Family

FamilyLife ExperiencePets

Cat 3.0

Posted on by Ray MacDonald

It’s been nearly a year since the tragic final failure of Cat 2.0 and we’ve had Cat 3.0 installed now for close to 11 months. A technical review is in order.

  1. Look and Feel
    Cat 3.0 has significantly brighter and multicolored appearance compared to the monotone gray of Cat 2.0, although the tactile impression of Cat 2.0 was probably superior. Cat 3.0 has some of the appearance features of Cat 1.0 who was a classic version.
  2. Power Consumption
    All versions haven’t changed much in Consumption in close to 35 years, although the ratio varies from 100% wet in Cat 1.0 to about 70% dry in Cat 3.0. Due to owner spoiling bias, costs have significantly increased for power resources.
  3. Battery Life
    Cat 3.0 has significantly higher initial energy output than Cat 2.0 at this stage of life and requires longer battery recharge sessions. Cat 2.0 got by with shorter and more frequent recharge. Cat 1.0 needed additional heat resources to recharge. Total battery life is probably the same across all 3 versions.
  4. Communication Output
    Cat 3.0 is similar to Cat 1.0 in terms of high frequency communication – both in quality and quantity. Cat 2.0 was deficient in this feature, but made up for it in low frequency communication output – which was legendary.
  5. Intelligence Factors
    Again this hasn’t changed in design over the years. Cat 2.0 was more quietly sneaky than the other versions.
  6. Fear/Curiosity Index
    Cat 3.0 is much higher on this Index than previous versions – at least at this stage in service. When the doorbell rings, he still makes a dash for the closet. Presence of grandchildren under the age of 4 tends to amplify the Fear/Curiosity ratio. Cat 2.0 – laid back and friendly – was the best balanced of the three versions. PITA analysis has Cat 3.0 on top so far.
  7. Reliability
    Too early to tell with Cat 3.0 although initial checks by professional service personnel are encouraging. Cat 1.0 and Cat 2.0 were fine performers, although Cat 1.0 had a couple of major failures due to high Curiosity that were costly and stressful for both owner and Cat. Cat 2.0 was remarkably stress free until late in service life, when end of life issues emerged for a couple of years and eventually resulted in catastrophic failure.

End of review. I now have to check and see if Cat 3.0 is safely in his recharging cradle.

FamilyLife ExperienceTechnology

Learning to Fly

Posted on by Ray MacDonald

 

I’m learning to fly,

but I ain’t got wings.

…Tom Petty (1991)

The grandkids were out last weekend and they brought their bikes – minus the training wheels. As I watched Dave run up and down the street behind them, it struck me that learning to ride a bike is akin to a fledgllng leaving the nest for the first time. It isn’t an easy or instinctive thing – you have to figure out the physics of two in-line rotating hoops, how to stay upright, and to avoid obstacles. But once you master all this, you have a freedom you never had in your life before – the freedom of movement. It won’t be long before you are on to a parent’s greatest nightmare – your driver’s licence.

So in a sense riding a bike is a metaphor for growing up. You try, you fail, you fall, you cry, you get up and try try again.

As a parent you want to shield your kids from the bumps an bruises of early life, but once they are on a bike you realize the futility of doing it. We all made mistakes as kids – our parents couldn’t prevent them. We all suffered the prangs, the bumps, the bruises. Our kids and grandkids are no different.

It doesn’t make it any easier to watch though.

And comin’ down

is the hardest thing.

 

 

EconomicsFamilyLife ExperienceTravel

Living in A Trendy Town

Posted on by Ray MacDonald

The story of Ontario is largely a story of small towns, and we have been fortunate (?) enough to live in three that are really trendy right now. They weren’t necessarily trendy when we moved there, but it certainly worked out that way. When it comes to residence we always seem to be a bit ahead of our time.

So what makes an Ontario small town trendy? The three we have lived in have some things in common:

  • Each one is within convenient driving distance of a major city.
  • They all are located on a scenic river, and in one case right on the lake.
  • All have lots of well preserved and interesting Victorian architecture.
  • Each town grew and prospered because the railway came through it in the 19th century.
  • They were lunch-pail towns whose industry faded away in the late 20th century and were repurposed as tourist/day-trip destinations.
  • They have maintained their small town look and feel (downtown at least.) One of them is now holding on to it by its fingernails though.

Let’s take a look.

Port Hope (1972-1974)

We moved here in 1972 when Maria and I got married. Our choice of Port Hope was made easy by the fact we could get an apartment there in a newer building for a reasonable rent. We both worked in Cobourg – a few miles away to the east.

Port Hope was a bit of a backwater then – folks from Cobourg called it “No Hope.” But we liked it, got involved in the community with youth groups. We bought our first home in Port Hope and probably would have stayed a while, except I was transferred to General Foods in Montreal.

Port Hope was never a one industry town. The plants that located there were medium sized except for the uranium processor Eldorado Nuclear. Plants in Port Hope made metal files for carpentry, conveyor equipment, auto parts, bathtubs and sinks. Unfortunately, most of these factories were branch plants that suffered from the Free Trade agreement and closed. Port Hope took quite a hit in the late ’80s and early ’90s.

We were quite surprised to see the changes in the early part of this century. The town has become quite a gentrified tourist mecca, and many of its fine old homes have been remodelled by Toronto refugees who sold their places in the GTA and retired east of the city. It was really a pleasure to see such a fine town becoming trendy, and I have no doubt the trend has continued to this day.

Georgetown (1979-2005)

In 1959 Georgetown was a sleepy place of 3,000 located on the Credit River in North Halton county. Then Rex Heslop came to town and things really started to happen. By the time we moved there in 1979, the population was up to 12,000 and the first wave of development was complete. In the 1980s it was pretty quiet and Georgetown still had a small town atmosphere – a great place for my daughter to grow up.

Unfortunately, the town was too close to Toronto for such bucolic peace to last. The second wave of development began around 1990 and as far as I know has not stopped. The population is now around 40,000 and it is a very trendy place for the yuppies who want to get out of Brampton and Mississauga.

In its early days Georgetown was a paper mill town. Later on it had electrical equipment and auto parts makers, as well as an electronics firm. Some of this remains but by and large Georgetown is a dormitory suburb for Toronto. The classic Georgetown train station is now the center for GO Transit lines into the Big Smoke (or “The 6” as the rappers say today.)

Downtown Georgetown was always a cool area that had perfect camera angles for motion picture photography, so quite a few movies were made there while we were residents. The old town is hanging on, but the suburbs around Georgetown have sucked away a lot of business and the small town atmosphere is gone forever. Pity.

Almonte (2005-Present Day)

When we moved to Almonte, the gentrification and trendiness of downtown was getting under way, but we had no idea what was coming.

Almonte was a classic one industry town from 1850 until 1985 with the wool weaving factories taking center stage. The old mills remain. Some are places for restaurants and condos, others have offices for high tech firms. The Victorian streetscape has been lovingly restored and this restoration is encouraged financially by the Town. Some local entrepreneurs have done a great service by building attractive boutique malls. Antique stores abound. Add in the festivals that happen year round, the proximity to Ottawa, and the general loveliness of the river, waterfalls and Mill Street and you have a recipe for success – and trendiness.

We have learned to do our exploration and treasure hunting in Downtown Almonte during the week. The weekends are a zoo – especially in the summer when a festival happens just about every week.

Almonte is the only one of the 3 towns that doesn’t have a railway running through it any longer. It used to be on the CPR transcontinental line, but that changed 50 years ago. The railway line was disused for a few years and finally was taken up in 2012. The railway bridge remains in place, and I am sure the downtown business group hope it can be purchased from the railway and turned into a spectacular walkway with superb views.

Living in a trendy town. It didn’t start out that way but it has happened to us. Three times.

 

 

 

EconomicsFamilyLife ExperienceTechnologyTravel

The Netbook – Life, Death and Resurrection

Posted on by Ray MacDonald

The netbook (2007-2012) can probably trace its origins back to the Toshiba Libretto of the late 1990s but it was heavily influenced by the One Laptop Per Child project of the early 21st century. OLPC – a largely academic project – had the goal of making a cheap and rugged small laptop for distribution in the third world. The computer makers ASUS and Acer took the OLPC concept a bit further and by 2007 had come up with the first generation of netbooks. The basic netbook design had the following features:

  • Low power processor (Intel Atom 32 bit)
  • Onboard graphics to match the processor capability
  • No heavy extras like an optical drive
  • Low capacity solid state drive (enough for the operating system and some basic programs)
  • Wifi connected
  • Relatively low power consumption
  • Smaller and low resolution display
  • Smaller keyboard layout
  • Low RAM capacity with some RAM chips right on the motherboard

These were made by a variety of manufacturers.

The netbook – at least the OLPC version – was born to run Linux, and it can’t be denied that Linux should have powered all the early netbooks. Linux can work well with limited hardware resources and doesn’t have to run CPU sucking security programs.

The very first netbooks were in fact Linux machines but the makers dropped the ball when it came to installation of an alternate operating system. At the time Windows XP was the default personal computer O/S, and just about every PC user wanted a Windows look and feel when they switched on a PC. Instead the makers went with dumbed down versions of Linux that looked nothing like Windows. It was possible to dump these crummy Linux versions and get a real Windows like desktop, but you had to be a bit of a geek to do it. 99% of the initial netbook users didn’t want to do this. They hated Linux, returned the machines in droves and the manufacturers soon learned that in order to sell the puny laptops, they would have to offer them with Windows.

Microsoft – who had watched the introduction of Linux machines with dismay – was anxious to oblige. Unfortunately, their flagship O/S by this time was Vista – and Vista was too much of a resource hog to ever run well on a netbook. Microsoft was forced to bring the obsolete XP back from the dead and offer it to the manufacturer essentially for free. The makers had to replace the small SSD with a larger mechanical hard drive to accommodate the bulkier Microsoft programs and security apps.

The net result killed Linux on netbooks. That was to be expected. However the new Windows based netbook was a technical disaster and a marketing nightmare. Most consumers did not see the netbook as a low cost way to get on the Internet. They assumed it was just a cheap general purpose Windows PC. With low processing power, low memory, a slow mechanical drive and Windows XP the netbook was a total pig when it came to startup and operation. A lot of them were sold, but very few customers were satisfied.

There wasn’t much profitability for the makers either. Even with the benefit of an practically “free” Windows operating system, the margins on netbooks were low and the competition was fierce. This was the netbook market in 2008 and 2009.

 

Here’s a netbook hard at work in Fort Lauderdale. It was perfect to stick in a backpack and use in a hotel to catch up on your email. Still is.

By 2010 the netbook market was getting mature and technology had improved. The second generation of Intel Atom processors came out – these supported 64 bit operation – and AMD was getting into the act with its “Athlon Neo” line of mini-processors. Graphics were integrated more tightly with the CPU, power consumption was reduced and battery life increased. There was still a problem with profitability and performance – especially when Microsoft no longer offered Windows XP to netbook makers.

By 2010 Microsoft had moved on to Windows 7 and they were in no mood to give it away – not that it would have worked all that great on a netbook. Instead Microsoft sold the netbook makers a brain-dead “Windows 7 Starter” operating system and made sure that it went on machines that were so memory challenged that anyone who got such a unit would be unhappy. You could buy a netbook and increase its RAM yourself – but how many did? The reputation of netbooks as operational pigs continued – and was richly deserved by now.

Nevertheless 2010 probably marked the zenith for the humble netbook – technically and commercially. From there it was all downhill, until by the end of 2012 there was not one manufacturer making them at all. Two major things contributed to the sickening and decline of the netnook.

  1. Folks who really wanted a general purpose small computer realized that you get what you pay for. They gravitated to Macbook Air or Ultrabook laptops, which featured more powerful hardware that was capable of running Windows 7 itself – not a stripped down version. These units cost more but in my view were worth it.
  2. Folks who just wanted a cheap and lightweight unit to get on the Internet moved to that consummate netbook killer – the tablet. Whether it was an iPad or one of the Android variants, tablet computing totally displaced the cheap and cheerful netbook at the lower end of the market.

So what of the netbook today? Are any of the original units still around? Well yes. If you’re smart enough to dump Windows and use a netbook the way it was meant to be used, there’s still some life in the old beasts.

I have three of them now – two are older first generation 32 bit machines that are becoming museum pieces. Their operating systems are losing support, and they are slow and outdated even with a lightweight Linux distribution installed. They won’t run HD videos, and as for any type of game – fuggedaboudit. Web browsing today is becoming increasingly memory intensive and the older machines need a very lightweight browser to work well. They would be OK for writing and note taking I suppose. I have upgraded them as much as I can and I use them as testing machines for Linux that is designed for older hardware.

My third machine – which I rescued recently from a trip to the recycler – is a different proposition. It has a 2nd generation Atom processor and graphics, supports 64 bit operation and best of all you can replace its standard laptop hard drive with an inexpensive solid state drive. The SSD makes a huge difference in responsiveness. Although this machine is still a bit low on memory capacity it will do a good job as a travel machine where all you want it for is email and light web surfing. It cost next to nothing and it’s quite rugged with its new hard drive so I can pack it and tote it and not worry about theft or breakage. It’s one of those unfortunate machines that ran like a dog on Windows but is pretty good with Manjaro Linux or some other lightweight operating system.

One final point. The netbook which appeared to be dead as a doornail in 2012 is now back alive in a couple of ways. Tablets that feature detachable keyboards, or the Chromebook pioneered by Google are really netbooks redux – lower powered units for getting on the Internet to do stuff. Linux has even made a comeback as either Android (on tablets) or Chrome O/S (on Chromebooks.)

So there you have it. What was once dead lives on in a new form or through modification to what it should have been in the first place. Not a bad Easter tech story.

 

FamilyLife Experience

Subtraction Wars

Posted on by Ray MacDonald

My grandson got a new deck of “Iron Man” playing cards on Sunday, so he taught me a new game called “Subtraction Wars.”

“You turn up a card and I’ll turn up a card. Mine is the subtraction card. The first one to figure out the answer gets to keep the cards. The Jack, Queen and King count as 10.”

“But Teddy, what if my card is a 2 and yours is a 4?”

“Well, Grandpa we’d have a negative number. Negative 2 is the answer.”

I was pretty impressed that a 7 year old was familiar with the concept of negative numbers. On that topic, Teddy is now Negative 4 in the teeth department, although he’s working to make it Negative 3. He made sure the 4th tooth came out here in Almonte, so that Nonna would add a positive amount to his piggy bank. The kid is nobody’s fool when it comes to number lines.

FamilyLife ExperienceTravel

Surprising Falmouth

Posted on by Ray MacDonald

Falmouth is one of the oldest towns in the Caribbean and one of its newest cruise ports. It was founded in the late 18th century as a mercantile port to export sugar and is one of the best preserved Georgian settlements in the world. It is said that Falmouth had running water before New York did.

We didn’t know what to expect from our visit there. Jamaica doesn’t have the greatest reputation for safety and security, so we decided the best thing to do was take an organized tour. We decided to go have tea at the Good Hope Plantation.

On our way to the bus we passed through the port area. It is pretty commercial but the people were friendly and helpful and the cruise line has done a nice job to put it together.

All set for a bus ride.

After about a half hour drive through the country we arrived at the Plantation.

Good Hope was built in 1755 as the home of Col. Thomas Williams and his young bride Elizabeth. Apparently she loved the place. It is about 80 meters higher than the surrounding valley, has a great view and was relatively cool compared to the valley below.

Sadly Elizabeth contracted malaria and died in 1762 at the age of 24. Her grave is just inside the entrance to the house.

Maria was the very friendly and knowledgeable guide who showed us round the property and got us settled in the patio for tea.

Here’s the patio. This is not my photo so unfortunately you don’t get to see all the tea, scones and sandwiches we got later.

Good Hope was later owned by John Tharpe, who constructed this Counting House behind the mansion for dealing with business affairs. Tharpe apparently had a safe room in this blockhouse in case of slave insurrections, but he was quite an enlightened slave owner (if that’s possible.) In any event he was never the target of any revolt.

This is the main kitchen for the house. It was separate to avoid the heat of cooking fires and the threat of fire itself.

Here are the ruins of an even older house that was here before the building of Good Hope mansion itself.

After a nice cup of tea or Blue Mountain coffee, some sandwiches and other goodies, we walked back out through this lovely mansion to our bus and headed back down to the valley and back to Falmouth. It was a lovely day all in all and we enjoyed our visit to Falmouth very much.

 

EconomicsFamilyLife ExperienceTravelWatch Collecting

The Tender Trap

Posted on by Ray MacDonald

One thing you can be sure of when you visit George Town Grand Cayman – you ain’t tying up to no dock, baby.

Grand Cayman doesn’t want to spoil its sea views with a bunch of cruise ship quays, and besides that they have a nice little industry and lots of employment in tendering passengers to shore.

Tendering is usually ranked about as high as Nor’easters on my cruising agenda , but it’s different in George Town, The ship didn’t bother even lowering its own tender boats and instead hired the local boys.

Here’s a local tender. They are big and hold a ton of passengers so there’s no lineup or bumpy ride to shore.

Sarah, Dave and the Kids decided to go swimming with stingrays but we thought we’d just putter around downtown George Town since the last time we were there it was Ash Wednesday and the only thing open was a rum cake store. It was different this time. Every possible sort of luxury watch and diamond store was open this time. All you needed was money. But we were after T-shirts and oven mitts (don’t ask.)

I couldn’t resist another picture of fabulous Fort George. Hopefully the Spanish aren’t coming back to retake Grand Cayman.

No snow or ice in this parking lot.

More crazed passengers were arriving so we headed to the souvenir shops. As usual, Maria got a good deal – even some Stingray City shirts.

We dropped into a local United Church for some shade and spiritual refreshment before heading back to the pier.

One of the other cruise ships was using its own boats to tender. These babies are crowded and bumpy so I was glad Celebrity was being more sensible.

I suppose it could have been worse. At least we didn’t use this craft to tender.

On to Falmouth!

FamilyLife ExperienceTravel

A Day In Cozumel

Posted on by Ray MacDonald

The first time we visited Cozumel in 2011, we didn’t try to do all that much. It was hot, and we walked from the pier into San Miguel, did some shopping and then walked back. This time Sarah was determined to do something different so she planned a trip to Chankanaab Park for us.

As we got ready to go we saw other cruise ships coming in, so I wasn’t sure how busy it would be at this park. However we had agreed to come along with Sarah, Dave and the kids so off we went.

As we left the ship, Teddy and I walked down the pier hand in hand with the following conversation in progress:

Teddy : Where are we going now, Grandpa?

Grandpa: I’m not sure Teddy. Your Mom is handling the details today.

Teddy (in disbelief): But…she used to be your KID!

Grandpa: Yeah, but she’s the boss now – so we better just follow her.

We took a 7 passenger van out to the park and it turned out to be quite a lovely spot. In addition to the beach area, they had this nice lagoon to look at tropical fish.

As well there was a cool and shady botanical garden.

Then we wandered through a Mayan building and statues area.

And finally we went back to the beach to see how the sunbathers were doing.

Teddy wanted to watch the folks swimming with dolphins, so we went over there.

He wasn’t all that anxious to get close to an iguana, though.

We finished up with watching the younger set get wet all over again in the pool.

By then everyone had experienced enough sun, sand and sightseeing for the day and we had to get back to the ship. We got another taxi and were soon back at the pier and safely aboard.

Here’s a look back at the pier area as we prepare to sail away. On our way to George Town next!

FamilyLife ExperienceTravel

The Gateway

Posted on by Ray MacDonald

We’ve taken a few cruises in the Caribbean or across the Atlantic, and most of them have started in the gateway port of Fort Lauderdale/Port Everglades. This one was no exception.

It’s a busy spot for sure. The Sunday when we embarked there were 5 ships in the port – Princess, Holland America, two Royal Caribbean including the massive Allure of the Seas, and our Celebrity Silhouette.

We arrived the night before to make sure we didn’t miss our sailaway. Hotel space was at a premium (and expensive) but we had booked in advance to stay at a hotel quite close to the port. We had time to hit Walgreen’s for necessary pharmacy items and a local Mexican grill for burritos. The next day we had breakfast, walked around a bit, went back to Walgreen’s and then got the shuttle over to the ship.

Susannah came with us as we headed back to Walgreen’s one more time.

Once aboard, we had our lunch and wandered around the upper decks looking across the water to the other ships such as the incredible Allure of the Seas.

Then it was time for lifeboat drill and Teddy had to try out his life jacket.

After that we were on our way. Next stop Cozumel!

 

 

 

FamilyLife ExperienceTravel

Pirates of the Caribbean

Posted on by Ray MacDonald

It surely is a fantasy world, a one week cruise in the Caribbean. After a huge snowfall, you drive through freezing rain to the Ottawa airport. A few hours later you are walking around in shirtsleeves in south Florida. The next day you are off for a week of hot, humid island hopping. Then it’s back to Fort Lauderdale, into the airport and presto! – you return to more ice and another snow dump. It’s hard to believe that one week ago we were shopping for T-shirts in George Town, Grand Cayman.

It was fun though. We had some quality time with the grandkids who enjoyed the Fun Factory on the ship as well as being with the old folks. The two older ones slept in our cabin so we were up early every day. And the ship (Celebrity Silhouette) was familiar to us. It was our second time on her, and we’ve had 5 other cruises on two of her sister ships. In fact it’s pathetic when on the first day you know exactly where to go to get the bread pudding without even a second thought.

Here’s our water taxi in Cozumel.

I plan to write a little bit more about our cruise in the coming days. It’ll probably take me longer to write about it than it was to experience it, but that’s how it goes when you live a fantasy life.

cww trust seal