Both my hosting and e-mail packages were renewed for another year this week. The event which passed quietly made me think about the times when I had free hosting and e-mail. My "server" was actually located in a decent data centre, in Harbour Centre, just a block away from where I work now. The unfortunate thing was that the server was actually someone's hobby computer. As some of you long time readers know, it was prone to crashes. This site along with my e-mail were unavailable anywhere from hours to days at a time. Since I didn't pay anyone for such services, there was no tech support of any kind. I had to rely a friend to physically go to the server in some windowless room and reboot the computer by hand.

It's been nearly three years since I started paying for hosting and e-mail. I wish I had done so earlier. I can't think of a single time since then that this site or my e-mail has been unavailable. I wholeheartedly recommend the fine folks at GoDaddy.com for all your domain, hosting, and e-mail needs. I pay less than $40 a year to keep this dog and pony show running and it's worth every penny.

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Like the title says. Check this video out.

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In a previous post, I detailed my attempts to not eating from McDonald's until I got back from a wedding in Hawaii. That original post was written on April 30th. It's been nearly two months since I've ordered anything from McDonald's. There have been two occasions where I stole some fries from a designer but I've been good other than that.

Of course, the ban was only for McDonald's. In the nearly two months, I've had fried chicken at least twice, ordered from A&W, and had several slices of pizza. Interestingly though, at the times where I would have usually eaten from McDonald's, I've ordered sushi instead. I will always love sushi and sashimi but I admit the craving for a Big Mac and french fries sometimes becomes strong. Wow, just writing about that made me think about the special sauce and double patties. Oh man, think about baseball and dead puppies... wait, that's for something else.

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As some of you already know, I'm gingerly looking into purchasing some real estate to perhaps live in. The once "crazy hot" real estate market in the Lower Mainland has cooled off somewhat to a level I can only describe as only "hot" now.

Over the weekend, I saw a brand new one-bedroom condo in New West that was the first place that was reasonably priced. For $232K, it's well within my price range but it's a tad small at 562 sq. feet. Also, the view from all the windows in the place face the loading docks of Royal Columbian hospital. There's also a weirdly angled wall in the living room which you're forced to place your flat panel TV on since that's where the cable hookup is. The bedroom is tiny as well which forces you to put your bed in a single position. The saving grace is perhaps the kitchen which is roomy, with nice cabinets, counter tops, and black appliances.

Just because its the first reasonably priced place doesn't mean I'll be putting in an offer anytime soon. The search continues.

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While most of us think of relaxing and tame things to do during the summer, I have two friends who are embarking on an exciting and remarkable journey through two continents, all done on motorbikes. Tyson and Tom, whom I both met while living at SJC, are part of a four-man team traveling from London to Cape Town. They are doing the entire trip without any external support and their number will dwindle down to three when one of the riders departs them in Turkey due to other commitments.

As you can imagine, this will be quite the adventure. A trip across Europe on motorbikes in itself would be a worthy experience but add on the journey through Africa and you've got yourself a story to tell the grandkids. I would expect things to go rather smoothly until they leave Egypt. Beyond there, the situation becomes much more dynamic as several of the countries they plan to cross have varying levels of political, social, and economic stabilities. They plan on monitoring events on a day by day basis and are prepared to modify routes as necessary. Nevertheless, the pictures they will take in Africa will no doubt be stunning, not to mention the stories they'll have to tell.

Though Tyson just learned how to ride in 2005, this is the second major trip he undertaken. He and "The Kid" were part of a team that rode through South America last summer. They both have taken their inspiration to ride from actor Ewan McGregor, who has done some pretty impressive motorcycle trips for a Jedi Master.

The team left London on the third of this month and are already deep into eastern Europe. Before leaving, Tom developed a web site to document their travels. I encourage you to visit and perhaps to even donate to the charities they've taken up the cause for. Also, have a look at Tyson's blog and Tom's blog for more personable updates on the adventure.

Gents, if you happen to be reading this in a Bulgarian Internet cafe somewhere, I wish you all the luck for a safe, exciting, and amazing journey!

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