Once again, as I clean and polish my Ibanez Artist 2630 guitar that I have had the pleasure of playing for the last 30 years, I have once again come to think of it as an old friend. That guitar has been with me through all my ups and downs with life. It's a very soulful friend, indeed. It's almost like a part of me when I play. When I'm happy, it sounds happy. When I'm in pain, it sounds in pain. It plays how I feel. It's practically the only electric I have that can do this.
I still view it the same way I believe God views me: not perfect, but in caring sounds can do amazing things. I see that it gets a fresh coat of polish and a good wipe, along with a change of strings every once in while, just as God sees my needs and makes sure that I am fed, clothed and sheltered. I hold it close and watch over it, just as God holds me close and watches over me. I restored it when it suffered damage due to a water heater explosion, just as God restored me after suffering an almost total meltdown.
Sure you may think, "it's just a guitar". Then again, I'm just a human. Just as you won't find another me, you won't find another guitar like this one (even if you do find a 2630 somewhere).
Friday, February 20, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Getting back at the telemarketers!
The following is a conversation between a telemarketer and me that took place today. It started off with the following recorded message:
"This is the 2nd notice that the warranty on your vehicle is about to expire. If you do not act now, you will no longer be eligible for extended coverage of your vehicle. If you would like to speak to a representative, please press '1'"
Of course you can tell that I was not going to turn down this opportunity to speak to our Professional Expert Sale Telemarketer (aka PEST). So here we go:
PEST: Thank you for calling our vehicle warranty department. Now if you would be kind enough to answer a few questions...
jord: Sure, after you can answer me one question.
PEST: And what is that?
jord: What kind of car do I drive?
PEST: For privacy reasons, we can't reveal that information.
jord: You have my phone number, which obviously doesn't seem to be private. From there, you can find my address and there you can simply drive to my house and see my car sitting on my driveway. From there, you can get my vehicle records from the Ministry of Transport. All of this is public information. So, if you can't tell me what kind of car I drive, then how can you tell my warranty is expiring?
PEST: Our company is going to put your number on our do not call list. Have a great day...
*click*
I only wished two things:
1) I could have recorded the call at the time
2) Joshua was here to listen to it... he would have loved it.
By the way, the telemarketer's number showed up on my phone as (909) 650-9173 so feel free to bother them just as they bothered you about your "warranty". Next time, it will be an MP3 of our conversation. So much for being a "Do Not Call" list in the first place. It only seems like it's a directly for telemarketers. It's like answering SPAM.
"This is the 2nd notice that the warranty on your vehicle is about to expire. If you do not act now, you will no longer be eligible for extended coverage of your vehicle. If you would like to speak to a representative, please press '1'"
Of course you can tell that I was not going to turn down this opportunity to speak to our Professional Expert Sale Telemarketer (aka PEST). So here we go:
PEST: Thank you for calling our vehicle warranty department. Now if you would be kind enough to answer a few questions...
jord: Sure, after you can answer me one question.
PEST: And what is that?
jord: What kind of car do I drive?
PEST: For privacy reasons, we can't reveal that information.
jord: You have my phone number, which obviously doesn't seem to be private. From there, you can find my address and there you can simply drive to my house and see my car sitting on my driveway. From there, you can get my vehicle records from the Ministry of Transport. All of this is public information. So, if you can't tell me what kind of car I drive, then how can you tell my warranty is expiring?
PEST: Our company is going to put your number on our do not call list. Have a great day...
*click*
I only wished two things:
1) I could have recorded the call at the time
2) Joshua was here to listen to it... he would have loved it.
By the way, the telemarketer's number showed up on my phone as (909) 650-9173 so feel free to bother them just as they bothered you about your "warranty". Next time, it will be an MP3 of our conversation. So much for being a "Do Not Call" list in the first place. It only seems like it's a directly for telemarketers. It's like answering SPAM.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Rock Music is not Un-Godly... only Un-Godly Rock Music is!
Last night, I was so excited that my Jimi Hendrix Electric Ladyland Deluxe Collector's Edition arrived. I was so anxious to see how one of my fave albums was made. If anything, it was, and still is, a masterpiece and the opportunity to climb inside the minds behind it is rare, especially since Hendrix died almost 40 years ago. I was excited about this, that I wanted to share it with Joelle.
You can almost imagine the rain I felt on my parade as I proceeded to express my excitement about this, only to hear her say, "I no longer listen to rock music... it's Un-Godly."
SAY WHAT????
Has she been listening to Paster Fletcher Brothers or something? Since when is rock music un-Godly, especially since a lot of my favourite artists these days are rather big on a Christian music scene??? Artists like Third Day, Michael Tate, Delirious, and others, sound amazing to me and make me want to stand up and play it out in the name of God! I don't listen to any devil-worshipping metal crap. Heck, that stuff is Un-Godly by its own presentation of evidence!
Who is Joelle to judge? Here's a bit of judgement: her taste in music has turned to crap... and country music ain't any more Godly! Even worse is that she no longer plays any music. If anything, the music has left her life... and probably has done so long ago.
Then I get the, "don't feel insulted" shtick. Of course I feel insulted. I don't care if she doesn't want to listen to some good ol' classic rock style of music. But to call it Un-Godly is calling me Un-Godly, and I have been giving God my all when it comes to music. Sure, I did have dreams of being famous and stuff... they may be dashed in some ways, but in other ways, I am getting some degree of fame on the net and I am able to spread my passion for the gospel through music. And to call that Un-Godly is wrongfully judgmental.
I'm almost in a spot where I don't feel like I can ride in the same car with her just because I don't want to listen to her music. I'd rather drive by myself because I can listen to whatever tunes I want without any judgmental remarks from her. She can watch her CMT channel all she wants... I'll go downstairs and make some real music... and it's real because I can feel it. It moves me and makes me want to move. Even more so, I will not ask her musical opinions on any more CD's that I am working on and I don't expect her to sing on any of them.Sadly enough, I think Mirrored Images is done. It's just God and me now. Time to mourn her taste in music and move on.
You can almost imagine the rain I felt on my parade as I proceeded to express my excitement about this, only to hear her say, "I no longer listen to rock music... it's Un-Godly."
SAY WHAT????
Has she been listening to Paster Fletcher Brothers or something? Since when is rock music un-Godly, especially since a lot of my favourite artists these days are rather big on a Christian music scene??? Artists like Third Day, Michael Tate, Delirious, and others, sound amazing to me and make me want to stand up and play it out in the name of God! I don't listen to any devil-worshipping metal crap. Heck, that stuff is Un-Godly by its own presentation of evidence!
Who is Joelle to judge? Here's a bit of judgement: her taste in music has turned to crap... and country music ain't any more Godly! Even worse is that she no longer plays any music. If anything, the music has left her life... and probably has done so long ago.
Then I get the, "don't feel insulted" shtick. Of course I feel insulted. I don't care if she doesn't want to listen to some good ol' classic rock style of music. But to call it Un-Godly is calling me Un-Godly, and I have been giving God my all when it comes to music. Sure, I did have dreams of being famous and stuff... they may be dashed in some ways, but in other ways, I am getting some degree of fame on the net and I am able to spread my passion for the gospel through music. And to call that Un-Godly is wrongfully judgmental.
I'm almost in a spot where I don't feel like I can ride in the same car with her just because I don't want to listen to her music. I'd rather drive by myself because I can listen to whatever tunes I want without any judgmental remarks from her. She can watch her CMT channel all she wants... I'll go downstairs and make some real music... and it's real because I can feel it. It moves me and makes me want to move. Even more so, I will not ask her musical opinions on any more CD's that I am working on and I don't expect her to sing on any of them.Sadly enough, I think Mirrored Images is done. It's just God and me now. Time to mourn her taste in music and move on.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Web 2.0 vs. ActionScript 3.0
Web 2.0 is still half-baked when it comes to making things happen for the web. I was hoping to create a simply slide show player that could be used for our photography web site, so that I wouldn't have to rely on any outside plug-ins. I also wanted it to be able to play on various devices capable of internet surfing. So, I spent a week going over what it would take to simply go through an array of images supplied dynamically, load them up and fade them in, pause for a couple of seconds, load the next image, fade out the current image when the next one has completely loaded, and the fade the next image in and the cycle repeats itself. Sounds easy...
Not for web 2.0.
If I got it to do one thing, it would crap out in another. Either that, or it would work in Firefox, Safari, Opera and everything else, except Internet Explorer. Or, it would load the first image great and then the next image would load in all distorted. It was just one thing after another and no two platforms would play it identically as set out in my style sheets.
After about 4 hours of sleep yesterday, I woke up in the morning going, "Forget it! I know what I have to do in Flash and can get it done in ActionScript 3.0 before the bridal show ends!" That's right... I had a deadline to make this work. It took me only 15 minutes to make a PHP page that will talk to Flash and help set up the slideshow. From there, I designed and wrote all of the ActionScript to accomplish everything that I needed to do for the slideshow. I managed to get it all done in ActionScript 3.0 in a matter of hours where Web 2.0 still couldn't get it right after a week of messing with it. I can live with the fact that it won't show up on anyone's iPhone or iPod Touch for now. However, any browser that does have Flash 9, which would amount to over 95% of them, will play the slideshow alike. No deviations and no quirks.
So, in my battle between Web 2.0 and ActionScript 3.0, the winner was ActionScript 3.0! The proof is in the results.
Not for web 2.0.
If I got it to do one thing, it would crap out in another. Either that, or it would work in Firefox, Safari, Opera and everything else, except Internet Explorer. Or, it would load the first image great and then the next image would load in all distorted. It was just one thing after another and no two platforms would play it identically as set out in my style sheets.
After about 4 hours of sleep yesterday, I woke up in the morning going, "Forget it! I know what I have to do in Flash and can get it done in ActionScript 3.0 before the bridal show ends!" That's right... I had a deadline to make this work. It took me only 15 minutes to make a PHP page that will talk to Flash and help set up the slideshow. From there, I designed and wrote all of the ActionScript to accomplish everything that I needed to do for the slideshow. I managed to get it all done in ActionScript 3.0 in a matter of hours where Web 2.0 still couldn't get it right after a week of messing with it. I can live with the fact that it won't show up on anyone's iPhone or iPod Touch for now. However, any browser that does have Flash 9, which would amount to over 95% of them, will play the slideshow alike. No deviations and no quirks.
So, in my battle between Web 2.0 and ActionScript 3.0, the winner was ActionScript 3.0! The proof is in the results.
Friday, December 26, 2008
This is where Chanukah stops for me...
If it weren't for my kids and now my grandchildren, I probably would never celebrate Chanukah. Mainly because this is where it stops being a happy celebration for me. I can still see this night 38 years ago burned deep into my memory, almost as vivid as the night I was there. Although no longer angry or bitter at God, I'm sure he realizes how much it hurts and how there's still an emptiness longing to be filled.
Tonight would be the night 38 years ago that I was waiting for my dad to come home from his pharmacies, either from Baycrest or Wellesley, as we would light the Chanukah candles on the menorah together. Normally, he would be home around just after 6:30pm or so, and I would be waiting at the babysitters until he arrived and we would go upstairs to our apartment. He didn't arrive at the babysitter's apartment that night and I was worried by about 7:30pm.
I went upstairs to the apartment to see if anyone was home. When I got upstairs and went into the apartment, the first thing I did was call out for my dad. Of course there was no answer. I then went to look around the apartment as there were lights on, and I went into my parent's bedroom.
That's when I saw my father slumped over the dresser all purple with spots on his arms and legs. I didn't know what to do and I was curious and scared at the same time, because I called out to him and he didn't answer me. He was just slumped over. My sister walked in and saw him and all I saw was her face all horrified as she was screaming, "Daddy's dead!" My mom got home and rushed to my sister and me holding us both. I was scared at that point because I was rushed back to the babysitter with my mom asking if I would be able to stay the night. I just wanted to see my dad. My mom said I could see him in the morning. I held onto that hope as my dad was not dead at the time, like my sister thought.
Morning came and I was anxious to see my dad as my mom came to get me. We went upstairs to our apartment and I saw all of the mirrors covered. My mom and my sister sat me down and told me that "daddy was not coming back" and is in Heaven. I was in disbelief and I wanted to see him. My sister told me we couldn't because he died in the middle of the night. I wasn't even allowed to go to the funeral to say goodbye.
Chanukah at that moment turned from joyous celebration to emptiness and bitterness for me. I felt shut down. As time passed and anger swelled, I eventually stopped lighting the menorah. Chanukah lights got replaced by a Yahrzeit Candle. Somewhere inside of me is a 7-year old that wants his dad. The one Chanukah gift that I can never have.
Tonight would be the night 38 years ago that I was waiting for my dad to come home from his pharmacies, either from Baycrest or Wellesley, as we would light the Chanukah candles on the menorah together. Normally, he would be home around just after 6:30pm or so, and I would be waiting at the babysitters until he arrived and we would go upstairs to our apartment. He didn't arrive at the babysitter's apartment that night and I was worried by about 7:30pm.
I went upstairs to the apartment to see if anyone was home. When I got upstairs and went into the apartment, the first thing I did was call out for my dad. Of course there was no answer. I then went to look around the apartment as there were lights on, and I went into my parent's bedroom.
That's when I saw my father slumped over the dresser all purple with spots on his arms and legs. I didn't know what to do and I was curious and scared at the same time, because I called out to him and he didn't answer me. He was just slumped over. My sister walked in and saw him and all I saw was her face all horrified as she was screaming, "Daddy's dead!" My mom got home and rushed to my sister and me holding us both. I was scared at that point because I was rushed back to the babysitter with my mom asking if I would be able to stay the night. I just wanted to see my dad. My mom said I could see him in the morning. I held onto that hope as my dad was not dead at the time, like my sister thought.
Morning came and I was anxious to see my dad as my mom came to get me. We went upstairs to our apartment and I saw all of the mirrors covered. My mom and my sister sat me down and told me that "daddy was not coming back" and is in Heaven. I was in disbelief and I wanted to see him. My sister told me we couldn't because he died in the middle of the night. I wasn't even allowed to go to the funeral to say goodbye.
Chanukah at that moment turned from joyous celebration to emptiness and bitterness for me. I felt shut down. As time passed and anger swelled, I eventually stopped lighting the menorah. Chanukah lights got replaced by a Yahrzeit Candle. Somewhere inside of me is a 7-year old that wants his dad. The one Chanukah gift that I can never have.
My one true Christmas present...
This year, I got one really true Christmas present. Not only was it a Christmas wish come true, but it is the only present that means a lot to me. It didn't come from Joelle or any one of our kids. If anything, it came from God through Calvary Baptist Church. My Christmas present was a song. Not just any song, however. It was one that I was really really hoping to sing with the men's quartet (that I have been more than grateful to be a part of), with a band behind us. Sure enough, with the help of both Sharon Ballantyne and Gwen Pifer, it all came together and Dave Ballantyne, Dave Peterson, Keith Miles and myself performed Mary Was The First One To Carry The Gospel at the Christmas Eve service.
It means so much to me because of not only the meaning of the song itself, but the song practically sang itself to me. I would wake up with this song in my head as if a quartet of angels from Heaven were singing this to me. If fact, I think that is what probably happened. The song attached itself to me so much that I just had to share it with not only the quartet, but the church as well. I told Sharon about it and her and Gwen helped us get it together. To me, this was a real gift, because it was from the hearts of everyone involved and it made my year long prayer about this come true. And, it came from God because He answered the prayer. He also gave me the vision and the courage to act on it. Not to mention that my prayers got answered when the accompaniment tape was delayed and in fact never made it, so we had to put a band together on this and having Rob Chambers on drums and Paul Pharoah on bass, with Sharon leading on piano, was more than gratifying to my heart. They, along with the quartet brought out something deep inside.
In fact, I know it was God blessed because I was doing this on God's strength, because I have been ill for the past two weeks, starting off with a cold and now fighting off an infection in my throat, with the swollen lymph nodes to show for it. No one on the worship team knew if I was going to make it on Christmas Eve for either the worship team or the quartet, but God pulled me through it and gave me the strength to be a part of the prayer that I prayed. I even got a few little Christmas bonuses in the service, such as doing the intro to What Child Is This. None of the presents I got can compare to what God gave me for Christmas this year. And it really was Joy, Sweet Joy!
It means so much to me because of not only the meaning of the song itself, but the song practically sang itself to me. I would wake up with this song in my head as if a quartet of angels from Heaven were singing this to me. If fact, I think that is what probably happened. The song attached itself to me so much that I just had to share it with not only the quartet, but the church as well. I told Sharon about it and her and Gwen helped us get it together. To me, this was a real gift, because it was from the hearts of everyone involved and it made my year long prayer about this come true. And, it came from God because He answered the prayer. He also gave me the vision and the courage to act on it. Not to mention that my prayers got answered when the accompaniment tape was delayed and in fact never made it, so we had to put a band together on this and having Rob Chambers on drums and Paul Pharoah on bass, with Sharon leading on piano, was more than gratifying to my heart. They, along with the quartet brought out something deep inside.
In fact, I know it was God blessed because I was doing this on God's strength, because I have been ill for the past two weeks, starting off with a cold and now fighting off an infection in my throat, with the swollen lymph nodes to show for it. No one on the worship team knew if I was going to make it on Christmas Eve for either the worship team or the quartet, but God pulled me through it and gave me the strength to be a part of the prayer that I prayed. I even got a few little Christmas bonuses in the service, such as doing the intro to What Child Is This. None of the presents I got can compare to what God gave me for Christmas this year. And it really was Joy, Sweet Joy!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
God does indeed provide...
Today is living proof that God provides. It all began with last night when I got home from work. I got a bunch of swollen glands on the left side of my neck that is doing nothing short of freaking me out. It probably has something to do with the recent cold that I got and then went out to shovel the driveway early Sunday morning because I feared another huge snowstorm. However, it was definitely nothing short of freaky and was running up a low grade fever and exhaustion. All I wanted to do was sleep when I got home last night. In fact, I missed Christmas Eve worship team rehearsal and didn't realize it. Fortunately, Margot let the guys know I was sick and fell asleep.
Well, after sleep and more sleep, I woke up at 6:21am this morning to a huge snowfall. I felt I didn't have a choice but to not have breakfast and just get going to Toronto. So, I got ready to go and grabbed my lunch. Sure enough, once I got to Ganz this morning, I found a box a day-old TimBits sitting on the table where we had our pot luck lunch yesterday. All things considered, it was delicious and all I could really ask for for breakfast. Sure, not the healthiest at all times, but I was sure grateful for such a treat. To me, it was heaven at the time. That to me was proof right there that God was thinking of me and providing for me. He certainly didn't have to leave me anything, but He did and I was sooooo grateful to Him for it.
Well, after sleep and more sleep, I woke up at 6:21am this morning to a huge snowfall. I felt I didn't have a choice but to not have breakfast and just get going to Toronto. So, I got ready to go and grabbed my lunch. Sure enough, once I got to Ganz this morning, I found a box a day-old TimBits sitting on the table where we had our pot luck lunch yesterday. All things considered, it was delicious and all I could really ask for for breakfast. Sure, not the healthiest at all times, but I was sure grateful for such a treat. To me, it was heaven at the time. That to me was proof right there that God was thinking of me and providing for me. He certainly didn't have to leave me anything, but He did and I was sooooo grateful to Him for it.
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