I have been very lax in adding to the blog in the past year.
The main reasons are well documented in this blog, and it's a shame, as there have been many cool things that we've still seen and done.
I plan on retrospectively adding them, back into the dates where they should be :)
I have some news to post, and am awaiting some final news and then I think the blog needs to end and be archived. A tomb to show the journey made in creating a new life in a different country on a spur of the moment decision. It'll be a complete record, ups and downs.
I'd always planned to do the blog for the duration of my work permit, for 3 years.
My work permit runs out tomorrow 27th January 2012 and so it's been a record of the full 3 legal years in Canada, that started it all.
As I said, retrospectively I'll have to add what's gone on between my last post and this... and so you'll have to look back - but for anyone reading in the future, possibly not, because you wouldn't have read this first :)
It's like some wierd causality thing.
So... keep an eye out, read on - or backwards - I'd like my final post to be on a high, after all the negatives of 2011.
Thursday 26 January 2012
Monday 17 October 2011
Geek Of The Week
So, some of the lads in the UK have just bought Forza Motorsport 3 on the XBox 360.
I've had it since it came out, but not really played it, though I did get a steering wheel to play with, which is much more fun... yet I found out... much more difficult to use.
I got absolutely kaned by the pad users, and it should be the opposite!
So this weekend I got some old wood from the shed (Previously used as balance beams at Hayden's Ninjago Training Camp birthday party), and spent a few hours building a frame to hold the steering wheel and pedals.
The whole thing is held securely by weight :). my chair is a rocker gaming chair, and it sits on the boards so that nothing slips out of place.
The great thing is I didn't have to screw in or ruin any of the wheel or pedal base, they are still free to be used and 'sold' elsewhere.
And here it is, simple. About 4 hours work and $1.99 spent on nails. The wood only cost about $30 in the first place, so job done.
I've had a test drive and it feel much better now, the wheel at the right position and the pedals not slipping about, so hopefully I can start winning races against the pad users!!
Muhahahahahaha.
It's probably the best racing set up.... in the world!
I've had it since it came out, but not really played it, though I did get a steering wheel to play with, which is much more fun... yet I found out... much more difficult to use.
I got absolutely kaned by the pad users, and it should be the opposite!
So this weekend I got some old wood from the shed (Previously used as balance beams at Hayden's Ninjago Training Camp birthday party), and spent a few hours building a frame to hold the steering wheel and pedals.
It's fairly small and light, so I can store it easily in the basement, but it does not collapse. Used nails and screws with angel brackets to make it more sturdy.
One of the main reasons for doing this, was to secure the pedal base. It generally slipped around on the floor, especially when I'm hammering around bends and hitting the brake. to hold it in place I used both feet, and was using my left foot on the brake - which felt right, but is totally alien. Now it's securely in place the left foot can sit idle, whilst the right does what it should, throttle and brake. I placed it to the right hand side also.
As I'm quite large ;), I need to be able to get in and out easily. I didn't want to spend money (yet) and get a real car seat from the scrapyard, with proper runners and adjustable leg lengths, so instead I put hinges on the back of the steering base, to lift it up. No I can get my knees in without any hassle.
Before I had the wheel on a table (it was fine on the PC, the PC desk being at a good height), but on XBox the other table I had to bring in and set up was too high, and it also slipped about during a frantic turn, meaning I spent more time dragging things back into position, than concentrating on the race.
The great thing is I didn't have to screw in or ruin any of the wheel or pedal base, they are still free to be used and 'sold' elsewhere.
And here it is, simple. About 4 hours work and $1.99 spent on nails. The wood only cost about $30 in the first place, so job done.
I've had a test drive and it feel much better now, the wheel at the right position and the pedals not slipping about, so hopefully I can start winning races against the pad users!!
Muhahahahahaha.
It's probably the best racing set up.... in the world!
Thursday 22 September 2011
Xmen Destiny on Nintendo DS
OK, so I went dead on the blog. This year was mental, in terms of everything. From the beginning of th eyear I started work on a new Nintendo DS title: XMen Destiny.
It was a really tough gig. From about Feb to June we were pretty much working late nights everynight and nearly every weekend, both days. with the little time off that we did get it was spent with family, getting drunk or catching up with a bit of gaming or other hobbies.
Not time for blogging whatsoever and nothing to blog about - except, work work work.
Good news is that we finally sold the house int he UK! Hurrah. So we have a bit of sorting out there to pay for the shortfall, but it seems manageable. A Shame, but you've heard all about it, and it's time to move on. We finally have no ties in the UK and can start concentrating on out life here.
Permanent Residency application is well underway, that'll be a relief when it comes through, but the main reason for finally posting again today is the launch of XMen Destiny on the DS.
It's a great game and I worked on the enemies, their 'AI' if you will and the combat. It's not the best in the world, but the DS is limiting and our schedule was so short I had to cheat a lot of things - but that was a good thing, because the game feels like an old skool side scrolling brawler, like Streets Of Rage et al, and I love those games. Combat is simple, but you get a ton of special moves and there's replay because ht path you choose gives you 4 powers. You can play again and choose different missions and get different powers.
I'm working a another new game now which'll be on XBox Live soon. Can't say what it is, but very excited to be a part of it, and again I seem to be doing the enemies, so I'll try to do my best to make them interesting and fun :)
Not time for blogging whatsoever and nothing to blog about - except, work work work.
Good news is that we finally sold the house int he UK! Hurrah. So we have a bit of sorting out there to pay for the shortfall, but it seems manageable. A Shame, but you've heard all about it, and it's time to move on. We finally have no ties in the UK and can start concentrating on out life here.
Permanent Residency application is well underway, that'll be a relief when it comes through, but the main reason for finally posting again today is the launch of XMen Destiny on the DS.
It's a great game and I worked on the enemies, their 'AI' if you will and the combat. It's not the best in the world, but the DS is limiting and our schedule was so short I had to cheat a lot of things - but that was a good thing, because the game feels like an old skool side scrolling brawler, like Streets Of Rage et al, and I love those games. Combat is simple, but you get a ton of special moves and there's replay because ht path you choose gives you 4 powers. You can play again and choose different missions and get different powers.
I'm working a another new game now which'll be on XBox Live soon. Can't say what it is, but very excited to be a part of it, and again I seem to be doing the enemies, so I'll try to do my best to make them interesting and fun :)
Saturday 18 December 2010
Brave Heart...
The crack whore who rented our property Ms Sarah Fryer never came back.
So my Dad, Kath's mum and dad, my brother, my good old boss and a bunch of friends went in and cleaned the place up with our intention to sell or re-rent.
We didn't want to re-rent, but felt we still have no choice, unable now to afford to pay the mortgage.
We were aware of this... I think... I mean.. they said they told us... so it's probably our fault completely.
If I recall... ah yes here it is:
Kings: "Buddyyyyy! :), we got one... she hasn't got any references, but she'll pay £950 per month and wants to live here for a long time, her mother is willing to pay 2 months security deposit and she has a guarantor who is liable to pay if she doesn't. But don't worry because even if she doesn't pay, it'll only be about £100 because the council are paying £880 of her rent anyway, so even if we do have to chase down the guarantor and chase her for a missed payment, your mortgage is still covered right?... oh yeah and she really like the place and has two kids who'll be starting school and the day care opposite is fantastic for her.. plus she's able to move in in mid March, so you don't even have to wait a full month?... what do say eh?... buddyyyyy!!!... who's your man!?... who's your man?
Us: "....."
Kings: "Oh and did I mention that the council are covering £880 of the rent, so even if she doesn't pay the remaining £70 one month your mortgage is covered? plus we can get on to her and the council wll have our back AND she has a guarantor?... budddyyyyy!! :) ... don't leave me hanging :)"
Us: "... well... why hasn't she got any references though?... and what if she wrecks the place... will the council be paying for any damages or anything?"
Kings: "In answer to your first... some divorce things, she's cut up, she has two kids, she loves your house and the location for her kids.. think of the children... messy divorce, actually not messy... but poor nice gentle friendly lady, needs food... in answer to your second.. think of the children... you don't NEED the council, and NO they won't pay, but you don't need them... WE don't need them, it's me and you against the world, just like Nam eh? ...think of the children...... the mothers wants her daughter and her kids secure and is willing to pay a double... did I say DOUBLE DAMAGE DEPOSIT :)... budddyyyy what do you say... let's seal this deal and then go have Mohitos.... it's it's a deal, it's a steal... it's sale of the f***ing century... buddddyyyyyyy???? think of the children... "
Us: "... well ... sounds good then eh? so I mean... you're the man.. I mean you guys know what's going on there so, yeah if you think shes good, and I suppose I... we can sort anything out with that double damage deposit... cool thanks guys - let's do it :)"
True story - I have it recorded here for monitoring and training purposes... uhu.
So yeah... I mean I couldn't have done that for £1000, or £1400.. I mean... maybe a quid?... or just for the LULZ? maybe?
Anyway, all she did is not pay the rent and then run out - didn't even do any damage right?, except to the lawn, but that grew back so why do I insist on calling her a crack whore and referring to her momma as a crack dealing ho... some granny next door said she found needles right?, but conveniently "threw them away", and the other neighbour?.. mad ain't she, she didn't like the 'parties or the smell' so of course she'll turn over and say anything.. right?
Wrong... I trust my granny neighbour and the mad one also... because she's not mad and was the only reason we became aware of any of this - because Kings sure as hell didn't do their visit on time.
Oh and there's this....
That's 1/2 a litre of Methadone. If you know what Methadone is then you're probably in a little shock right now..., for those who don't and are still reading... then it's generally used by doctors to ween heroine addicts off of heroine. It has the same sort of affect without the addictiveness type thing, it's synthetic and only make you feel high, without actually being high?... heh ?!?!? heh *coinfused*
They wouldn't really give out 1/2 a litre I would have thought as it could f*** you up. And if you take a look at the bottle... it's not even Sarah Fryers... it's Abul Kahns... whoever the hell he is - another junkie? some poor brown skin who got jacked?
Also if it's not used for it's real purpose - helping crack whore moms to become mums again, it can be used... like cranberry juice or lemonade... as a mixer, when creating a dazzling cocktail of SHIT.
Also Hydrochloride is an ingredient of Crystal Meth.
Why do I think she'd been cooking up Crystal Meth in my kitchen? I could be wrong, but when my Dad said he had to scrub for hours to get the gunge from the baking tray of my £3000 Smeg oven, I thought she'd left a roast chicken on for too long or something- until I saw this picture.
So my Dad, Kath's mum and dad, my brother, my good old boss and a bunch of friends went in and cleaned the place up with our intention to sell or re-rent.
We didn't want to re-rent, but felt we still have no choice, unable now to afford to pay the mortgage.
Sarah Fryer was court ordered to pay us nearly £5000 and interest is incurred everyday it's not paid.
I doubt she ever got the memo!
So it's up to us to hire ...
Or...
... to track her down, then confront her, then probably suffer the consequences when her crack dealer momma seeks revenge on us.
But anyway, with that 'little' loss we at least have the house back in our possession.... and all the responsibility that goes with maintaining it, paying taxes on it, insuring it and having no tenant.
No matter - hopefully something will come up.
We had £1900 of her money tied up in the security deposit, so that seemed like a good amount.
However we only received £1500 from Kings Letting Agents in Harlow... after much conversations, telephone calls, ignored e-mails and messages and $90 in phone bills later Vanessa and Nick who told us it was a computer error were told by their boss Lucy that it was not... that Kings would not ever give us the full amount because they felt like they'd been cheated a little here also. They felt, poor fellas, that they'd not received the full 10% letting agent fee (which was in a region totalling £1400). They felt that they'd lived up to their responsibility. That the costs of the 10% must be recovered, because they had to cover the costs involved in finding a tenant, in the screening process and application. That they worked very hard on our behalf to do all the things that we, as little specs of sand, could not do by ourselves. So they felt it only fair to steal their 3rd installment of £300 odd quid, and that as a gesture of good will as they 'feel our pain' would let us off the remaining £300.
We should be thankful I guess.
It was very clear in the letter, and I was silly to have thought so ill of a reputable company like Kings Letting Agents in Harlow....
I mean, even for £1000, I would never have been able to listen to a bullshit story from what clearly looked like an anorexic crack whore mom, never bother to actually meet the guarantor, never advise the landlords about the actual council law that had changed a couple of years ago, never bothered to have tried to find any records of the woman or references, and still placed her up as a candidate to the landlords on the other side of the world.
Sure they said she had no references.We were aware of this... I think... I mean.. they said they told us... so it's probably our fault completely.
If I recall... ah yes here it is:
Kings: "Buddyyyyy! :), we got one... she hasn't got any references, but she'll pay £950 per month and wants to live here for a long time, her mother is willing to pay 2 months security deposit and she has a guarantor who is liable to pay if she doesn't. But don't worry because even if she doesn't pay, it'll only be about £100 because the council are paying £880 of her rent anyway, so even if we do have to chase down the guarantor and chase her for a missed payment, your mortgage is still covered right?... oh yeah and she really like the place and has two kids who'll be starting school and the day care opposite is fantastic for her.. plus she's able to move in in mid March, so you don't even have to wait a full month?... what do say eh?... buddyyyyy!!!... who's your man!?... who's your man?
Us: "....."
Kings: "Oh and did I mention that the council are covering £880 of the rent, so even if she doesn't pay the remaining £70 one month your mortgage is covered? plus we can get on to her and the council wll have our back AND she has a guarantor?... budddyyyyy!! :) ... don't leave me hanging :)"
Us: "... well... why hasn't she got any references though?... and what if she wrecks the place... will the council be paying for any damages or anything?"
Kings: "In answer to your first... some divorce things, she's cut up, she has two kids, she loves your house and the location for her kids.. think of the children... messy divorce, actually not messy... but poor nice gentle friendly lady, needs food... in answer to your second.. think of the children... you don't NEED the council, and NO they won't pay, but you don't need them... WE don't need them, it's me and you against the world, just like Nam eh? ...think of the children...... the mothers wants her daughter and her kids secure and is willing to pay a double... did I say DOUBLE DAMAGE DEPOSIT :)... budddyyyy what do you say... let's seal this deal and then go have Mohitos.... it's it's a deal, it's a steal... it's sale of the f***ing century... buddddyyyyyyy???? think of the children... "
Us: "... well ... sounds good then eh? so I mean... you're the man.. I mean you guys know what's going on there so, yeah if you think shes good, and I suppose I... we can sort anything out with that double damage deposit... cool thanks guys - let's do it :)"
True story - I have it recorded here for monitoring and training purposes... uhu.
So yeah... I mean I couldn't have done that for £1000, or £1400.. I mean... maybe a quid?... or just for the LULZ? maybe?
((((((((((((((((((((((((((( ))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
Anyway, all she did is not pay the rent and then run out - didn't even do any damage right?, except to the lawn, but that grew back so why do I insist on calling her a crack whore and referring to her momma as a crack dealing ho... some granny next door said she found needles right?, but conveniently "threw them away", and the other neighbour?.. mad ain't she, she didn't like the 'parties or the smell' so of course she'll turn over and say anything.. right?
Wrong... I trust my granny neighbour and the mad one also... because she's not mad and was the only reason we became aware of any of this - because Kings sure as hell didn't do their visit on time.
Oh and there's this....
That's 1/2 a litre of Methadone. If you know what Methadone is then you're probably in a little shock right now..., for those who don't and are still reading... then it's generally used by doctors to ween heroine addicts off of heroine. It has the same sort of affect without the addictiveness type thing, it's synthetic and only make you feel high, without actually being high?... heh ?!?!? heh *coinfused*
They wouldn't really give out 1/2 a litre I would have thought as it could f*** you up. And if you take a look at the bottle... it's not even Sarah Fryers... it's Abul Kahns... whoever the hell he is - another junkie? some poor brown skin who got jacked?
Also if it's not used for it's real purpose - helping crack whore moms to become mums again, it can be used... like cranberry juice or lemonade... as a mixer, when creating a dazzling cocktail of SHIT.
Also Hydrochloride is an ingredient of Crystal Meth.
Why do I think she'd been cooking up Crystal Meth in my kitchen? I could be wrong, but when my Dad said he had to scrub for hours to get the gunge from the baking tray of my £3000 Smeg oven, I thought she'd left a roast chicken on for too long or something- until I saw this picture.
That white powdery, black 'flash boiled' shit don't look like your average chicken fat overspill....
Check this out
Tuesday 2 November 2010
Snowing? Already?
Well...
It can of course get cold in Canada... and snow is not that unheard of... but early November?
This is very early and it snowed quite a bit today. The air is damp and it's a bit rainy so it hardly got to settle, as you can see in the pic.. but bloody hell....
It can of course get cold in Canada... and snow is not that unheard of... but early November?
This is very early and it snowed quite a bit today. The air is damp and it's a bit rainy so it hardly got to settle, as you can see in the pic.. but bloody hell....
Looks like we may be in a for a big winter here this year - maybe I'll hire those Mr Plough guys to come do the driveway this year :)
Thursday 28 October 2010
Ding Dong The Bitch Is Dead!
Which old Bitch? The drugged up Bitch!... well she's not dead... but she's been ordered out.
Finally after months, the court hearing was today and granted us reposession and a money order for rent arrears.
She gets yet another 7 days to clear her shit out and be gone, and I'm not confident that we'll find her to get the money she owes us, but at the very least she'll be out and we can move on.
We'll probably have to re-rent as the house prices and our redemption penalty still lie over us, and no help or change from the mortgage company or banks.
I'll update next week hoping that all goes well and that we'll get our home back and cleaned up and never have to go through this shite ever again.
Oh if we could get someone who'll rent it for the right price for the next 4 years without hassle....Oh indeed...
Finally after months, the court hearing was today and granted us reposession and a money order for rent arrears.
She gets yet another 7 days to clear her shit out and be gone, and I'm not confident that we'll find her to get the money she owes us, but at the very least she'll be out and we can move on.
We'll probably have to re-rent as the house prices and our redemption penalty still lie over us, and no help or change from the mortgage company or banks.
I'll update next week hoping that all goes well and that we'll get our home back and cleaned up and never have to go through this shite ever again.
Oh if we could get someone who'll rent it for the right price for the next 4 years without hassle....Oh indeed...
Tuesday 10 August 2010
Photo Shoot
In other news, not so dramatic as the last post - here's something we did get up to.
a couple of months ago we had a fundraising event at Dooly's and Kath won a photo shoot with a photographer bloke.
We waited until the weather was good and a couple of weeks ago he found a nice location on the island and we met up for a photo shoot, first for the whole family.
Here's a few of the good ones..
Easy to see why PEI is sooooo nice, at dusk the water is warm and the light really does give this kind of glow...
It was no problem wading out in our Sunday best, as the shot was worth it.
I love this shot of T4Z, she was very happy and got some lovely pics of her in the sun.
As we left Len (the photographer) said he had another spot to take a few more pics, which was in a field overlooking a bay in Stratford.
This is one of the best pics we've had - so despite all of the stress and worry from events in the UK, we try hard to enjoy our life here... and it's not that hard at all :)
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