Well, this is it...

This is the final post here. My page is ready for viewing. Of course I've found a few links in need to fixing & there are probably more & will welcome being informed of them (informed on the new page and new contact information). So please visit http://www.jayscottphotograpy.ca/ and enjoy yourself. Feel free to email & contribute. And anyone who reads this and has a link to this blog or my old site, please change it to my new site. Thanks! See you at the new place. I will be deleting this blog and the old site very soon so update links sooner than later. :)

I made a decision...

To pay some money and have a real website. I'm thinking that with Angie gone to her grandma's funeral this weekend that I'll have the time to convert the old site's addresses and other neccessary links so I'll let you know when it's up. Pastor Bryan, our administrator, at our church is pretty stoked about it and wants the address as soon as it is up. Talk about the boost I needed. That combined with the encouragement from craig123 on the CPA website forums has given me a renewed fire for this ministry of mine.

Construction season is all year around on this site unlike Saskatchewan. :P I'll let you know when it's ready to be viewed AND CONTRIBUTED TO by everyone. ;)

A Tribute to a Wonderful Friend

Two years ago today a very close friend had to leave. She was in pain and needed to go, but I still miss her. She was a very great blessing in my life during difficult times. She pulled me through many tough times of adolescence and made the need to get home from the hospital after my broken neck that much more urgent so she could be looked after properly by me again from walks to brushings. To you Muffin whose little affectionate actions could do more than anyone I knew at the time.

And so begins the worst week of my year but these pictures have made me smile. How I miss her.

Great White Hunter

So we''ve had a fly in here annoying us for days... since I think last Wednesday. We do not have a fly swatter & a dish towel was not working. It was elusive. But today, besides that I was wanting one, I bought a suction cup dart gun with the hopes of getting the fly. Well, I just killed it with my new rifle. What a shot! Yup, won't forget that one soon. I'm always amazed at how my greatest kills are stuck in my mind like a little video clip. Gophers, birds one stray dog I hit (not killed) with my .357 & now a fly. Yeah, it's not the weapon, it's the hunter.

This is my rifle, this is my gun. This is for fighting, this is for fun! :D

Quick Update

I don’t feel much like typing so here’s a quick rundown.

I got FrontPage 2003 so I will be adding to the site soon. Useful information also, not just pictures.

New computer is working great. Old one is for sale. If anyone is interested here is the link:
http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/cka/comp.htm

One quick public service announcement: As much as I would not stick a bumper sticker on my vehicle under almost any circumstance, after yesterday, if someone presented me with one reading the following I may consider it:

C’Mon Drive Hard! Whateryou, a wimp? Faster, harder! It is imperative that you beat me to the red light three intersections in a row. And don’t you dare signal, people will think you’re queer! The light ahead is red, ride my rear bumper, please, I like it!

My tip of the day is this: Gas is going up, brakes are not cheap, life is even more valuable. Calm down. Slow down and when you pull up behind someone at a red light, you should be able to see the road under their rear tires. If you cannot, try leaving more space next time. I know most who read this need not hear what I just said, but I have not experienced the anger I did yesterday in a long time and I did not enjoy it. Not the man I want to be.
Had I been able bodied and done something like getting out to politely inform the tailgater that I would prefer that he/she not ride so close, I probably would have caused a greater nasty response instead of influencing one person to drive safer. I’ve often wondered what would Jesus do in a case like that. I can only think of the adulterous woman in John 8:1 – 11. She was forgiven but told to not do it again. So I’ll gladly forgive an offensive driver because I’ve made my share of mistakes while driving, but I never try to drive stupidly. So after letting it go, how does a person get the message politely to the other person to please not endanger our lives in that way? Yeah, one of my unresolved thoughts. Any input other than getting out in traffic or following the person to their destination to discuss it? Webpage updates soon.

Kind of frustrated about the whole computer setup thing...

So our new computer is great. My frustrations have nothing to do with the actual machine. I lost our address book for MS Outlook, but some tinkering, renaming and creative filing with the multiple backups I made from the old machine were very helpful in resolving this. I thought that now I would get the appearance looking the way we like. Colours, menu items, preferences. It was going well. One thing I can't remember how to change.

My biggest concern at this moment, is that my MS Office XP did NOT contain FrontPage (the program I use to build my website). Now, I know I had it on the last computer and that it worked well. But it did not come with my $400 version of Office XP. I finally decided over 3 years ago to purchase the software (Office XP) and I come up short of what I thought it included. Where did I get it from? I was certain I had an original copy. I guess it's back to my pirated software because I refuse to use Word as a web builder. It's just that I was so certain that I had an original copy because the one I used on the old machine was XP... the only pirated copy of software I have is Office 2000 Pro edition.

I'm really not sure, after the dozen or more hours I've pumped into making this thing work at peak efficiency, how computer challenged people can buy one & seem content without personalization and some tweaking to their likes. I guess because I know of the greater capabilities I demand them.

So I guess my page is even further on hold until I find some answers... Oh & I miss my wife already & she has only been gone 2 hours... it'll be a long few days.

So I bought the components for our new system. It should be finished aybe Wednesday or Thursday for certain. So until I get it properly configured and ready to go both Angie & I will be scarce. I'm not doing a thing on it until full firewall settings are good to go & until the anti-virus software is humming. Angie is off to Calgary to visit her grandparents this weekend so I'll be spending time getting our new machine going. Anyway, you'll hear from me next when I'm grinning ear to ear because of the new toy... including the neon lighted interior. :)

My Home

I've always enjoyed Ebenezer Baptist Church. From the first day I went I felt very welcomed. Lately, with summer activities and people being away, it has had the summer feel & I haven't felt as much desire to be involved. I think as I see leaves change colours and life returning to the non-summer cycle, I feel more returning desire to do more. I'm getting excited about our small group Bible study beginning again and the good things that come in the fall.

Today I felt even more joyful to be a member at Ebenezer when one of our longer term members came over for a chat before the service began, and one of the ushers gave my shoulder a friendly squeeze as he was doing his work passing the offering plate and the friendship folders out. Just made me glad to be there worshipping God and fellowshipping with my brothers and sisters in Christ. It is a good place to spend Sunday mornings and a privilege to be a member there.

Cheap Entertainment

Step 1: Unbeknownst to others, change the office coffee to decaf for three weeks until people have eliminated their caffeine addiction.
Step 2: Change to espresso after the three weeks.
Step 3: Enjoy the results.

I read that while waiting at the chiropractor's office. It was my first time going, but with one adjustment it feels so good! I've been told they can work wonders. This guy certainly has made me feel much better. I know I'll need repeated visits, but as long as this adjustment is lasting, I might be a quicker fix than some. I say "as long as this adjustment is lasting" because I've heard from Angie and my mom that the bone can pop back out in minutes or hours. So far it is feeling great. Maybe my shoulder aches are nearing their end.

I just had my bi-annual McDonalds and as I suspected I hurt and really didn't enjoy it. I guess that is why only about every two years I have a Big M(aximum)A(rtery)C(logger). I'd say live and learn, but I never do when it comes to Rotten Ronald's. :)

Don’t read on a full stomach…

I’ve made two observations about illness that I thought I might share.

1. Very early in elementary school we learned colour combinations that create new colours. Red and blue makes purple, etc. The colour I’m thinking of though is the colour of green as made by blue and yellow. Sometimes green is produced in my throat when I’m ill. Now, I’ve seen my body produce yellow before but never blue. I hope I never see blue from my body except veins. I’ve heard of the effects of blue slurpees but that’s another blog…

2. With this illness I’m experiencing, my left ear is swollen shut to a degree. Now, to feel better and hear again, I just need my ear canal to be opened up a bit by stretching the flesh in the area. No worries about me asking you to pull my finger, but I may ask you to pull my ear.

Seriously though, both Angie & I are almost better. For myself, I suspect tomorrow will be the last day of lingering symptoms. Angie just has a sore throat that seems better each day but gets sore again by night. This has been the most unusual progression of symptoms I’ve ever seen.

Ok, I’ve had my rant…

I’m still going to get some answers on Monday, but my cold or whatever it is feels like it’s on the mend. I hope the same for Angie too. But I’ve added more pictures to my site of our August long weekend in & around Swift Current. They are grouped under the long weekend picture link/thumbnail. Enjoy! :)

I need to express my irritation - I'll say sorry ahead of time for the length of this post.

I must say that I’ve been pretty down lately. It just seems that things never slow down & I cannot get properly into the routine that I need to ensure my best possible health. I expected the summer to be busy but so many things are forever arising. Nothing I couldn’t handle under normal circumstances but you tack on the frustrations with our health system & an ordeal that I’m having with SGI & I feel near the edge of something bad happening to me mentally. More than a few times I’ve been feeling like just giving up because my best efforts are once again futile. I think I vented to the proper person (one causing some of the grief) and I maintained a professional attitude and language. I meet with him on Monday and I will perform a lie test on him. Just signs I’ve learned & studied to watch for when someone is lying. I'll find out if he has my health in mind or if he is a narc for SGI, just trying to impress them. I had one of those businesses jerk me around in 1997-98. They impressed SGI & are "frequently used by us" now, but they poorly oversaw the rennovations of my parents' home before I was discharged from rehab.

But I think the greatest cause of stress is our health system. One of my regular homecare people is off on holidays. Holidays booked in March. It came as no surprise to me when I phoned the homecare office yesterday to make sure someone qualified was scheduled for here that they had someone unqualified scheduled… because you know over four months isn’t enough time to get things right. It’s so much easier to do it in a panic at the last second. I’m not the only one complaining about these issues. The homecare staff gets frustrated with it because they get overworked and the clients get poor care. Next on my list is Dr. Bodenstab at the Lakeside Medical clinic. Every time I’ve gone to see him he has over reacted and pushed pills on me. He did the same to Angie today when she went back to the walk-in clinic to check out getting cough syrup for her very trying illness. As I have experienced, Dr. Bodenstab made her feel rushed, interrupted her, prescribed pills without explanation, responded sharply to her when she asked what the prescription was for, and interrupted her when she was trying to ask questions. All that after she waited two hours after being told to expect a half hour wait & after Angela was called and the wrong Angela accepted first. Because you know it would be too difficult to call last names. For all we know, they treated some woman and added the result to my wife’s file.

But those concerns are nothing. Perhaps over reacting is okay compared to this story. My aunt, who has had & beaten lung cancer began having problems with vision, balance and nausea. To her fault, she denied it for awhile until it got pretty bad. The first trip to the hospital resulted in the diagnosis of vertigo which failed to meet some of her symptoms. Regardless of the accuracy of that last sentence because I may be missing a few details, her condition got worse. Subsequent trips to the hospital resulted in the administration of pain killers. This was at a point where she could barely function at home. The request & concern about hospital admission had been expressed by this point but the doctors did not admit her. It wasn’t until Monday, August 1, when Angie & I came back to Saskatoon that my aunt could not even sit up because of the severe nausea and dizziness. My mom went over to try and help, but there was only one course of action because she needed medical assistance. Laying on the couch was not going to fix this. So by ambulance (in hopes that this course of action would give better hope of being admitted) she was taken to the hospital. They were again going to release her, but my mom got cross and stated the obvious that her sister was unable to care for herself. The CT scan a few days later resulted in the detection of a tumor in the back of her brain. Vertigo my butt! The golf ball sized tumor was removed this past Monday and my aunt is feeling much better. There is a chance that it is not cancerous which we are all praying for. But the point is that our health care system doesn’t work properly. Besides that, my parents’ two weeks of holidays were plagued by their concern for my aunt.

Finally, one thing I was going to blog about awhile ago, but just had too much on my mind, was my observation of the greed of those of this world. I’m not always as generous as I could be, but lately I’ve noticed more frequently the greed of a number of people. Nothing surprising, just an observation I’ve made more often lately that has me in thought.

It was a great weekend…

Blog
As usual, my bad mood as seen in the last post, was unfounded. It was a most excellent weekend! The wedding was nice, the cabin time was great. Angie got to go for a tube ride, I went for a big swim and am prepared for the sit ski including being able to turn over from being in the water face first. As usual, my parents fed us plenty and the weather was awesome. The funniest story of the trip can be read about on Angie’s blog as seen on the link to the right. And what most excellent storms last evening! I got about 5 minutes of great footage!
I'm Still frustrated about the lack of accessible housing in the city and the useless letters my friend gets but there really is little I can do. I would like to take Lyn’s comment from the last post & write a letter, but I just want my buddy to have a suitable place to live, not start some project or ordeal that I have no desire to undertake or have any tension over. I still need to finish my Credit Union letter… just proofreading to make sure it has no hint of anger, just information for a CEO.

News
Momentarily I’m going to upload pictures from our July long weekend trip & I’ll get on some from this weekend. I will immediately put up the very short video Angie took of me swimming. The video was only at shore, but I went out to about 5’6” of water to make sure my feet were not dragging on the bottom and affecting my performance in the water. It sure was strange to be floating next to my wife at the same height. Felt great to be vertically hugging her as if I were my full 6’2”.
I got rid of the annoying tune on the index page. I like it, but it gets annoying fast. They should have never made it possible to embed midis. :P There is also a new story under “fun and games.” If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, don’t forget to access this page from the index, not the blog. Infact, for any who still have http://kerhst.blogspot.com/ as the link in your blog template, please change it to my page index: http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/cka/index.html Thanks!

Very frustrated… Sometimes forget why I’m spending time on this but I do know why…

When I first thought of moving to Saskatoon I was warned about the limited affordable wheelchair accessible housing for rent. My plan was to rent awhile, learn the city, find the right condo and then go from there. I decided just to buy because I’ve always hated the thought of renting. *Toilet flushing, money slurping down the drain* But I suppose renting has a few advantages though certainly not enough compared to ownership. The same can be said for leased vehicles, but that’s another posting for another day.

My friend has been searching for suitable accessible housing. In ways, he needs a wheelchair accessible home more than I do. So as he stays with his parents, feeling as irritated as can be with this crappy system and his parents mannerisms (we all have some), I just cannot understand the information I heard today.

Of 254 suites in the two Saskatoon Housing Authority towers by Market Mall, designed for the elderly and the disabled, there are only two wheelchair accessible suites! They want my friend to go downtown in one of their buildings with standard equipment, big tubs that he could never get in or out of, unusable toilets… I’m so frustrated for him I don’t know what to do. There are only a dozen or so wheelchair accessible suites in Saskatoon that are for low income people. That’s about one for every 21,000 citizens. For goodness sake, Moose Jaw had 18 suites! And there is nothing that can be done.

So that’s one thing. I had 9 views of my page last week & I know I went there about 5 times to look for comments… See topic sentence.

Finally, I don’t want to go to Swift Current this weekend. It’s going to be hot in that old Catholic church, I want to swim, maybe ski, Sunday but I don’t want my dad making a big production of it or hurting his or anyone else’s back… Just one of those “more hassle than it is worth” cases. I have my memories of waterskiing. They would probably serve me better than my drowning or getting hurt. I do want to see Angie tube, but for the most part, I’m not excited. It has been a busy week for Angie. That is super, but her body is sore & there is little I can do to help. My guts are their usual crampy selves and I can’t do anything about it. And I just don’t feel like being seen. No thunderstorms to watch, way too much commotion going on, I think I’m looking forward to January and that calmness of it… that & ice feeshin’. Maybe I'll go gopher hunting or target shooting when I get back. Fire off some anger and testosterone. Still gotta make that gun powder scented air freshener and make my millions. Love that smell.

Caught in limbo...

So last night was the first time since we got married that I slept alone in this bed. There was the women's retreat when Angie was gone, but I was in Swift Current so I slept alone in that bed which was nothing new at that point. We have since slept in that bed together. So I thought that, though I really missed my wife being next to me, I would have a great sleep since I haven't yet fully adapted to sleeping next to someone. I had the hardest time falling asleep. I'm always so careful to make sure my arm never flails over in her direction after I'm sure I elbowed her in my sleep not a week after we were married. She never woke from it & thought I might have dreamed it... I hope so, but it sure seemed real. But last night when I was half asleep & looked over there was no Angie. A person always wants what they cannot have & I wanted a hug! :) Tomorrow afternoon. Yay! Thankfully this is not more than a few days... this time. Her trip to Calgary at the end of August will be for longer but I'll be in Swift Current so hopefully it will be easier. Anyway, I'm caught in limbo, not yet sleeping perfectly next to Angie, but not sleeping perfectly by myself.

One more note about my letter to the Credit Union. It deserves to be said what I said in it. But my dad still has to deal there. I'm not trying to cause trouble but I do not like being treated that way and acused of being a crook! I think I will adjust it, remove some names and send it. I cannot let this injustice go unanswered, but "a gentle answer turns away wrath."

So I didn't do the garlic bomb, but my letter to the Credit Union and applicable parties is nearly finished. Apparently the woman that helped us calculated incorrectly. That doesn't change the fact that we signed our names for an amount higher than what was received. Okay, we did not deserve as much as we signed for. I’m not about to get nasty but the facts will be presented in a letter to the CEO.
The few recent unpleasant experiences (excluding the most recent miscalculation) were frustrating, but I was going to try to let it roll off my back. It was the fact that no letter or email was sent or phone call made to inform me of the mistake and that a smaller amount would be transferred to our account. When I inquired about it politely by email, I was pushed to the bottom of the list and then when the record of the transaction couldn’t even be found, I was told to wait until the incompetent employee that Angie and I dealt with returned from holidays. That was not an option so I got my dad to invoke his power of attorney over me & get this looked into. One quick note about that employee: While Angie & I were trying to get these few things accomplished last time we were in Swift Current I presented the three actions I wished to be made. It must’ve been overload because I’ve never seen someone look so flustered. In the time we were there she got up to leave her office & get assistance at least five times. The same thing happened to my mother’s hair dresser when she wanted to transfer some RRSPs. Not qualified for the position she holds and the paycheque she’s pulling down!

So my dad booked an appointment with an employee he and I had dealt with previously. She informed him of the error but not politely. She called me “a clever guy” & implied that I knew the amount was incorrect and that I was trying to defraud the Southwest Credit Union. My dad firmly responded that he did not care for her comment and asked that since they could not find the records from less than two weeks ago what would have happened if the incompetent employee had resigned. The response was that they would have called her. Well, not to be too negative, but what if she had been injured or died? Just another proof of the ineptness of the Credit Union’s recordkeeping. So oh behalf of the incompetent employee on holidays I was given an apology from that employee and through my dad to me. I should have received a phone call or email while my dad sat there.

So the reason for the miscalculation was in that from what I thought and what I was told the day Angie & I were there was that the investment was a year older than it was in which case my calculations & hers that day would have been correct. So I made a mistake & I am willing to accept the consequences of a lowered value credited to our account. Last time I checked people should pay for their mistakes. I would have easily been appeased as I’m just aching to finally get out of that institution. Had they informed me and apologized, not simply lowered the amount and left us hanging as to where the rest was I probably wouldn’t be typing this or the most strongly worded letter I’ve ever written and the only letter I’ve written to a CEO.

Finally, there were other things that added to the breaking of this mule’s back. The previously dealt with employee not being able to get straight the penalty that would be placed on us for the early redemption (huge difference between ½% and ½ of the interest earned to date!), unfamiliarity with their own documents and photocopy protection on those documents and the accusations, crappy new multi-million dollar building that all of Swift Current is complaining about because of it’s terrible acoustics and accessibility, lack of service over the years that I tried to ignore… The list continues but I’m exhausted. Yay for PC Financial! They’ve shown me more respect and service in five months than the Credit Union has in 14 years… Good night. :)

Non-Violent Assault Tactic #1

I've been very frustrated with the Southwest Credit Union and SGI and their consultants. I think I may use a story my father-in-law told me about for my purposes. Essentially, once when Angie was young and needed to be taken to the hospital, her dad had just eaten a bulb of garlic microwaved with a bit of margerine and seasoning. He couldn't figure out why the nurses at the registration desk kept leaving and switching. It was his breath.
Tomorrow I have a meeting with of one of SGI's long-winded (by his own admission) consultants for the third time. Maybe once this is all over I'll tell that story. But for now, I think I'll have some serious garlic & onions for lunch. If the meeting is remarkably fast, especially in comparison to the previous ones, I'll know the secret. Then next time I'm in Swift Current I'll do the same to that blasted Southwest Credit Union who so conveniently misplaced a huge chunk of our money & can't find it on their records. Thankfully I have the paperwork, and if my dad cannot get them to figure it out tomorrow I'll be in and give them the garlic treatment until eyes are gushing tears. I'm so frustrated with the incompetence of the Credit Union I could holler. I decided to give it to them in black and white. I will compose the most thorough letter I've ever written... Still might go give the garlic treatment just for the grief and interest they've cost us! But our money will be found! It amazes me how they can put me off when I email. Had I been a grumpy old man coming in in person we'd have our money by now. Makes me want to be less patient. Never in 13 years has the Credit Union called me to see how I was enjoying their services. In a few months PC financial, with their minimal 2 employees has called three times! RBC did the same to Angie. The minutes she deposits some money they're kissing butt like you're their best friend.
Do they think we are stupid, that we don't see through all this!? I'm a man on a mission... tomorrow. Now I need sleep.

Ok, so obviously no one really wanted the comments back, but I’ll leave it alone and save bandwidth on my Angelfire account. But I’m in Swift Current on my dad’s computer. Upon clicking a link to any of my webpage’s sections as seen in the contents to the left if you’re actually on the page, I got a save file dialogue. I haven’t figured out why or what it is. It appears as follows with some variation in the numbers of the file name.

File name: 19559420@Top1
From: network.realmedia.com

Does this happen to anyone else? If it does, I’d like to fix it. Now I know in the past my most urgent requests for comments have been ignored but I would really appreciate comments on this for the sake of my ministry. Excuse the attitude please, but I’m really frustrated. Does a save dialogue come up when you enter any on the other sections on my website? A simple yes or no comment would be nice…
Oh, & Happy Canada Day...

The blog is as I hoped. I might tinker with font colors but for now it's good. I was thinking about posting all of the posts I had up from the "News" page before I got this working. That way, though it would be delayed a few weeks, or months in the case of some posts, people could comment. Would you please express your interest or disinterest in my posting the dozen or so old posts for your commenting enjoyment. Have I mentioned that I love Genesis Restaurant on 22nd Street in Saskatoon? I'm so full and satisfied & if I get hungry in a few hours, there is quite a container of leftovers. I have plenty to say, from banks to weather, but we just rented "Meet the Fockers" so I think I'll watch that with my dear wife and express my thoughts next week.
Don't forget to comment on the old posts please. :)

Ok, I got the comments working... mostly. If the trackback thing & the double locations for the comments stay on posts before this one and the last one, I'll just leave them alone in the old posts, as I would like. This post is a test as well as informative.

One final thing I'm looking for advice on, because I'm stumped & my brain is not thinking html very well right now, is when blogger gives you the option of posting a paragraph of text between tags like <> and < /p> what does it want? The text in quotes? or does it want us to include more of the information between the tags? Thanks for any advice.

Ok, going to try this now as the "main" window to my webpage. This does block the ads from Angelfire which is in violation of their free webspace. I appreciate it too much to risk so we'll see how this goes for the moment. If they shut me down or send me a warning I may need to set up a blog with Angelfire's templates, but my blog and Haloscan comments are working as I type this. Feel free to comment or just try it out. Navigate the page and see what happens. I'll stick a link to this page up at the bottom of the page contents so you can get back here without countless back clicks. We'll see how it goes.

New blog on my website (location as seen below) FYI. I think that will be my new location from now on so if you want to adjust your blog links that'd be great! :)

After using the washroom three times at church today (too much water yesterday?) I was thinking that people will think I have a bladder the size of a pea... but then we all have bladders the size of a pee. :P

This may be my last post here. News/Blog section of my website will give you insight to my life and any comments can be emailed to me through the page links. Address is:

http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/cka/index.html

Thought I'd give it a try. I thought I might be more Upper Midwestern. I might do a kooky one next. Throw my british accent in there. :P

Your Linguistic Profile:

60% General American English

15% Upper Midwestern

15% Yankee

5% Dixie

5% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?