down the side, dark tint, and a spoiler. Well, we ended up buying the car because aside from the incredible flames, it was in good condition and ran well. Pretty soon my Mom gave it a nickname: Flamie. Being who I am, I kinda loved the style of the car and the new nickname stuck. Also, since the car stood out so much, it was pretty memorable and easily recognized, so everyone soon knew its name and its association with me. Sadly Flamie met a premature end on dark, rainy day in Toronto. Rowan, Jen, Mark, and myself were heading to a party (I was at the wheel). Proceeding straight through an intersection on a green light, a mini van in the opposing traffic decided to make a left-hand turn in front of me. I knew we were going to crash about a second before it happened and hit the brakes, but Flamie hit the van dead on the side, almost a perfect T-bone. Thankfully since Flamie was mostly plastic and foam, and designed to crumple well, everyone escaped with only minor bumps and scrapes. This was the end of Flamie, as the entire front end was reduced to nearly half of its original size. Rest assured Flamie lives on, though just in different forms. The most notable being my laptop, which is called Flamie-Bot and has big red flames on its cover.

Inaugural First Post

I suppose it was inevitable. Hopefully some people will find this blog to be a useful way of keeping up-to-date on what's going on down with me. Be warned though, there will likely be excessive amounts of kitties and other simply beautiful pictures.