Once Again We Bid Farewell to a Beloved Cat! RIP Gwen

Here we are again on a sad day for our beloved pets. Just shy of 19 years but going on a thousand (she aged with grace all the while being the grumpiest sod on earth), Gwendoline was bade a fond farewell today (2009-10-27) with great hesitation but compassion. Time had come to pass as Gwen's health had been seriously degrading over the past few days...

We had been hesistating for awhile as she kept pinging back to a pseudo state of well being. Our running joke was that she would outlive us all or at least her cat siblings out of pure jealousy and spite. But yesterday, her mother and I realised that her health had taken a big fat slap in the face, which was confirmed by the Vet this morning (very little to do and it would only help her for a couple of days) as with advanced age comes the slow detoriation of critical body functions like bowel, bladder & mind. So this morning around 10:00, Gwendoline drifted off to a better place!

There are fond memories of Gwen as she has always been very close to both of us despite her inate jealously of all over cats (except Mogwai)! At one point she was even jealous of our own relationships and was quickly renamed my second wife as she would force herself between us in bed.


Overall, however, she seriously preferred her mother and as she grew older became a permanent appendage on her arm. She did love us greatly and continuously demonstrated her affection toward us all.

Gwen will be remembered as the much loved jealous queen of the manor! ;-)

Farewell and R.I.P.

PS: don't worry, life goes on, the populus was augmented just last week with one female black entity (Beauty - the basement cat).

Thus Begineth a New Chapter in my Career

Tomorrow [1 October 2009], I am embark on a new job and role. I am moving away from the general IT consultant & internal architect role in the big corporate environment to a more focused architect/consultant role for a security software company. I will be more focused on helping customers pull together IdM solutions using the company's product.

This will be an interesting change providing a much more focused activity on one specific subset of security but I hope to carry on exploring the vast and interesting subject that security is. My last position lasted almost 10years and in itself was quite interesting considering the variety of activities and projects I was involved in. This new position will be just as challenging if not more as I will be participating in the growth of this company as it evolves internationally (they are already a major player in the domain in this country and are planning to expand heavily in the rest of Europe, middle-east and the US).

On the other side and for my personal growth, I am still working on a few things including passing my GCIH (that happens next wednesday), doing the CISSP (end of October) and continuing to look at developing for the iPhone & Android platforms. Hopefully, I will also be able to finalize a couple of blog entries I am working on the subject of the real-time web, a micro-blogging feature request and some thoughts on Vanish.

Wish me luck!

200 days of Wii Fit

So a few days ago, I hit 200 days of using the Wii Fit. I try to keep to a pretty regular schedule that is to say that I at least do the wii fit test every morning. Actual exercise is a bit different since, I am unable to do it on a very regular basis due to time constraints or just plain physical pain with my ankle but I try to get at least 3 to 4 days during the week of the aerobics and muscle mixed in with a bit of yoga (for the stretching).

Overall, I find the Wii Fit as a good motivator and a useful tool to be able to get some regular exercise. My only complaint might be that the presentation of exercise although good don't necessarily allow you to keep a good and proper posture to execute them yourself. This is especially true on the yoga parts...

Despite that, I am quite content and I have an average loss of about 5kgs since starting! Not bad hee!

Another Day, Another Year

So the new year has come and gone, I've been queried a few times to see what kind of resolutions I was taking or if I wanted to join some challenges (like my friend Nigel is attempting).

Truthfully, for me the new year is potentially just SSDD (same s$#% different day). Resolutions are ok but tend to imply that you need to change something in your life for whatever reasons you might have. This is where it doesn't work for me for in general my life is what it is and I've accepted it as is. Granted things could much better and don't match where I saw myself at my age but I've spent too much of the past years trying to change things with no success - I seem to be plagued with bad vibes - and I'm not inclined to invest anymore energy in fighting it. Some might call it being comfortable with things as they are but at least I know what my crappy personal & work life entails...

Sure I know what needs changing and how to change them but that may mean spawning even more difficulties and issues. So this year, taking things as they go!

Aside from that shoddy rant, I expect that I'll try to do more of the same:

• 1 new video game a month;
• achieve some form of regularity in my blogging (I foresee a move to video blogging);
• and generally accepting my pains physical & moral alike.

And of course continuously complaining about it... Although I probably should try to stop sounding like a broken record!

Ian Curtis, in Joy Division's Heart & Soul, once wrote:

The past is now part of my Future
The present is well out of hand!

a motto I seem to be fully embedded in :-(

Stuck in Houston

So I was supposed to leave today and quite anxious to as well but I find myself stuck in Houston. The Air France pilots went on strike this weekend and it seems like there are no possibilities for me to reach home before Monday. Air France sent me an e-mail during the middle of the night with a changed reservation to Monday afternoon.

Oh! Well, this sucks but its just a cumulation of just bad events in the disaster that my life is right now. I wish I could say better things but with all the trouble I've been having these past years plus while I was a way a bunch of stuff went down at home that's going to be expensive.

Well gives me two more days to do some last minute shopping... Thinking I might just as well get that MacBook to give myself a nice pill.

Despite Best Effort

The weeks have been long and tedious and despite best efforts, I was just not energetic enough to be able to do somethings I wanted to. Did not have time to do any serious tech stuff or do any gaming. I think the disappointing tech shopping, in ability to exchange some travelers checks and the hesitation to buy a MacBook has not helped.

I think things would actually be different if my job didn't depress me as much and if thinks for me were working better ( crap happened at home that's just hitting the pocket book even more now). I basically know what I need to do to get out of the rut but at the moment the mental energy required to achieve it is not there.

Anyway things are as they are...

Back to Houston...

As I write this, the plane is somewhere over north america - gotta luv wordpress for the Touch. Yep, on the way back to Houston, TX. This should be am interesting but dull trip.
Interesting because I will be living live one of the potentially most drastic US presidential elections ( and I hate politics) personally hoping myself and for the world that the candidate for Change (Obama) win! Above that though because I will be able to connect up with a few friends and colleagues that I enjoy bantering and ranting with. And there is also the fact that I can do some good tech shopping including potentially a MacBook Pro.
On the other hand, I have dreaded the advent of this trip work wise since September (the original trip was cancelled 'cause of Ike). This has to be potentially the least productivity two week business trip I am on in quite awhile. I don't expect to gain or learn much in this hand-over activity I am doing for some of my new objectives & responsibilities.Unfortunately , the work is not & will not challenge me in anyway. Let's face it even the job description that was forwarded to me lists the position to require a person with an experience that's one third of mine.
One other thing I will try to achieve as well is to get a little better and more rhythm on the lifehacking stuff(back into blogging, kyteTV, etc). Let's see what happens...

It's Been Awhile, Again

Well it has been awhile since I took the time to blog anything! To be honest, I've had a few drafts in the works but never enough personal energy to complete them. I thought that migrating my iPod Touch to version 2.0 and using the wordpress applet would help but I've been having other issues with the iPod Touch (will have to be the subject of a different post).
Once again, I find myself torn between personal issues and work related emptiness which has driven me into a relunctant on effectiveness. Hence my inability to get my stuff together and try to do sensible things.
To be honest it's almost a form of depression and I don't think things will change until I hit The Deepest Rock Bottom possible...
Meanwhile I think that trying to get those drafts and new articles finished will be the only way to try and fight this effectively. Maybe even using my blog(s) as a venting ground might help.

Let's see what happens. ;-)

We Say Goodbye to Princess

After 15 years of sweetness, we unfortunately had to say goodbye to our cat Princess. A number of months ago, she was diagnosed with cancer. The first time, we had the vets remove the cancer but it quickly came back and there was not much more we could do. Over the past few days, she had stop eating and was starting to have problem moving around. Her physical state was getting hard to bear and she was not herself.
Princess joined the family some 15 years ago when she grabbed my wife's hat through the cage as we walked passed her in the pet store. My wife knew at that time that the cat was «supposed» to come with us! Princess was a gentle and sweet little lady but was very shy. She will be missed. More picture of her on this Flickr page and in my Picasa web album (look for Princess the tri-colour persian)

Jamais 2 sans 3

«Jamais deux sans trois» is a french expression that basically means that things always come in threes and in most cases you are talking about unlucky things!
Well, today July 3rd aka my birthday, falls right into this expression. If you remember and refer back to last year's post, you may be aware that my home network got electrically fried on my birthday! Well this year it wasn't my home network but it would seem that it was my laptop's turn.
Yep, this year for my birthday, my laptop fried... dead motherboard!
Can't wait till next year I wonder what will happen next!

Visited the Surgeon Today...

I had an appointment with my surgeon today for a one month after check-up on my ankle area.

Although the swelling is still important everything is on track and mobility in my ankle is better. I must admit that in terms of pain the operation has helped to a certain extent. He has recommended a few more weeks of rest and keeping my ankle on ice (both metaphorically and literally).

I must admit however that I am still feeling a serious amount of discomfort especially if I am on my feet too much or sitting without the leg stretched. Don't even get me started on sleeping - my family Doctor has given me sleeping & anti-stress pills - yep its that troublesome!

So more time for some gaming, maybe I'll be able to get through CoD4 & Bioshock.

Ulla's Puppies

My parents have a wired-hair dachshund dog, named Ulla, who gave birth to 6 little puppies last night. 3 males and 3 females, a full litter!

Congratulations Ulla and her parents... ;-)

Pictures here!

Most Interesting Operation Yet!

Yesterday, Thursday 3rd April, was my operation day. I have been back in the hospital since Wednesday to have the hardware, that was put in Dec.06, removed from my left ankle area. The operation in itself turned out to be one of the coolest I have had in a long while. Note that this is my 10th or so operation on my left leg.

The operation started with a local anesthesia. I thought that like previous times, it would be an epidural too numb the lower half of my body. It was in fact a left leg nerve block. Nerve blocks are strange. They start by sticking an electrified needle into the main nerves in your backside and then upper calf. At that moment your leg starts to twitch and move by itself - a strange feeling- which is followed by the injection of the anesthetic. Your leg then slowly starts to become numb... you know that pins and needles feeling you get if you sit on your arm for a long time. They started operating when I could basically no longer move my leg as it felt like a ton of gold bars and I could no longer feel any sense of temperature (those where the tests they carried out to see if it was ready).

The surgeon then began to operate! I felt, smelt and heard everything that was going on! The nerve block in fact only kills the pain sensor...you still feel and touch, etc. I won't recount the whole operation as it was a long 2.5 hours but here are some of the highlights:

• They used a laser scalp to cut through the flesh - smelt the searing meat


• To remove the screws and plate, they had to chisel away and use a hammer to pry the screws loose


• They scrapped away some set-in arthritis and irrigated my ankle

The advantage of having had the operation this way was less down time as you don't suffer the secondary effects of the anesthetics from a GA.

Off to the Hospital

For those following my blog, you may remember that back in December 2006 I broke my left leg. Tomorrow I go back to the Hospital, to be precise the C.H.U Henri Mondor in Creteil.

My angle is still swollen and I am still in pain. The Doctor said that it might be a good idea to remove the screws and plate. He thinks that it will reduce my pain but it in most likelihood would not completely alleviate it. So as I said it is time to go back to the hospital and on thursday the doctor will take out the metal and wash out (irrigate) my angle (to reduce any arthritis that may be settling in).

I will keep you informed...

My sucky X-Mas 2006!

On the 26th of December, I went out for the traditional Alsacien boxing day hunt. The day was one of the coldest of the week and the landscape presented a nice and frosty/icy appearance. Walking back down from position back to the jeep, I hit a patch of dark ice while trying to avoid a much bigger patch of ice. My left leg slide under me inwards and twisted. My body weight landed on an unstable foot and my bones when CRACK! I fell to the ground - more pissed off than in pain. My left Tibia and Fibula are broken!

For those who follow football (soccer), I did something like what Djibril Cissé did about 8 months ago in a France football match.

The rescue team was called (sapeur-pompiers) and I was transported to the hospital in Mulhouse. I have a moblog of the rescue and the day here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fvt_moving_being. I even made the local news (l'Alsace Newspaper)!

The 27th I was operated and a plate and screws were inserted! Spent the week (until 3rd) in hospital taking lots of pain killers, antibiotics and blood thinners (there is a risk of an embolism with these kinds of breaks because of blood clots). The Doctor actually said that I really did a great job breaking my leg but was lucky not to have torn the ligaments.

So what's next, well here is a list:
- no putting my foot down for 6 weeks
- continued pain and thinners with regular checks/controls for the next months
- House bound until March and maybe then some depending on how I heal.
- A long period of reeducation and all the crap that goes along with loosing muscle mass, etc.

The good side is that this happened to my left leg and I know what it takes and how things work... Have had a lot of experience in bone fractures, etc on my left leg. While in the hospital and after close reflection, I realized in fact that I have had a problem with my left leg on average about every 15 years - this is the 3rd time!!!

Such is life, things happen!

Thanks ahead of time for your support and well wishes..