Our intrepid boxer, Silver, had a mishap yesterday down at the pond. I had taken the dogs down there for a morning romp and Silver went directly to the far side of the frozen pond to do his business. I headed after him to pick it up, then watched him tear off with enthusiasm across what we call the gangplank to the tiny island in the middle of the pond. Usually, he just streaks across it and leaps from the island back to the near side effortlessly on his long legs. This time he got distracted. Something on the island made him pause, but only a little. He resumed his jet propelled forward motion, but with less momentum. That was just enough to cause a much less than elegant landing, with his hindquarters crashing through the ice and only his forefeet on the bank. The cold water must have inspired him to scramble because he soon got his footing again with all four feet on land, shaking furiously to shed the wet, looking back at me as if to say, "well that was different!"

Posted by lynda at 11:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Bob's energizing wishes yesterday seem to have inspired Agnes into new life, albeit wobbly. I got her to reboot this morning, rescued some odds and ends, then callously proceeded to negotiate purchase of her replacement. Yes, it's a she, not an it -- I was trying to exercise distance in yesterday's post, but the truth is, she's Agnes, after all, my best buddy for all things mobile and digital. I'm writing this post thanks to her, but she needs a brain transplant. Thank goodness, that's something money can buy. Meanwhile, tomorrow I pick up Abigail.

Posted by lynda at 10:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Not much to write about since my return to work post-vacation, until today. Early this afternoon, my favourite Mac, my baby Mac, the 12-inch Powerbook called Agnes, had a fatal hard drive failure. I am stricken. Not because I lost data -- everything important is backed up redundantly -- but because it was really a trusted tool and gave me pleasure every day I used it. It was light and small enough to use in the rocking chair in the sunroom, or even tucked up in bed. It went to BC, Australia and the UK with me, plus New Brunswick, Texas, Massachusetts and several other places. It was my Skype and iChat machine, to keep in touch with my daughter in Edinburgh, my friend in Korea, my sister in Toronto and my mum down the street. Being over four years old, it's an obsolete model, so it is truly irreplaceable. I can get something sleeker, faster, better, but not so efficiently small. I shall miss it.

Posted by lynda at 11:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

In case you were wondering, and even if you weren't wondering, what possible use virtual worlds could be, consider how a few people at NASA are looking at it: NASA's Colab Second Life Mission is just one of many educational and scientific efforts exploring the possibilities.

Posted by lynda at 11:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've just about recovered from the shock of re-entry after a month away. Getting back home wasn't too shocking -- Bob did a fine job of holding things together -- but getting back to work was not a smooth landing. For one client, things went fine. I had two three-hour sessions booked in my first week back with very specific objectives and a team ready to focus on them. For another client, a project I had left in its ramp-up stage was almost unrecognizable and approaching chaotic. It wasn't something I had been leading anyway, so my absence wasn't a factor (not my fault, really!).

Getting myself focused on the client work has been the real problem. While I was away, I had time to daydream about my own project ideas and those are still percolating in my brain looking for a place to develop into realities. When I turn to client work, I resent abandoning my pet projects; yet if I try to give my projects some think time, I worry about the client commitments.

This week, I started tackling the problem in a couple of ways. The first tactic was to try to take a walk in the middle of the day. The fresh air (and today it was VERY fresh, and wet) and exercise feels good and I get 20 minutes with the freedom to think about anything, or nothing. The second tactic was to try every day to do three things that improve my space. That can be anything from emptying another packed box (from last year's move!) to taking out the garbage. Giving priority to the quality of my surroundings is one way to remind myself that I'm glad to be home.

Posted by lynda at 05:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)