Bits and Pieces

Today is not a holiday. Tomorrow is. :-)

Isn't Shouter Baptist Liberation Trinidad wonderful?

My secretary just called to tell me that it was her husband's birthday yesterday and she has a hangover so she can't come to work. How do you handle that without going postal?

I wonder how much people called in sick today or applied for the day off to take advantage of the Holy Thursday to Shouter Baptist Wednesday holiday week? It's truly amazing that we get anything done. Someone should do a survey, government offices first.

Ninja Gaiden took most of my attention yesterday, but made some progress. The breakfast shed is still there, serving lunch as usual, traffic was unholy on the highway, beef pies for breakfast... all is well with the world.

There were six murders, four road fatalities this weekend. Easter Holy weekend. *geez* And the weekend isn't finished yet.

Went to my mother's for lunch on Sunday and got conned into doing the dishes. All of them. Thirty-something y.o. Seems like everytime I'm in front of the kitchen sink there, someone decides to clean the fridge.

Came across a book every girl should have: The Straight Girls Guide to Sex with Women. I'll have some copies at home for those interested, for rental only though. *just kidding*

Since we're on giggle topics, Guatemala beat Trinidad and Tobago 5-1 in Saturday's WCQ in Guatemala. I'm glad none of the local stations carried the game. I'd be looking for a new TV today. Tomorrow we play Costa Rica, at home, at the Hasely Crawford Stadium. I wonder why they didn't use the Oval? Probably because of the non existing West Indies cricket. Maybe its because of the US ju-ju/santeria/obeah the US wuk on we when dey beat we 2-1 in the first WCQ at the Oval. Any bets on the WCQ vs Costa Rica outcome?

I'm debating whether to go to the game or cut my toenails.

Long weekend

Well here it is again, another long weekend. In Trinidad, we have Good Friday and Easter Monday off. Wednesday is a holiday too because of Shouter Baptist Liberation Day. I dont exactly know what that is so clk on the link if you want to find out. Another Shouter Baptist Article.

Sorry for not updating as often as I used too but you know how it goes. Lots of things has happened here so I'll probably do some posting this weekend. Enjoy the long weekend and be safe!

Up to my ears!

Sorry guys...I've been so busy this week that I really haven't had time to post. My portfolio requires both technical and management skills and I'm currently forced to remember the latter. When I can breathe, I'll tell you more...stay tuned..!

BitsMix~1

I went to the Registrar's office again today armed with my camera, but wasn't allowed to take a picture. So here's the sign in its entirety.

"Warning!...All trolley drivers should stay within the speed limit (a stroll in the park) or they will be charged accordingly." I will get a pic...*dammit*

Well there's one for ya..!!! I couldn't stop laughing!


I would have watched more if they looked like this...!

Gaiden Update

Here is where I am. Exactly. Just wanted you all to know.

Registrar of Companies

I just saw this pasted to a door at the Registrar of Companies office, South Quay, Port of Spain.

not verbatim: "All trolley operators are required to be under the speed limit, (a stroll in the park), or suffer the maximum penalty".

I will return tomorrow and provide the full text of the notice, this I promise.

This being a glass door the only sign I could see behind the notice from my vantage point, 9th in line to a conspicously vacant counter, was: "Marriage Licences: Orisha, Muslim, Hindu". This is on the second floor, in an office filled with people, desks, filing cabinets.

To add to wishlist: be trolley operator at the Registrar of Companies for one (1) day.

Breakfast Shed Update

I couldn't make it to get the pictures I promised you all on Saturday but the "Shed" is alive and well and doing better than ever before. Our Prime Minister visited with three tenants and pledged government support in finding them a suitable location to sustain and expand their businesses. The PSA willed their support and called for UDECOTT to pay the women of the Breakfast Shed TT 200,000.00 each.

Keep you updated. Maybe I should have crab and callaloo for lunch today.

Oh, and happy belated International Women's Day.

Firefox, the browser

I switched to Firefox, the Mozilla browser around November 2004 or thereabouts, because I was tired of the crappy Internet Explorer. It seemed like every time I opened IE, there would be spyware on my pc. My laptop btw is still suffering from the after effects of IE. Firefox is wonderful and I've convinced about 20 more people to switch.

Browser showdown

My second favorite feature is the tabbed browsing. You wont believe the ease of it till u've tried it. The best feature is that it closes more vulnerabilities than IE. If firefox gets more market share though, more spyware will popup to attack it. Bring on Open Source. Firefox is free. That means the code too. 20 Million people debugging for spyware against a few hundred spyware makers seems like excellent odds to me.

Microsoft is now in Netscape's place. It has had a dominant market share for so long that it appeared to simply throw up its hand and declare "its finished -- we don't need to make any more changes." Firefox has really come along and showed users they don't need to stick with Microsoft's crappy browser for everday web browsing. Try Firefox, you might like it.

Download the newest version here.

San Fernando Licensing Office

I got a duplicate Drivers Permit yesterday. It took me 6 hours. In this age of wireless internet, satellite technology and freenet, the licensing office is pounding out drivers licenses on stone.

Procedure:

1. Get the form from Licensing office. Its the same form for a new DP. 1 hrs.
2. Go make a police statement and get the police stamp. .5 hrs.
3. Swear to the JP that your made up story is true and correct. 1 hr.
4. Go back to the Licensing office to find your signature in a notebook. Heaven help the person that can't remember their dp# or date of issue. 1 hrs.
5. Wait for the clerk to get your copy from the vault. 1 hr.
6. Go in line to pay 40 TT dollars. .5 hrs.
7. Wait in line to take your picture. 1 hr.

They also close for lunch from 12 thru 1.

I'm going to bid to digitise all their documentation, but my government won't do that cause it will expose all the corruption happening there.

I'm going to chain my dp to my belly button.

Trinidad, an outside perspective.

While searching for nonexistent pictures of the Breakfast Shed on de net, I found an interesting article. Here is an excerpt on Trinidad Carnival.

"It’s easy to get weepy or exalted when talking about Carnival. But it is a kind of master-work, an assemblage of many parts that like a gothic cathedral with its thousands of separate artisans rises up as a single expression. There are people who will never miss a Carnival here. Every year they drop everything to come. Why? It’s not the loucheness, the bacchanalia, but the beauty that gets them - Carnival is not just an orgy, but an aesthetic orgy, an orgy of loveliness, human, musical, sartorial, whatever. Like some great novel, it is full of details any one of which possesses its own story, its own world, yet each of which is also instinct with the meaning of the whole."

If foreigners feel this way about Trinidad, why don't we? Read the article here, it is really good.

Trinidad's Breakfast Shed

Urban development is great once its managed properly. In Trinidad, one can only hope.

UdeCott is going to demolish the Breakfast Shed for room to build the POS waterfront expansion project. The Breakfast shed stall tenants were offered TT 93,000.00 in lieu of relocation. A lawyer was hired and they are now asking for TT 1.4M each. Rumours are flying that demolition is due to start tomorrow. (This is Trinidad , after all.) The radio stations have gotten involved and its true Trini bacchanal at Wrightson Road.

The first mention I know of is back in primary school, we learnt that for Audrey Jeffers and the Coterie of Social Workers, May 26, 1926 was a particularly unfortunate year, for the group embarked on its plan to provide hungry school children with a mid-day meal. The first venue for this venture was constructed at Warner Street, New Town, a short distance away from the Jeffers' home. For some reason the building was called a 'breakfast shed' despite the fact that it was to provide lunch.

This 'breakfast shed' immediately became popular with the school children of the surrounding New Town and Woodbrook districts. Not long afterwards came the main Breakfast Centre on Edward Street which supplied other venues. Nevertheless, it became a popular sport for the children of the city who flocked there for perhaps their major meal of the day. In this time of abject poverty, when many of the nation's school children went without the benefit of a mid-day meal, the school kids of Port of Spain were not so deprived. Our internationally known Breakfast Shed is derived from or commemorates these beginnings.

A nurse once mentioned that the meals there are "the highest-cholesterol, highest-sodium, most delicious food you can get."

More than providing indirect income for about 200 Trinidadians, the Breakfast Shed is a cultural institution worthy of respect. If you want local cuisine, that's the place to go to. I hope UdeCott does the right ting. I want to drive up there tomorrow and take some pictures. Keep you posted.

Gaiden is HARD..!

I'm stuck. Level 2. A huge horseman samooorai wipes the floor with my a$. Ninja mages that disappear and reappear to kick my butt.

The storyline held within the game is fairly simple, but not without intrigue: Ryu Hyabusa's clan was murdered and the ancient Dark Dragon Blade that his clan had been protecting for centuries has been stolen. (I wonder if there are any new ideas out there?) Ryu is out to recapture the stolen evil mystical sword of untold power and avenge the death of his clan.

All you need is a virtual Uma Thurman in a track suit to play Ninja Gaiden 27 - Kill Bill Kubed. If someone makes a patch please credit the idea to me. Just kidding.

Ryu has the ability to effortlessly run across the wall (an ability that is shared with Ubisoft's Prince of Persia), jump to an adjacent wall, leap from the wall into the air, throw 4 deadly shuriken (ninja throwing stars) at an opponent, then deliver a series of lethal attacks before his feet touch the ground; a feat that must be seen to fully grasp its high cool index.

Not only does he have his physical weapons, but also supernatural. Ryu will learn along the way the secrets of ninja magic and be able to cast "special attacks" on his enemies to even the odds when things get a little too overwhelming. These too are upgradable.

The environments are astonishingly detailed and complex. The water, lighting, and gore effects are extremely well-done. They're not gratuitous. They're just really well-done. Even when Ryu is turning 180 degrees out of a forward sprint, he plants his foot, pivots his body, shifts his weight, and takes a few steps backwards as his momentum dissipates. It's very realistic-looking.



And I'm still stuck.

Ninja Gaiden

cute ...i wonder if she will kick my ass?

I'm talking about Ninja Gaiden. I prefer to purchase my games in the US because its $50.00 max there and 6 freakin' hundred dollars here. Merchants are thieves I tell you. In this case some very nice friends shipped it to me. Cool! Haven't started it yet but I'll tell you about it.

Do you remember the Ninja Gaiden for Nintendo back in 1989? Yeah ... waaaayyy back when you were 15? I had days of fun playing that and I hear this version is no different. Its hard they say, but fun.

if only we could...really ...
...my mother would have ran the walls behind me...

So if I'm not blogging, I'm hogging the TV with moss growing over me.