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And as soon as I typed it, I now have that song from the Bare Naked Ladies in my head. Awesome. This is going to be a quick one even though it has been forever since I last posted. Damn micro blogging (aka. Twitter) has sated my need to update the world on what I’m doing, which is actually a good thing as it leaves this forum open for a more meaningful discourse.

But not today. Tonight rather I am trying not to allow my rage to bubble over. That’s right: rage. I was originally going to tweet about it, but I didn’t feel that was going to be effective enough. I want this to be properly indexed on the web. For those outside of my close contacts (which unfortunately doesn’t include as many people as it should) I am moving soon. Probably tomorrow, but on paper at the end of the month. If you take anything away from this post, it is: do not live in “Flores” 122 Harbour Road in Paget, Bermuda. Ever.
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It was a hot, tiring week, but like all good things, it too had to come to an end. The week in question was this past week when two of my brothers, Adam and Peter, joined me in Bermuda for some fun in the sun.

The trip which was planned as a way to make sure all of my family has had a chance to visit this small island which I now call home. It also doubled as a graduation present for Adam who will be walking across the stage to receive his degree in a couple of weeks. They grow up so fast. I’m still coping with the thought of living a “real” life myself. Although sometimes living in Bermuda can make it feel a little fantastic.

As for the week, I rented scooters for my brothers and we cruised around the island playing the role of tourist. Beaches, forts, lighthouses and various other sites and activities were mingled amongst naps, BBQs, and evenings relaxing at home. It was low key, but at the same time high energy, at least if you consider heat to be energy. :)

There are photos and video of the week, and I’m hoping to have had a chance to go through them before too long, while it is still fresh, and share some of the memories with others.

UPDATE: I made a video of the week: Bate Boys Bermuda Bash

Last night was the first practice of the Bermuda Rookie league baseball team that I am assistant coaching. It is the 6 to 9 age range and so can be quite an interesting and rewarding experience. I learned (or was reminded of) a couple of things in the process.

The first is that it has been a long time since I last coached baseball. I was trying to think of when it was and it was definitely at least ten years ago, maybe more like twelve or thirteen. I certainly wasn’t much older than the players at the time and was really just assistant coaching with my father. I also trained and received my umpire certification around that time as well. And I’ve come a long way in forgetting as many of those rules and techniques as I possibly could have. Or so I thought, but last night I was pleasantly surprised when much of it started coming back when I got back on the field.

Young children everywhere are very similar. At least the ones who are likely to sign up for a baseball league. Full of energy (way more than I have, or maybe ever had) which in turn translates into a loss of focus. Not all kids are like this, I wasn’t for example, but some of the kids on my team are and it is a double edged sword. Lots of energy can mean good hustle, good base running and even good fielding. On the other hand, lots of energy can mean distraction, bad base running and bad fielding. It really depends on how that energy is manifested.

And perhaps most telling for me, is that I definitely need to get out an do more on a regular basis. I really enjoyed the evening practice and hopefully the games will be the same. I do need to get a hold of some baseball clothes, as I really don’t have much that is appropriate for the ball diamond. And hopefully, after my brothers visit in May, I will have my own glove again. I will let you know how the season goes.

Since my usual M.O. is to mention all of the bundles of Mac software I am aware of, I guess it is high time that I mention this one. For anyone I haven’t contacted directly or who saw over Twitter, there is a new MacHeist bundle available. The third annual in fact, and unlike most or all of the others, MacHeist donates a portion of the sales to charity. In this case, 25% of the sales, and so far over $400,000 has been raised. The trick to the bundle is that the more they sell, the more extra software becomes available. And periodically throughout the life of the promotion, they will add additional apps to maintain interest.

So if you haven’t, you have a little less than 2 days to head over and pick up $800+ worth of software for only $39. You would spend that at one nice meal out. And almost $10 goes to charity (you can choose which from a list, or split it evenly).

I will admit that some of the apps in that list won’t appeal to everyone. There is a $300 3D animation application for example. There is also an app which is used with iPhones and iPod touches, so if you don’t have one and have no intention, then that isn’t useful. Likewise for iSale, the eBay application.

However, if you haven’t purchased a bundle before, this might be a good time to start. There are a couple of great apps for editing photos (something that most people find themselves needing to do). There is also a program call SousChef, which is used to organize and share recipes. Or more important for people like me with no culinary experience, you can search and download recipes from a large, growing collection online. And it will generate a shopping list for you.

There are also a couple of games included, such as the surprisingly fun and addicting World of Goo. However, perhaps my favourite application that I’ve had a chance to try out is Times. This one was just added as a bonus application just yesterday. Simply put, it is a news reader. Not that there aren’t other options, even free ones, available, but this one strikes a balance between function and fun and ends up with a fantastic result. This is one which I will continue to use. Basically, instead of an email like interface of feeds and headlines and a display pane, Times looks and behaves like a newspaper. Really it needs to be seen for full effect, so check out the screen shots, or better yet, own it yourself when you buy the bundle.

But hurry, there isn’t much time left.

It is almost exactly ten years since I got my driver’s license in Nova Scotia. I remember that feeling of potential freedom that it represented. If you grew up in a city, you can’t fully appreciate the value that being able to drive a car has. No buses, no trains, no taxis, not even sidewalks. If I wanted to go anywhere other than into the woods, I needed to do it in a car.

Fast forward to the present and I am no less excited about the license I just received today. After exactly two months on the island, I finally have my motorcycle license. And not just the 50cc auxiliary scooters, I am able to drive motorcycles and scooters up to 150cc (which is the maximum allowed in Bermuda). And it is good for ten years. Now I just have to get myself a bike, I’m about done with the one that I’ve been renting for the past two months. I’ll be sure to mention when I get something picked out, hopefully with photos.

Today we are entering a threesome of days which have some pseudo-significance to people. First, and likely most significant to people is a Friday the thirteenth. A lot of people see it as a day of bad luck, some others see it as a day of good luck. Personally I’m neutral on the matter, but it has a label and definitely some significance.

Tomorrow is more obscure perhaps, first it is Albert Einstein’s birthday. But to some math geeks, it is also Pi Day. Third month, 14th day. 3.14. And as I was writing this I realized that I likely don’t need to explain pi day anymore since I write about it all the time. Almost every year since the versions of my website which are still online started. It looks like I missed it in 2007 (granted I was very busy finishing my dissertation). But I mention it in 2008, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003 and 2002.

And finally on Sunday we have the Ides of March. Made famous by Shakespeare, this was the day on which Julius Caesar was assassinated. This one is significant for all the literary and history geeks out there. Not that I am not one myself. :)

Not to be outdone, being slightly disconnected, is St. Patrick’s day on the 17th. Really the only one of these “days” to get a proper celebration with much drinking and parades in some places. Of course, since St. Paddys is on a Tuesday, I suspect there will be much celebration this weekend.

Just a heads up for everyone, there is another Mac Bundle Box happening now—until 12 March. Over $300 worth of software for $49. Honestly though, there is only one item there that I personally want but you may feel otherwise. If you have been following along with the MacHeist missions, you would have access to some other software which is quite similar to this stuff—for free. I also suspect that there will be another MacHeist bundle soon, so you might want to hold out for that.

The one thing that I do like the look of is Code Collector Pro which seems to be like iTunes but for my code snippets. And it supports/uses TextMate bundles so it can highlight all of the languages that I use. It is only $25 on its own, so I might just buy that alone. :)