Roadspill

Weird day today.

It started at 6:30am. Due to self-imposed delays, I was feeling the pressure to get my CBC Radio piece on Hockey in Belize finished. I planned to sit back, laptop on lap, and cut away all morning. Simple, right?

Ha!

The Gods had different plans.

First, I had lots of weird things happen in the editor -- Final Cut Pro. These are new, and methinks they are due to upgrading to Mac's new OS: Panther. Growl!

After Jaguar, I was hoping for Cougar. Suppose that's next, and it'll be kind of attractive after a couple of beers.

Anyway, after the software weirdness, I was able to get to the point of dumping the edited story to disk. Except my CD writing software will not even load up. More OS problems with Fluffy. After much grumpiness, I was able to find a way around the problem -- but the CD burn wasn't a sound file -- it was a data file.

Next attempt was an actual sound file, but in mono. Ugh!

Finally I was able to output the damn story and then, as a reward, I went for a feed of Salmon Sashimi at Sushi Garden, in beautiful Burnaby, BC.

Later, I had to go to CBC to drop off the disk, and then run up to CTV to get my tickets for the Christmas party. On the way, (it's only a 6 block walk), I happened upon an odd scene. In front of the telephone company building, an older man with a cane and a younger man in a nice coat were screaming at each other. A small group had gathered to watch the show.

In short order, the screaming turned into wrestling. And then into blows being exchanged. And then, finally, the old guy started whacking the younger guy with the cane. The scene was quickly going from amusing to scary.

All of a sudden the old guy whacks the other guy in the head with the cane. He delivered the blow with such force that the cane (a big thick wooden model), broke. It's a wonder the young guy's head didn't also break. But talk about blood. It was a truly festive scene, all this red stuff on the sidewalk. A little cotton, and it would have looked like a chalk drawing of Santa.

Several people called 9-1-1 and I continued my odyssey to CTV, thinking about the two free drink tickets I was about to snag.

On the way back, the old guy was on the ground, handcuffed by one of several officers now taking statements from witnesses. Paramedics were attending to the younger guy.

I have no idea what the whole scene was about, but it made me thankful that the worst thing in my life this day were the frustrations with my computer. I certainly didn't have anyone whacking me with a cane.

The evening ended with a Night Of Artists meeting. We sat around planning our big show this summer, and discussing potential sponsors for the event. There were 3 dogs and lots of snacks and wine. And no canes.

Cheers!

Doug