Tempus Fugit

Latin (tem-pu̇s-ˈfü-git): Time Flies

Author: Garry

  • Outdoors on a cool Saturday

    We had a relaxed Saturday morning getting up a little later that usual and having a few coffees while doing a little reading before being picked up by our good friends, Chris & Elaine. We headed over to Cora’s at 340 Provencher Blvd. Great restaurant and great food. We all sampled something a little different and were impressed by the quility, decore and lots of fresh fruit. OK guys, there were a few things on the menu with lots of meat, fried potatoes and alike, but generally a little more healthy that your average Perkins mega-meal.

    After brunch we headed over to the Fort Whyte nature center for some outdoor activities. Shaun, our financial advisory over at Assante invited us out to a customer event and we had a great time in spite of the cold temperatures and a wind chill of about -30C. I went down the Richardson rrrrun toboggan slide, where “screaming is compulsory!”. Then we all went on the sleigh ride (my photos) which was pulled by a beautiful pair of Clydesdale horses. On the sleigh ride the kids had a great time jumping on and off the sleigh, and we saw quite a few deer along the route. Afterwards we explored the sod house, and then headed over to one of the main buildings for some hot chocolate and cookies. It was a great afternoon, thanks to Shaun and his assistants.

    Since we were out and about the ladies wanted to explore some shops at one of the big box complexes. Chris and I explored another kind of shopping over at the auto mall, checking out the latest Acura, Honda & Toyotas. That new Ridgeline is looking good, but then so is the Pilot. Chris was really checking out the Rav4 quite closely. Well window shopping is still free, thank goodness.

  • A reality check about hard times

    A thought provoking post about hard times, pain & suffering.

    Cerulean Sanctum » The Wrong Toy in Your Happy Meal

    Among all the questions why, few of us take the time to ask if our pain is someone else’s gain. Even some stranger’s gain. Man of SorrowsWe consider the horror dumped on our laps and automatically assume that God’s forsaken us, or we’ve somehow forsaken Him. Yet we rarely wonder if the torment we’re enduring is meant to bless someone else.

  • Geocaching and Travel bugs

    I was just checking up on the four Travel Bugs that I’ve released into the wild since I started Geocaching. Regrettably, three of the four have been lost, or in Geocaching terms the cache has been muggled. Kiwi Kritter is the only survivor, but what a world traveler he’s become. After leaving Winnipeg, he criss crossed the US and Canada. Kiwi’s crossed the Atlantic three times. After touring Germany, he’s now spending time in England. Still a long way from his New Zealand destination, but definitely getting around in the world. If you’re a Google Earth user, you can fly by Kiwi’s travels.

    (TBHD1G) Travel Bug Dog Tag – Kiwi Kritter

    Travel Bug Dog TagOwner: Big Dadoo
    Released: Sunday, November 28, 2004
    Origin: Manitoba, Canada
    Use TBHD1G to reference this item.

    Technorati Tags: geocaching

  • The Number of A Maxwell

    I’m a fan of John C. Maxwell’s writing and we have many of his books in our home. Last night some friend gave us a Christmas gift of a CD set of Maxell’s book The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork. We’re looking forward to listening to the set and we blessed by our friends thoughtfulness.

    This morning Shirley and I we were having a late breakfast with Scott, and then Eric came over to the house so we were sitting around the kitchen table just having a family chat about all kinds of things. One of the boys noticed the CD set and then we some how got on to how many Maxwell books have a number in the title and thought that a blog entry and some sort of strange math applied to the numbers might make an interesting and hopefully funny post. Sorry John.

    Thinking For A Change : 11 Ways Highly Successful People Approach Life and Work
    The 360 Degree Leader: Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization
    The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader: Becoming the Person Others Will Want to Follow
    Leadership 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know
    Attitude 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know
    Today Matters : 12 Daily Practices to Guarantee Tomorrow’s Success
    The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership
    Equipping 101
    Relationships 101
    The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player: Becoming the Kind of Person Every Team Wants
    The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork Workbook: Embrace Them and Empower Your Team
    Today Matters : 12 Daily Practices to Guarantee Tomorrow’s Success

    Thinking For A Change : 11 Ways Highly Successful People Approach Life and Work
    The 21 Most Powerful Minutes in a Leader’s Day: Revitalize Your Spirit and Empower Your Leadership
    25 Ways to Win with People: How to Make Others Feel Like a Million Bucks

    So, what are we to make of this? 17 seems to be a prevalent number, as does 21 and 21 has a nice ring to it. Lots of 101, just basic stuff right? Well, how does it add up?

    11+360+21+101+101+12+21+101+101+17+17+12+11+21+25 = 932

    Perhaps his next book is “The 932 irrefutable indispensable powerful leadership thinking attitudes that matter for equipping highly successfully people and teams looking for a successful relationship change to win and feel like a million bucks”.

    I did say sorry right, and John, I really do like your stuff, seriously.

    Technorati Tags: maxwell, leadership, laws,

  • Experiences at church

    There have been a number of changes at church recently, along the lines described in Perry’s post and I know that I’ve wondered about some of them. Are these changes really required? Is the effect a positive one? Are we just being entertained? Well, it’s never boring and it’s certainly not the church experience of my youth (thankfully!) and some days I have to remind myself that I might be becoming one of those “old guys” who think the music is too loud, the lights are too flashy and what’s with that smoke? Progress and creating and experience that impacts requires change. Sometimes I need a little help, or a boot in the pants, to accept the changes.

    Perry Noble dot com » Blog Archive » Creating An Experience

    Seriously–I believe people should look more forward to church that they do 24, Lost, or American Idol. WOW…there’s something…those shows actually put hard work and effort into their programming…and it shows! Hmmm, maybe if the church was as serious as Hollywood in reaching people…we would be reaching people.

  • greaterIBM and Second Life

    As an IBMer I’ve become involved in the greaterIBM business social network for alumni and current IBMers and their work in using SL to build the community. I attended my first meeting in SL in the IBM Almaden Island and found the experience to be quite enjoyable and fascinating. A while back greaterIBM hosted a block party. Check out the video.

    Wondering what all the business buzz about SL is all about? Isn’t is just something for gamers and people who don’t have a “real” life. Check out this video from the company who proclaims to be the first PR firm in SL to get an idea about the possibilities. She even busts a few moves at the end of the video.
    🙂

    Technorati Tags: greateribm, secondlife

  • Keeping traditions

    starbucksholiday

    itsredagain.com
    Originally uploaded by Big Dadoo.

    I’m in the office today for a client meeting, but it got canceled. Well, this allowed me to attend a team meeting for another group that I work with. Sometimes we all gather in the boardroom for the meeting but today, even though several of us are here in Winnipeg we’re dialing in to the conference call. After I give my update and I’m listening to what else is happening on the account and sipping on my Starbuck’s coffee, I notice a web site address on the bottom of the cup.

    SO, what does this all have to do with traditions? Well, I like traditions and what time of year is more filled with traditions that Christmas? However, it seems that as I get older and children grow up and the family spreads out a bit some traditions seem to change or fad away. I must admit, I’m not to excited about these kinds of changes, after all stuff that changes like that can hardly be called a tradition.

    Back to Starbucks, those clever guys. Check out the site and start your own “new” high tech tradition with the “Tradition Keeper” guy. I expect to receive lots of very special cards from all my readers. You know who you are.

    ItsRedAgain.com

  • The third place

    I came across the term “third place” while reading a blog today, and got inquisitive. I’d never heard this one before so a few searches later and I turn up this article.

    USATODAY.com – Working out of a ‘third place’

    An estimated 30 million Americans, or roughly one-fifth of the nation’s workforce, are part of the so-called Kinko’s generation, employees who spend significant hours each month working outside of a traditional office.

    While some don’t trust wikipedia as a credible source of information I found this definition to be quite helpful. Being a mobile worker and working both in an office and from my home I can really relate to this concept. Too many days in the office and I’m wishing I was working from home. Too many days working alone at home and I wish I was at the office. So, it seems I need something in between, a third place.

    After a couple of days at home working, I find myself taking some reading or the laptop and heading out to a Starbucks or some place with free Internet access, like Le Garage Cafe on Provencher Blvd. Not so much to interact with other people, but to be in the presence of other people, with a possibility of interaction, if I choose, or if it just happens. Humans are complex eh?

  • Answers from a squirrel

    OK, this is awesome, funny, very clever, well produced, and exceptional church stuff.

  • Church Marketing and the United Church

    Some impressive use of technology and social networking is taking place over at the United Church’s wondercafe.ca. I’ve had a brief look around and while it’s bound to be controversial, I think it will promote a lot of conversations, which is a good thing. I gave the church locater a spin and had a look at our local UC that I went to as a teenager. Wow, what a great snapshot of what a new person could expect when they go to church. When, where, where to park, what kind of music to expect, what happens after services, and several ways to contact them. Very professional, but then I guess a few million dollars will do that. I hope it works out for them.

    Church Marketing Sucks: Using Whipped Cream and Gay Marriage to Start Conversations

    With membership declining as much as 20% in the last decade, the United Church of Canada needs to try something drastic. So they’ve launched a $9.3 million ad campaign. The ads touch on hot button issues, including sex and gay marriage. The ads direct people to a web site, wondercafe.ca, that attempts to engage people in conversations about spiritual issues and the big questions of life. They site also offers a church locator.