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My Computer Odyssey (Part 1)

Just to let you all know, I published the first part the story, of how I got into computers, over at my other site http://www.colinmeeks.com the direct link is here.

Happy New Year

Yes, indeedy a new year has started, and it wasn't until I looked back on my last year of blogs, that I realised I only made two entries. Oops. While it's all very well making promises and the like, about how I'm going to mend my ways, until I manage to sort out the chaos that is my life, I'll be posting as and when I can. With that being said, I find myself missing the creative outlet, that is partly made up of this and a few other of my blogs. Sometimes you just have to make time and that;s what I am going to try to do.

this week has had me all nostalgic, about growing up and some of the things that define me as an adult, from my school year, of which I've already made a sizable post, to the computers and stuff I grew up with, so I hope this is going to be where I start.

On top of all that, Google has just announced that they are going to stop the ability to use FTP on Blogger, on which this blog is run. This is a major pain, as I have 5 years worth of blog, that I need to move over to something else. I actually wrote a tool that converted all of my Blogger stuff to RSS, so I could easily import it to WordPress, as at the time I last tried, the built in function did not work. I tried to dust off my old utility, but Google must have changed something as it no longer works, oh well, never mind, will try to fix it, if I still need it.

Anyway that's just me checking in. If I haven't spoken to you in a while, drop me an email or post a comment. See ya soon.

My time at Moorfields Primary School

I've been away from the UK, living in Canada nearly 10 years. This absence has over the last few years, made me think more of my growing up and the places and friends I left behind. I was fortunate enough a couple of years ago, to get back, and spend an afternoon going around the places I remembered well as a kid, primary school, secondary school and the little nooks and crannies we used to play around as kids. I took quite a few pictures on that afternoon, but several pictures would prove more poignant than I could have possible known at the time.

I was fortunate for schooling to always be within walking distance. I started at Moorfields Primary School in 1972. The first year was Nursery, which had a distinctly different feel to the rest of the school, almost like it was annexed off, well that's how I remember it anyway. Nursery school, is where I made some pretty firm friends, Stephen Kerr, Steven Forsdyke and Lee MacDonald to name a few. I also vaguely remember having a run in with a girl, who's name was something like 'Eva'. I remember us fighting a few times, over the huge colour building blocks, and when I say huge, imagine Lego, but where each brick is bigger than a mans foot. It's funny they could have been much smaller, but that's the size they were in my imagination. Nursery also had it's own little play area, which was separate from the rest of the infants. At play times, we were marshalled like little prisoners of war. I remember there being a fairly hefty see-saw in this area. I remember it particularly well, as a few years later, I was playing with some friends and slipped off, when the see-saw was down, and it came up with a whack, straight on my chin. I had lock jaw for a few days after that, which was not very pleasant.

Nursery, is intended as an introduction, to ease children into school life, consequently at around 12:30 I think it was, we had nap time. I seem to remember we had fold up, camp like beds, but I also think we may have slept on the floor, maybe on foam tiles or mats. I think Mrs Simms was the main teacher in Nursery, but she was also ably assisted by some other school helpers, who also worked around the rest of the school. If I remember correctly they were:

Mrs Burke - A rather tall woman I think, with short bright red hair. I heard she died of lunch cancer back in the 80's

Mrs Costa - I seem to remember hearing she had a heart attack while taking the children to St. Lukes library

Mrs Piper (who was also Ronnie Piper's Mum, but he was a few years ahead of me)

Mr Wills was the school caretaker and there was a gardener who's name may have been Matthew or Mr Matthews. I spent a lot of time gardening, back then and loved it, so it's funny now that I hate it.

From around my era, I seem to remember 2 heads of the school, although I think Mrs Edward may have also been a head in the past. The two other heads were Mr Weatherly, who was a very gentle, tall man, who handled conflicts very well. I seem to remember going there on a few occasions and ending up playing draughts. I also think I remember him having some kind of sweet jar on his desk, that either had hard candies or lollipops in it. Mr Blunden, was a fairly imposing figure, with his flaming red hair and mustache to match. If he's reading this I would like to remind him that he still has my copy of Roald Dahl's, "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar".

And the teachers that I remember were:

Nursery - Mrs Simms
Class 2 - Mrs Edwards
Class 3 - Miss Worrell
Class 4 - Mr Maw
Class 5 - Miss Hewstone
Class 6 - I seem to remember a teacher for the better part of the year and then she disappeared. Think we had a few substitute teachers here, including the very colourful Mr Deshmuk
Class 7 - Mrs Belasko
Class 8 - Mr Maw (again) but I could be mistaken

So Nursery is covered. Please remember that all of this is from memories I haven't thought much about in over 30 years, so some of the names and teachers may be in the wrong order, but I'm happy to make changes, if someone wants to point out any errors or omissions.

Class 2, is fairly sketchy. I remember Mrs Edwards as very stern and proper, dressed always very soberly. She also had a very plasticy prosthetic hand, which I'm sure was the norm back then, but I remember it as almost mannequin like. Rightly or wrongly, my thoughts of her are as a scary, almost matron like figure.

Class 3, I remember more for the teacher than the time itself. Now let me say, that any of the descriptions for the teachers, are not intended to insult, I'm just trying to recall the image that is easiest to envisage. I remember Mrs Worrell as having fairly long, slightly curly brown hair and protruding teeth. Her husband was blind, and this I remember as she brought in a braille typewriter and we all got the chance to type out a short letter. I also think she told us many stories, but again this year is very sketchy.

Mr Maw, Mrs Hewstone and a mystery student

Class 4, was the first time around that we had Mr Maw. For me, Mr Maw was the turning point, from blissfully unaware child, to knowledge hungry, music mad child. I can remember a particular instance of the class singing the Beach Boys Song, "Sloop John B". I was harmonizing and Mr Maw seemed amazed. Now I don't pretend to be some kind of child prodigy, I probably just heard the song on the radio, but that particular instance gave me some thing I was good at, and has pretty much stayed with me all my life. We sang so many songs like "Football Crazy" and "You'll never get to Heaven". It wasn't all fun and games, he sure did have a darker side, but I can't say I remember it flaring that often, once or twice at most. This was the last year of infants and the last year that we would play in the infants playground, which was on the same level as the main buildings of the school. I also have the vaguest of memories, of a crush. Alan Welsh had a sister. Linda I think her name was, who I think was in Class 8, which shared a windowed wall with our playground. I remember acting all smitten like with her and her giving me a handmade badge. I think I was walking on cloud 9 for a few days after.

Class 5, saw the transition from infants to juniors. My memories of Mrs Hewstone, which are the memories of someone looking back, were that of a rock chick, something akin to Suzy Quattro. Long blond hair, wide lapels, flared jeans and rock chick boots. The playground for the juniors was sub level. You came out of our side of the building and walk across to the other side of the Juniors, where there was a staircase going down. There was also a slope on the far side of the juniors, where we spent most of the Summer of '76. There was also paved stairs along the building leading down. I remember in the juniors being introduced to rounders, the English version of baseball. It was here we discovered that if that ball goes over the wall, into the adjacent graveyard (Bunhill Row), we'd have to get it. Consequently from that point on, we tried to get whatever ball, quoit or toy we could, over the wall. Bunhill Row cemetery is a quite wonderful slice of tranquility in the heart of the city. It is also the final burial place of several famous people, including Danial Defoe, John Wesley, William Blake and John Bunyan, to name a few.

Class 6, was a funny year. I seem to remember we started the year with a teacher who was with us for a while. I can't for the life of my remember her name, but she did introduce us to pen pals. I had two pen pals whose names I remember to this date, David Holborn and Justin Swilt. They lived in High Wycome, which back then was like the other end of the country. I also seem to remember having a crush on her, but then again, how big can a 8 year olds crush be. I also remember one of many substitute teachers in particular, Mr Deshmuk. Has was a large Indian man, who always had a smile on his face. His happiness was infectious and I think he kept us busy with lots of crafty projects.

Class 7 was with Mrs Belasko, whom I seem to remember being a bit of a hippie chick, with long wavy dark reddish hair and always seemingly in long flowing skirts and dresses. I think that was the year I caught chicken pox, as I remember being found in the toilets at that end of the building, with tears in my eyes, scratching furiously. Class 7 was also the our introduction to the big school trip. The trip was mostly for Class 8, but I remember there were always a few places filled by students from Class 7. I never managed to do whatever was required to be picked. That year I think the trip was to Bristol somewhere (Clifton maybe). I also recollect that the kids got to go there on the new Intercity 125 trains, which as you can probably guess, travelled at 125 miles per hour. Another memory from this time, has haunted me ever since it happened. I can remember it at around Christmas time. The class was busy making our own Christmas decorations. Lee MacDonald was playing around with the thing I was making and broke it. Well to say I went ballistic is probably a bit of an understatement, considering I was so mad, I threw a pair of scissors at his head. I can remember them leaving my hand and watching them speed towards his head in slow motion. I think those around, collectively exhaled a sign of relief when the scissors stuck in the wall above Lee's head, I think my relief was a little more pronounced than those around.

Class 8, we again had Mr Maw. This was also our final year before entering secondary school. There is something decidedly different about being in your final year anywhere. There is a great sense of achievement and pride at being the oldest kids in the school, but also an underlying fear of the unknown, what is to come in the big school, where we become little fishes in a big pond. This was the year that we got to go on the big school trip, which this year was to Sayers Croft in Ewhurst, Surrey. I think we were there for a week, but it could have been 5 days. There are a couple of things that standout from that trip, one of them is part of the soundtrack to my life back then. Jilted John was at, or had been Number 1 in the charts and Boney M were singing "Brown Girl in the Ring". Those two songs still bring back fond memories and my kids are particularly amused when I fire up Jilted John on the stereo. Sayers Croft was a magical time. There were a few schools in residence at the same time. The boys and girls had their own dormitory, which was very alien to us as kids. The boys would often sneak out to the girls dorm, and try to scare the living daylights out of them. I seem to remember running through their dorm a few times, with torches in our mouths, making ghostly noises. Yeah I know, pathetic but we were 10 or 11. The education aspect of Sayers Croft, which after all was the reason we were there, was also fascinating. I still remember discovering "Whirligigs" in pond water. I had a camera and took at least a couple of rolls of film, these rolls never got developed, as they disappeared somewhere, but I'm sure they would have been grainy and blurry, very similar to pics I have seen from around that time. Another major feat of being at Sayers Croft was the 12 mile walk we went on, that encompassed Leith Hill, Pitch Hill and Holmbury hill. Yes I did say 12 miles, which took us most of the day. It was a magical day and even though we were totally knackered, still managed to sprint back to our dorms.

Class 8 was also the year of the big school play. That year we did "Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat". I so wanted to be Joseph, but alas Andrew Snow got that part. I did manage to snag another fairly big part, that of the Pharaoh. This was particularly cool, as I got to sing like Elvis, dressed in my West Ham track suit. I recorded the whole performance onto cassette tape, but never got to hear it. I lent the tape to Andrew Snow and never saw it again, damn shame.

Although my brother, Alan went to the same school, I don't seem to have any memories of him, other than the git robbing me of half of my dinner money. Admittedly he was three years older than me, but I only have the slightest of recollection of him in the later years, strange that.

So that was Moorfields. I've only really glanced at my times back them, but remember them with fondness. It's funny, early on at Moorfields, I was a real jack the lad, and incurable flirt with the girls. I got my self into various situations, involving amongst other things, coat racks, popper fastening skirts and anoraks, but we won't delve any deeper there. It seems like the older I got, the less I played kiss chase and the less the girls wanted to do with me. I think some of this is only natural, as the girls grow up a lot faster than boys at that age. With all the testosterone beginning to surge around my body, it didn't help much going to an all boys school. I certainly won't be doing that to my kids. I wonder if the girls that left Moorfields, going to all girls school had similar feelings.

So reason for this nostalgic look back at Moorfields. They're knocking it down. Not satisfied with knocking the school down, they even had to rename it before hand. When I went back a couple of years ago, instead of finding my familiar Moorfields school. I found it had been renamed to Prior Western. Ah the indignity of it all. I know it's only an old building. A school I left all of 30 years ago, but I always kinds of hoped to be able to show my children where their Daddy grew up and the schools he went to. Now that's not going to happen. So goodbye Moorfields. I have so many great memories.

One last tidbit of information. There's a block of flats opposite Moorfields, called Braithwaite House, which had a claim to fame in 1968, coincidently the year I was born. This is where the Kray Twins, the East London gang heads were apprehended. "Not a lotta people know that".

Before I sign off, though I'll leave you with an, as accurate as I can remember, recital of the class register. I'll be interested to know of any errors.

Can you spot me?

Grant Allen (Grunt)
Marvin Barry
Scott Boniface
Matthew Capper (Formerly Walker)
Margaret Cillia
Shelley Davies
Mandy Davis
Lorraine Driscoll
Steven Forsdyke (Spud)
Michael Gartland
Martina Gough
Joanne Jayes
Yasmin Karim
Stephen Kerr (Kirby)
Michelle Leather
Debbie Lucas
Lee Macdonald
Colin McDonald (Macky, Biscuit)
Colin Meeks (Meeksy)
Claire Mills
Chico Mullane (Duracell)
Karen Peck
Hazel Philpott
Nicola Robinson
Samantha Singh Hulass
Tommy Smith (Smiffy)
Andrew Snow (Snowy)
Ian Taberman (Tadsy)
Mark Vaughan
David Watkins (Weeble)

Kids that came and went
Alan Parker
Vincent Carabot (Although there is some dispute that this should be Paragot, it's not what I remember though.
Alan Welsh (Welshy)
Zacar Hussain (Stink Bomb)

I See a Light at the End of the Tunnel

Can anybody hear me. Oh dear, forgive me blogfather, it's been 8 months since my last post, and even that was only the 4th or 5th post of that year. I went through a bit of a writing drought after Adam was born, but though I was getting back on track and then life and work just exploded and I just don;t know where I am at the moment.

This blog is not the only thing that's suffered. My Indie Launchpad website and podcast are on a bit of a hiatus, as I just can't seem to find time, to sit down and listen to music. I have to admit, this is really killing me, as anyone that knows me, will tell you that music is very special to me. It's funny though, as winter is usually the time everyone hibernates, and we haven;t really been anywhere this winter, it's just been too cold. It's bad enough taking the girls to school when it's -30c with the windchill. Fortunately it's relatively easy to throw them in the car and drop them off, but I can tell you, even walking them to the door, along with Adam is enough to freeze your nuts off.

Last year we were fortunate to get away for a bit of a holiday. We went to Toronto and did all the touristy stuff, like Canada's Wonderland, the Toronto Zoo and Medieval Knights, which was really great. Adam is growing all the time and it was nice to see him lapping up all the different things around him. Sherri's brother John and his partner Neil were our hosts and made us feel very welcome.

Let me just say in my defence before I go any further, although I have neglected this blog a bit, I have still been posting lots of photos and videos on the photo and video pages of this website, so you can still get a fairly good fix there.

I think the other main frustration I have is not being able to find the time to write. I was at one time writing for the Canadian national newspaper, the Globe and Mail, but that kind of fizzled out. I was also a contributor and indeed co-founder of the Podcast User Magazine, but that too has kind of been pushed to a back burner on a very, very light flame. With those two publications, I was kind of forced to work to deadlines, and it allowed me to become very focused, which silt over onto all the other things I was doing. Now I find myself procrastinating and it became something of a running joke to myself about writing this entry. At least that first hurdle is over with now.

Christmas was a particularly fun time with lots of Sherri's family coming over for a visit and a drink or two. There was a rumour that some moonshine was doing the rounds, but I couldn't possible deny or confirm this ;-)

So that's kind of where I'm at now. Trying to refocus and get my life back on track. Hopefully I can at least write here a bit more frequently. For anyone that is interested in my more techy writing, you can find plenty to read over here, colinmeeks.com but again this is another area that needs a jolt, something that I'm already working on. If you want to see the funnies and weird things I find on the web, take a look at my Tumblr page colboy.tumblr.com which is where I post everything, instead of having to send out a constant stream of emails.

Another thing that's become a bit of a distraction is Twitter. I've been using it for a couple of years now, but only really got the point of it all, when I got an iPod Touch for Christmas, now don't get me started on the iPod Touch, a device for which my wife feels is surgically connected to me at times. In fact I probably spend more time ready my email on the Touch, that I do on my laptop or desktop computer.

Anyway I think that about brings things up to date. The weather here is beginning to break. The snow is fading fast and while our clocks have sprung forward, I sense it's still going to be a few more weeks before we can honestly say winter is behinds us.

Anyway if you're reading this and I haven't spoken with you in a while, just drop me a line, to say hello and reassure me that I'm not writing and posting this to a blank audience.

Hope all is well with you an yours. Colin

My little man

My little man
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This England!

In an unforgivable oversight, I managed to forget today is St. Georges day. It was my wife who called to remind me, on her way to work and I suddenly felt, very detached from the country I used to call home. It's funny, seeing that I was only back in Blighty 5 short months ago. Today is a very special day, not just for the patriotic streak that runs through me, but also for the memories it evokes of my Grandad, dressing up in his suit, with a red rose in his label and going down the pub to wet his whistle. I'm sure his whistle was very dry as he's be in there till closing time. Forgetting things I suppose is a side effect of parenthood. Things are beginning to get back to some semblance of normality. The twins are now 3, Adam is 1, Alanna is 18 and Mandi is 21. Quite the collection of children.

This week has been my week of getting small jobs off my todo list. My laptop has finally gone back to HP pending repair, so it will be nice to be able to site in my nice cosy armchair and type away. I also need to get my digital camera looked at, before the warranty expires, as the view finder and zoom seem to have a problem. The camera still works fine, but I can sense something about to go skewy any moment.

Work is as busy as ever, which is good and bad. Sherri is doing amazingly well, I'm so proud of her. She's lost over 110 pounds through dieting and is now going to the gym regularly to try to tone up and lose a little more weight. She also does belly dancing once a week and last Saturday did her first public performance and might good she was too.

Just wanted to check in quickly to let readers of this blog know I'm still alive and kicking. Drop me a line if we haven't chatted in a while. S'laters.

Happy Birthday to Me. 40 Today.

As I start writing this, it's about -3 outside and we are currently enjoying a snow, come ice storm. It's also the day 40 years ago that I was born. I still find it incredible to believe that I am 40 years old. I look back on my life so far and it all seems like such a blur. The last 10 years have probably flown by the fastest.

10 Years ago, I was working at an Internet / Database company in the UK, had lived in the same flat alone in Hackney for over 10 years and had a close circle of friends, who along with me, enjoyed going out and sampling the wares of various public houses. Whilst those 10 years were a blast, having no commitments whatsoever, there was something missing. There was a gaping void which I was still waiting to fill, but as of then, had found no one to fill it.

That all changed when I met Sherri and now my gaping void is bursting at the seems, a void no more. It's hard to convey to your children that while before them stands a man who's lived on this earth for 40 years, inside my head, I'm the same fun loving youngster I always was. Age may take it's tole on your looks, but for the majority of us, it improves our mind, but still allows us to thing we're still children. The one thing you need to be aware of, when you are a mere youngster, is that your first 21 years, are almost like the first half of your life. You strive to reach that magical age, when you can finally be considered an adult and then before you know it, the waves of years melt before your eyes. I can still remember vividly my 21st birthday as if it was yesterday. I suppose what I'm really trying to say, is don;t be in a hurry to grow up. You'll soon wish that you were younger, rather than older.

Not that growing older is scary by any means. I now have 5 wonderful children, a nice house, a wonderful wife and a job I actually enjoy. This is a far cry from 10 years ago. My life is organised chaos, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

So let me bid you farewell for another year. I shall however be trying to get on top of my blog again, as it seems to be an age between posts. If I haven't spoken or emailed you in a while, feel free to drop me a line.

A Little Beadlebum Magic

Here's a memory that just sparked in my distant memories. It's the words to the intro song to the Beadlebum radio show on LBC. Words may not be totally accurate, or complete, but this is how I remember it. Let me know if you remember different. The 261 refers to the position on the mediam wave/AM dial.

Beadlebum, Beadlebum, B, B, Beadlebum
Beadlebum, Beadlebum, 261
Pick up the phone and join in the fun on 3.5.3.8.1.1.1.
Sunday night's were made for you,
With Beadlebum and all the crew
It's pleasant competition time,
So better not leave your brains behind
The sensible ridiculous comes in time.
So stand by your radio and get in a line, to
Beadlebum, Beadlebum, B, B, Beadlebum
3.5.3.8.1.1.1.

Beadlebum

To me he'll always be Beadlebum, or Jeremy James Anthony Gibson Beadle. To the majority of people he was that annoying Jeremy Beadle of Game for a Laugh and You've Been Framed fame. That's not to say I didn't enjoy his TV work, but to me he'll always be a magician of the airways. I first came across Jeremy via radio, more specifically LBC, the London news and current affairs station. He used to have a phone in on Saturday and Sunday nights I think it was, were you could set him a trivia question and he'd answer it. It's not very often that anyone beat Jeremy, but I did. I even got a badge that stated "I beat Beadlebum on LBC", Beadlebum being the affectionate name he called himself. Do you have any idea of how much it kills your finger, dialing constantly on a rotary phone, but I did it time after time, just in the hopes of getting through.

Today, or more specifically a few minutes ago, I found he'd sadly passed away. I knew he was ill, having only read a story of him being admitted to hospital for pneumonia, a few days ago, but you never thing of pneumonia as being that serious. I subsequently found out about him having a cancerous kidney being removed and also recently being diagnosed with a mild form of leukemia. In the blink of an eye, someone I looked up to, has gone. Yes I know that sounds very melodramatic, but those years I listened to Jeremy on LBC instilled a love of trivia in me, that I still can't get enough of. I remember picking up a copy of his book "Today's the Day" in Selfridges, which breaks down all the things in history that happened on each day of the year. I can't have been older than 10 or 11, but I was so excited have this amazing book in my hands. Today I have tons of trivia books and also murder books, another subject I know Jeremy was very interested in.

He was also a bit of a prankster and I remember him hinting that he had a long running prank that ran on April Fools day that no one knew was him, I'd love to know what this was. Maybe we'll never find out, or maybe it was the last prank that will be left driving me crackers.

I just wanted to write a little something about a person who influenced my life and for whom I'll always have good memories. There was much more to him, than cheesy television. His charity work for example, lead to a well earned MBE. Cheers mate, thanks for everything.

Heppy New Year

Blimey it's hard to believe a year has passed since my last New Year's post, but indeed it has. The New Year finds the snow continuing to dump on my driveway and that is a job I'm not looking forward to, but you do what you have to do.

This New Year's Eve was pretty much the same as last years. We got the girls and Adam to bed at around 8pm and Sherri and I just lounged around watching movies and playing the Wii. We actually managed to pick up a controller yesterday when we were out shopping. Instead of buying the controller on it's own, we picked up the controller that came with a CD of 9 mini games. We were both pretty excited and looking forward to playing the games, but after working our way through all 9, we both liked 2 out of 9, and only 1 did we both like the same. There's a fishing game that Sherri managed to kick my butt on, but man it's about as interesting as watching paint dry. Actually no, watching paint dry is infinitely more exciting. Anyway, I suppose it was worth the extra $15 we paid and I'm sure a few of the games will appeal to the younger kids.

After playing the Wii for an hour or so, we settled down to watch V for Vendetta, a movie set in a future Britain and pretty scary at that. Not scary in a monsters kind of way, but scary in a way that it's possibly the way Britain is turning. Big Brother really isn't that far off, or that's the impression I get anyway. We finally went to bed at around 2am and one of us got up at 6:45am this morning to see to the kids. Mmm, I'm wondering which one of us it was? Yes you guessed it, it was me, so I'm feeling pretty shattered at the moment, but will feel a whole lot better when I've summoned up the strength to jump in the shower.

So that's New Year's Eve, what of the year as a whole. Well the best thing to happen this year was the birth of our son Adam in April. It's hard to believe he'll be 9 months old tomorrow. Having Adam has thrown my writing into a bit of a disarray. Whilst I was churning out stuff left, right and centre, I've been struggling to find the time of late. I'm not blaming my tardiness on Adam, just that I've let my organisational skills go to pot, at the same time he was born. Bit by bit, however I'm managing to dig myself out of the hole and managing to slowly get back on track. As my writing has suffered so has my podcasting. I think this year I've only managed to do 40 shows, as opposed to 52 the previous year. Again, with this I'm managing to get back on track, although I've taken a bit of a break over Christmas.

Work has been a bit up and down, but hopefully this year things will be a bit more settled. I'm still managing to learn lots of new stuff, which is really what excites me.

Sherri has really had her work cut out this year, starting maternity leave in April, when Adam was born. It's really been hard for her, but at least Sarah and Lucy are now in pre-school two days a week, albeit only for half days. Adam is an absolutely amazing baby. You really couldn't ask for a better behaved baby. He has his off days now and then, but there's always a valid reason, usually because he's not feeling well. He also proving to be really photogenic, and who am I to pass up the opportunity to take photos. Sarah and Lucy are at the height of their troublesome toddler phase. Sherri meets up with other Mums of multiples, fairly regularly and they all say there's light at the end of the tunnel. We just hope we're at the end of the tunnel as opposed to the middle.

Mandi has moved again with her SO Jason and is now much nearer to home. She spent Christmas here at home and also bought our Grand Daughter........ no you didn't read that incorrectly but the girl in question is in fact a dog, so we can at least breathe a big sigh of relief. I am not ready to be a Grandad yet, even though I am 40 this year. Alanna is still... well Alanna. 17 going on 50 and that's just her hair styles (Only joking).

My Mum and Dad managed to come over for a couple of weeks, which was brilliant. My Dad got to see the smaller kids for the first time and my Mum got to see the twins for the first time since they were born and also got to see Adam for the first time. Two weeks was not enough, but I'm hoping they'll be back this summer.

I managed to get over to England at the end of November. While it was nice going back to the old manor, it was infinitely nicer coming home. I did managed to squeeze in a nice Pie and Mash, A trip to my favorite restaurant, Topo Gigio's and a good few drinks with my Dad and some old friends. It was nice however to get back on that plane and know that in a few short hours I would be back in the arms of my loving wife and kids.

So there you have it. Not the most action packed of years, but with some enormous highlights. So what of the year to come. Well let's start covering my goals for last year, 2007 :

1. Get myself better organized, both professionally and at home.
   Well this went right out of the window, but I think this will again be on my list for next year
   
   
2. Move my blogs over to Word Express. Blogger is beginning to buckle under the strain. It would be really great to host my own Blogs with a proper CMS system
   I managed to do this for all of my major blogs, but not done anything for this blog. This is still on my todo list.
   
   
3. Get the bloody basement tidied up.
   Err, I think it's best to just skip straight over this one.
   
   
4. Get to grips with TurboGears, a Python based web framework (yeah I know, I'm a geek)
   Man I suck. I've dabbled with this, but still not managed to do anything major... yet.
   
   
5. Quit drinking at home until March.
   I did this and in fact didn't really drink much in 2007. I had a few weeks off the wagon over the summer, but was quite content to just have a few Guinnesses her. and there
   

And here's my predictions for last year and a word on how I did :

1. Steve Jobs steps down as CEO, but remains at Apple, possibly in a similar position to Bill Gates at Microsoft.
   No announcement here, but what with all the SEC investigations and stuff, I can see him maybe stepping down in the next few years.
   
   
2. Emusic bought by a larger company
   Emusic seem to be going from strength to strength. So unless the offer is huge, I can't see this happening any time soon.
   
   
3. Google launches online file storage service
   Nothing here yet, but expect the infamous "G-Drive" to surface some time soon.
   
   
4. iTunes clone purely for non DRM music launches
   Well not quite what I expected, but iTunes now sells DRM free music as now does Amazon amongst other companies. Look for DRM to die a slow death over the next few years.
   
   
5. Harry Potter doesn't die in the seventh book and final book.
   Well he does die, sort of but finishes the book alive and well.
   
   
6. Ford makes major announcement
   Nothing really huge here, although their Sync car technology looks neat.
   
   
7. iTunes launches multiple pricing levels
   This has happened, although it's only really a two tier pricing for DRM and non DRM music.
   
   
8. George Michael releases freely available, non DRM album of new material
   George Michael didn't even though he did threaten to, but Radiohead released an album that you could get for free if you picked up a digital copy from their website and set the amount you wanted to spend as $0, which apparently over 67% of people did. Don't worry about Radiohead though, they still did much better than if they sold the album on iTunes.
   
   
9. Windows Vista has a very slow uptake, by existing Windows users.
   Yes, slow indeed. I think the only really inroads they are making is in people getting Vista with new PC purchases. I got a new laptop in the summer with Vista, and while I really wanted to like, it has too many problems for me to give it my stamp of approval.
   
   
10. New service or product is released which brings podcasts to the masses, causing uptake from people previously afraid or confused on what to do.
    Not quite the next big thing, but you can now subscribe to podcasts via Tivo and you can also now purchase W-Fi radios, which really makes things interesting. I think 2008 is really going to be an interesting year.

Now what of my goals for 2008 :

1. Carry on watching what I drink and continue to lose some weight
2. Get myself better organized, which includes doing some major de-cluttering
3. Learn a new programming language
4. Try and get the kids out more this year. Need to discover more things to do in Ottawa
5. Try to get back on track with my writing. Going to finally put together my "When I Was Young" series and change the focus to more of an autobiography.
6. Try to read a bit more. Currently my only reading material is blogs and the odd article I print of from various websites.
   

And now for my 2008 predictions :

1. Apple either ditches Apple TV or makes radical improvements
2. Digg finally manges to sell itself, but there's a twist in the tail
3. BBC introduces a fee paying version of their iPlayer, for worldwide consumption
4. Ebay offloads Skype
5. John C. Dvorak leaves Podshow
6. Nintendo finally manages to meet demand for their Wii console
7. Wireless USB starts to appear on consumer devices and PC's
8. One of the top record labels discontinues the CD as a medium, deciding to go all digital.
9. Sega makes surprise announcement
10. Martha Stewart in trouble again
    

And there you have it. A good 2007, but the seeds are there for a great 2008. Here's hoping for an amazing 2009 New Years message.

Hello Stranger

It's amazing how real life prevents you from doing stuff, which if you are a regular reader of this blog, you'll know, by the infrequent updates. I really love to write, from the tech stuff I do, to the music reviews and just general rambling you get on this blog. Since the birth of Adam, I can't seem to get my groove on, which means all of my blogs have been suffering. However I'm not one to just lie back and say "Oh well, shit happens". I really want to try to get my writing back on track, so will be trying several things to see if I can give my self a bit of a jump start. All of that sounds pretty much me making excuses and blaming my kids. It's really not that. Much of the problem is my laziness. It's so easy to get home from work and just veg, until it's time to go to bed and that's what's been happening for the last 6 months or so. I need to peel my lard arse up from the sofa and get jiggy with it. Talking of which, I need to think about my New Years message. Turrah!

Wiiiiiiiiiiii

For the first time in an age my wife wanted to get the family a piece of technology for Christmas. This in itself isn't too unusual, until I found out it was a Nintendo Wii. She's playing it now and I have to say I'm so turned on it's unbelievable. Don't get me wrong, my wife is hot stuff, but when you cut in a bit of tech, well, suffice to sat I'm feeling sleepy and so will the wife be, when I prise the Wii controller outr of her hand.

Happy Christmas. Waheeeeeeeeeeeey!

Me and my Son Chillin'

Squat and Gobble... Gobble What?

I noticed this place to eat when I was in London. Can't say the name conjours up a tasty vision of food.

Happy Third Birthday Sarah and Lucy

OK, so maybe I'm a little late in posting this online, but it's only now that I've finished uploading the whole days photos to our photo album, and I couldn't post this message without an accompanying picture.

There's a couple of videos going up over the next couple of days, including one videoed when we woke the girls up. Sarah was up and out the door, but Lucy was a bit cranky and told Sherri and I to "go away". Once she'd woken up a bit, she was fine. What was really the highlight of the morning, is when they came downstairs and saw just a few of their presents. They had to contain themselves a few hours before actually opening them, as we wanted them to wait until after the party. The last thing we wanted was them having more interest in their new things, than their party guests.



The clown arrived at just after 10:30am. Yes I said clown, although it wasn't a full on, in your face kind of clown, but a more children friendly version. The last thing we wanted to do was traumatize the kids for the rest of their lives. The clown went down well, especially when she pulled out her little bunny. You should have seen the little kids eyes light up.

The party was over by 1pm and the girls then spent the next hour or so opening their presents. It was just like a prelude to Christmas. They got lots of lovely things from their friends and it was so nice to see that a lot of though had obviously gone into them.

Anyway gonna wrap things up. This weekend has been a real long one, what with Canadian Thanks Giving as well as the party. It was great to spend some real quality time with the kids. Adam continues to come on leaps and bounds. I swear he'll be walking soon, he's so strong on his feet, with a little assistance of course. I have to tell you, when he looks into my eyes, it gives me the most amazing feeling of love and being loved. In fact all my kids continually show me, what a lucky man I am.

YouTube Wonders

Every now and then I like to have a search through YouTube, usually looking for old music videos and retro stuff from my youth. Nothing could prepare me for the following clip I found from one of my favourite children's TV shows, Rainbow. Now I found this clip simply by typing in 'Rainbow' into the YouTube search box. Mmm, I thought, there's something in the number 1 position. So here it is:



Now I have to tell you, I was laughing so hard all through this clip, that my sides were hurting. I'm not sure if it is part of a real episode, in which case, the double entendre is simply amazing, or whether it's a clip, purposefully shot for fun. Whatever, I'd be amazed, if it barely raises a titter, especially if you remember Rainbow from your youth. Anyway enjoy and let me know what you think.

Catching Up

I know, this blog is getting a bit neglected of late. Between work, children and general life, there just isn't enough time in the day for everything else. That will change as of Monday, when I'm take some time off work, because some special visitors are coming to town. They would be my Mum and Dad. It's been a while since I saw them last. My Mum last visited just after the Twins were born, back in 2004 and my Dad was last here in 2002. My Mum is going to get a huge shock. The last time she saw the twins, Lucy was still in an incubator. I think Sarah came home the day my Mum left. My Dad has yet to see either the Twins or Adam, so it's going to be a really great experience for them and us.

I have to go into work on Monday, to hand over some projects and to brief my co-workers, on what I have and where it can be found. My Mum and Dad get in at 6pm, so I'll try to leave work a little early and pick Sherri up, before heading to the airport. We actually live pretty close to the airport, it's just about 20 minutes door to door.

Adam continues to grow like a weed. He's a little off at the moment, I think he's just getting over a small cold, but even when he's down, he can;t help but smile. That smile he gives first thing in the morning and when I get home from work is priceless.

Sarah and Lucy are in the height of their terrible two's phase at the moment. It's not that they are particularly bad, but it's just the lack of listening. It's been worse of late, as they do get a bit stir crazy. It's been raining a lot lately, so they can't get outside as much as they want. Talking of the weather, it's been a pretty crappy summer. Yesterday was warm enough and actually very humid, but the rain puts a real damper (pun intended) on things. The pool looks a bit like a swap at the moment. OK probably a bit of an exaggeration, but it could really do with a heavy shock and a clean. It's just something that you can't be arsed to do, if you can't then get in the pool, because it's too cool.

So yes I'll be off work for nearly 2 weeks and I'm pretty much going to take it easy.
I'll try to post the odd blog entry and also upload photos and videos, but I'm not going to be doing any development or anything else that requires too much brain power.

Talking of videos, I've changed the way the video section works. Now you select the video you want to watch and it streams to your computer, as opposed to loading them all up front. I usually find it's best to wait till the video has loaded at least 50% if you have a decent connection or 100% if your connection is patch, this stops the video sputtering, while it tries to keep in sync.

So that's pretty much about it. The sun is beginning to come out, which means my babies will be waking up. I'm gonna let Sherri lay in today, as she's been feeling pretty tired of late. Also have to get the garage cleaned up this weekend and try to figure out if it's the fuse or motor that's gone on the drivers side electric window. It's a real pain not being able to open your window when you go through a drive through.

Catch ya later.

Ah What a Cutie...

... and Adam isn't bad either. Sherri took this pic and when I downloaded it to the computer and viewed it, I know I just had to share it with the world. Yes, people may think I'm bias, but I'm not, honest. Isn't he just the cutest little man you've ever seen?

New Camera

Finally got around to buying a new camera and what a stunner it is. My old Casio QV51 ( think it is) has seen better days, so I went out Saturday to pick up another Casio, as I'd been so impressed with the one I had. I plumped for the Casio Exilim EX-V7, which on paper had excellent specs, especially the 7x optical zoom. The feature that sold me, was the ability to capture widescreen video, in Quicktime H.264 mode. Whilst the video was excellent, the actual picture quality was really poor. This camera has image stabilisation, but you wouldn't have guessed it by seeing the pictures.

So back to the store I went to get a refund and off I trotted to another store, as the camera I was going to pick up this time, was only available at another store. This time I went for the Canon Powershot A640 and man, the pictures are amazing. I picked this camera, as I've finally decided to experiment more with my photos and this seems to be the camera that will allow me to do that, without burning a huge whole in my pocked. The camera is 10 megapixels, with 4x optical zoom. Not a quantum leap in zoom, over what I already had, but still better. I've taken a tone of pics and some videos, and apart from my ineptitude on some of them, the results have been amazing. Just look at the "New Camera" album, in the Photo Album section of this site.

I've included a pic here of my son Adam. I managed to get this by turning on the burst mode, which allows me to keep taking pictures, by leaving my finger on the trigger. Absolutely priceless.

Summer's Here. Arrrrrrrrrh, Mowing Lawns

As you've probably noticed the site has had another re-design. The previous design was only really a temporary one, as I was never really happy with it. Looked far too plain for me. The new design as you've probably noticed, has a picture that changes every time you visit a new page. I'll try to add more pictures for that, as often as I can.

So my beloved Sens were unable to win the Stanley Cup. I wasn't surprised, as for the majority of the final, they just didn't seem to have any gas left in the tank. It's a real shame. It's an incredible site, seeing your city so energized. Admittedly you saw more and more people jumping onto the bandwagon, the longer the Sens went, but it's still nice to see all the Sens flags flying from peoples cars. I have to admit, although I love my Sens dearly, this year I failed to get enveloped into everything like I usually do. I'm not sure if I kept my self detached, because I didn't want to get disappointed, or whether it was just because I don't have the passion to spare at the moment.

So now no hockey until October, it will be nice to have a bit of a rest. We certainly didn't watch as many games as last year, but most of that was due to the new pay-per-view games, which there is no way in hell I'm going to pay for. We already pay over $50 per month for our satellite. We could pay an additional $30 a month for the CentreIce package, which we've done before, but it's just too expensive, especially when you only really get an addition half dozen or so games.

Adam continues to grow like a weed. I wanted to dig out a nice recent picture of Adam and found this lovely one of him and Lucy. Lucy is so funny, she's constantly putting her hand under his chin, tuning to me and saying "Cute". Both Sarah and Lucy are head over heels in love with their little brother, but Lucy is sometimes like a little mother.

Today all the girls went shopping, leave us boys to watch the Formula 1 race and what a race it was. There was an incredible crash, in which the driver only suffered a broken leg. I tell you, it looked a lot worse than that. Thank God for all the modern day advances in crash protection.


Also got to do my favorite pasttime, mowing the lawn. Yes that is said with the greatest hint of sarcasm. It's not so much that I hate it, it's more that I hate mowing it with the stupid damn electric mower I have. Mowing the lawn should be a relatively effortless endeavor, but it's not. I think I'm going to have to sort that out as it's been the bane of my gardening life, since we moved here.

Mandi and Alanna are doing good. Mandi has finished Uni for the summer and Alanna will finish school this month. Both of them are looking to pick up as many shifts at work as they can. Relaxing is nice, but money is better, although I'm sure they will kick back and enjoy themselves every now and again.

Sherri is pretty much getting a handle on having 3 kids with here during the day. It was a struggle for the first couple of weeks, but it's all about them finding their boundaries. Now the good weather is here, it's a lot easier as they can spend a lot of time outside. We do have a fairly large swimming pool outside and had not got around to fencing it off. Well we've finally did that, so the pool is now child safe. We are also investing in a pool alarm, which detects if someone manages to get in. It will then sound a huge alarm. I'm hoping we never have occasion to hear it.

I think that pretty much wraps things up. For those that do not know, I have another blog kind of thing, which you may find of interest. It's basically a place where I post all the fun and interesting things I find on the net, including pictures and videos. Have a look and let me know what you think. You can get to it by clicking here.

Until next time. See ya later.

Go Sens Go!

Yeah baby, it's update time again. Regular life is on hold at the moment. So much to do, so little time to do it. Adam is growing at a rapid rate and looking cuter by the day. He has a real interest in what's around and loves to lift his head up and look at everything. He's also smiling like you wouldn't believe. Even the coldest of hearts, couldn't help but melt when when they see those rosy chops, break out into a smile.

With Adam still feeding every 2.5 to 4 hours, it's pretty hard to break away to do other stuff, especially as he's been spoiled rotten lately, which now means he only seems to sleep solid through the day, when he's in someones arms. Oh well that's a hardship that's not too hard to live with.

Mandi has now finished university for the year. She's doing really well and is still an honor student. She's also now the proud parent to Macie. No don't feint, she hasn't given birth, she and Jason are now the proud parent to a WestiePoo. I haven't seen it in person yet, but from the photos it looks like a cure little thing.

Alanna is working hard and looking forward to having the summer off. She and Mandi are off to a concert in Toronto next weekend, I think it's Fall Out Boy, but I could be wrong.... but I don;t think I am.... I think.

Sarah and Lucy continue to delight and amaze. They're such beautiful kids. Sarah could talk your ear off given the chance and Lucy continues to melt the hearts of everyone she meets. They're both on a bit of a kick at the moment. I have to say it's probably my fault, but they're become great fans of Des O'Connor. Yes you heard me right, that old crooner who had a string of hits in the sixties. Actually they've become fans of a particular song called Dick-a-Dum-Dum. Man I can't get in the car with them, without a scream for me to play it. And I do mean scream.

Sherri is still having it a bit rough. She went to the doctors a week or so ago and the doctor said she had pneumonia. Yeah, just add that to the string of health problems she's had lately. Fortunately I think she's over the worst, just in time for Sarah and Lucy to come down with a cold again. Man are we ever going to have a healthy house again.

As you can see the website has changed yet again. This new format makes it very easy for me to update the site and add new content. Check out my page by clicking on the Meeks Zone, then Colin and see the other pages unfold under my name. There's even my amazon wishlist, so Sherri and the kids have an idea of what to buy me at Christmas.

On a final note, our hockey team, the Ottawa Senators are doing well in the Stanley cup and are just one game away from the Finals. It will be the first time in the modern era, that the team has made the final and we're all waiting with baited breathe, as is pretty much the whole of Ottawa.

I'll try to get back into the habit of posting a bit more frequently. In the meantime, don't forget to check out the photo album, there's new photos there all the time. Also be sure to sign out new guestbook, even if you've signed it before, as all the old entries are still languishing waiting to be imported.

Anyway off I pop. GO SENS GO!

My Daughter Lucy

CIMG8805
Originally uploaded by colinmeeks.

This was taken just before New Year and I just love it.

My Little Man

I know I've been really remiss, when my wife turns to me and says "You haven't blogged about our son yet". Oops, but it's not like I haven't been writing about him. I have sent numerous emails and posted various things in forums and the like, but yes I should have made the blog, my second port of call, after sending out the news emails. Anyway, rap on the knuckles well and duly noted.

To say this has been a rough pregnancy for Sherri is pretty much an understatement. She's had many problems and complications. Here's the list:

1. Morning sickness like you wouldn't believe, requiring medication
2. A separated pelvis
3. Gestational diabetes
4. A sinus infection
5. A root canal, that was unnecessary, mistakenly diagnosed instead of the sinus infection
6. Irritable Uterus

So as you can see, quite a list and that's only the things I can remember. I like to think I am the considerate husband, but even I can't fully appreciate what she had to go through. I don't think any man can, but I can kiss the ground that she walks on, especially when I hold my newborn son in my arms. I was made to be a father. Admittedly I left it a lot later than I though I would, but I think I'm a lot better for it.

Anyway I digress, this is after all about our recent news. For anyone that doesn't know, an irritable uterus means that for the last week of the pregnancy, Sherri was having contractions, every 5 minutes. It was certainly no fun for me and I'm not the one who was having them. We actually went into the hospital the previous week and the doctor basically said it was an irritable uterus and it's likely that she was going to be having the contractions for the rest of the pregnancy. So for a week Sherri had to suffer with the contractions on top of everything else. This meant that she herself became irritable and it really began to take a toll on both her psychical and mental self. On Monday the 2nd April I went to work as usual and it was a pretty uneventful day. I picked the babies up on the way home from work and we went about doing the usual things a family does. I think it was about 9pm when Sherri became concerned that the contractions were down to every couple of minutes. With Sherri's history of rapid labor, we figured it was best to go to the hospital, just to be sure. This time around we were seen pretty quickly. The doctor said that it was highly likely that our son would be born today and they were right. About 10:30, the doctor came back and said we would probably going down to the operating room in about 1 and a half hours. I strolled off to phone Alanna to let her know. I'd been back with Sherri for a couple of minutes when the doctor came back and said we were going down in 20 minutes. This was it.

Once Sherri was prepped, I was then given the usual very dodgy looking garments. The blue slipper things that go over your shoes, the very ugly yellow garment and that bloody awful mask. Yes I felt like a real pillock, but it's a small price to pay. Sherri was taken into the operating room and I had to wait outside until her spinal. was done. This was a different to the last pregnancy as I was there for it all. This time though, Sherri had a very skilled doctor and he managed to administer the spinal at the first attempt. Last time I think Sherri had about 7 or 8 attempts and her back was so bruised. I think I was outside for about 20 minutes and then led in to watch the birth of my son.

It's a very surreal experience, watching someone slice your wife up and seemingly reach in with their arms up to the elbow. They sliced and diced and a couple of times I could see stuff being held and then cast aside. I'm not a squeamish person at all, but it's a whole different ball game, when it's someone you love. Once they'd gained entry, the actual birth lasted what seem like a couple of seconds, and then bing, with barely a pause for breath I was looking at my Son, Adam Dennis John Meeks, born at 11:48PM. For the first time I got to cut the umbilical cord and I have to tell you, I wasn't prepared for the amount of blood that would come shooting out of the chord. It took a while for Sherri to have him in her arms. By the time she wished him happy birthday it was too late. Poor little thing, his first birthday lasted all of 12 minutes.

As he was a good weight, 7 lb 8oz and he was feeding well Sherri and Adam were discharged on Thursday afternoon. So that was just two full days in hospital. We were a bit apprehensive of how he would settle down. As Sarah and Lucy were premature, they were in the baby unit for a while, so the nurses pretty much had them on a schedule by the time we brought them home. With Adam were were wondering if we could get him onto a schedule, but we needn't have worried as he's been absolutely amazing, waking every 3-4 hours. Sarah and Lucy can't get enough of him and neither can Mandi and Alanna. Sherri and I are constantly fending them off, while we indulge ourselves.

Being a Dad again is absolutely wonderful. Yes it's not all going to be a walk in the park, but then life isn't either. I've lost count of the photos I've taken. The birth video is transferred from the video camera to the Mac and I just need to edit it and make it into a DVD. I'll be taking a few weeks off, once the in-laws go home and then it's quality baby snuggle time. I'm a gifted man indeed. An amazing wife and now 5 incredible children. Life is full of surprises and wonder, but it's all the more enjoyable when you are surrounded by the people you love.

So Near, Yet So Far

It's getting nearer to holding my new son and I think Sherri and I are both ready for it and I mean really ready. We had to go in to hospital on Monday night I think it was, which turned out to be a false alarm, but it took an absolute age to see us. This meant I had to take the following day off work as it wasn't worth me going to bed when we got home, as I'd then have to get up and get the girls ready for daycare. Anyway turns out Sherri now has an irritable uterus, just to add something new to the mix. I think if this was Sherri's first baby, it would have ended up being an only child.

The weekends are tough having to take care of the babies, on top of everything else, but at the same time, it's great to spend some quality time with them. Took them out in their new wagon on Saturday. We took a lazy stroll to Timmy's where I got them some Timbits (basically the centre of a donut). We then went to the park and they were in their element. Today I took the brave decision to take them to PlayLand, on my own. I gave them a little pep talk before we went in and I have to say they were as good as gold. We were there about 2 hours and I gave them warning that we were leaving in about half an hour. When the time came, Lucy went to get her boots, while Sarah ran around a bit, then came down the slide and that was that. They can be a real handful sometimes, but when they are like this, they are just a sheer delight.

Anyway I've just posted my new podcast, so will just go and check a couple of things, before it's time for me to hit the sack. See ya!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Happy Birthday to me. For today, March 5th is my 39th birthday. Yes I'm still on the right side of 40, but only just. Today so far has been an interesting diversion to the norm. I got the babies ready as usual and got them off to daycare and was going to go into work for a couple of hours, before going to the ultrasound with Sherri. I realised though that, Sherri would have to come and get me about 10:15, so it seemed crazy to get the bus into work, only to leave an hour or so later.

So as I'm typing this, Sherri and I are in a clinic, waiting for an hour to pass, so Sherri's blood/sugar level can be taken. This is to determine if she has gestational diabetes. Yes, yet another potential problem. Touch wood it's just a formality, but my little boy is getting to be quite large and that's what the doctor is concerned about.

So yes we are in the clinic, but we'd just come from the ultrasound. Adam is now 5 pound and 11 ounces, so that's over a pound in 3 weeks. At this rate he could end up being a 9 pounder. Luckily Sherri is having a caesarian, so that's one thing off her mind, but then you have the added problem of not having any clothes to fit, as nearly all the stuff we have so far is for 7-8 pounds. Ah the complexities of it all.

It's unbelievable how the weekends go by so quickly. I picked Sarah and Lucy up from daycare on Friday night and made sure to tell Akhter, the provider, to ensure they had their snow pants on, when I came to pick them up. We like to play out in the snow on Friday and then go inside for hot chocolate. Friday morning, most of the snow had compacted and turned to ice, but by the time I picked the girls up, there was about 20cm of snow covering everything, including the driveway. So while I was shoveling the driveway, the girls were puttering away with their buckets and spades. Because the snow was so deep, I didn't have to worry too much about them scurrying away, but still made sure to keep a close eye on them.

The rest of the weekend, was just a blur. Mandi came to visit on Saturday and stayed the night. The girls love to see her, as she does like to make a fuss of them. And here we are, Monday morning and a new working week ahead of me.

I did a podcast last night, having missed one last week, due to not having the correct permissions for a couple of the tracks. That was all sorted and I decided to do a slightly longer show. Although I had all the show notes and emails pre-prepared, I totally forgot about doing the podcast itself, I only realised late on Sunday night, so finally got the podcast posted around midnight.

Apart from that, the weather is still cold, but not bitter. That's going to change tomorrow, when apparently it's going down to about -38c. Thank God Sherri has now finished work, meaning I get to take the car.

Anyway I'm gonna dash. I'll try to get this posted when I get to work, so it doesn't end up getting posted days later. Take care all.

Still Here

It's amazing how the time just flies. It's been a month since my last blog entry here and it seems like it was just yesterday. Sherri has been really suffering of late. Not only does she have a separated pelvis, she's also got a sinus infection and has had 1 of 2 root canals. Aside from that the whole house has been fighting off the flu. I seem to have been lucky and not come down with it, but I can feel my body fighting it.

We had an ultrasound last week and Adam is just over 4 and a half pounds. April 12 will be with us before you know it and bit by bit we are getting things ready. The weather seems to have settled down, although as I say this, it's snowing outside. Temperatures the last few weeks have been betwen -20 and -30, enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey. With 5 children I'm thinking Sherri would like some other balls frozen off.

My writing is keeping my busy. I have a new website to place all my published works, www.colinmeeks.com. What with that and all my other stuff, I have words coming out of my ears, so to speak. Oh well I suppose it's better than coming out of the other end.

Sherri's Hospital Visit

I've been meaning to post this for a while. Last week (Tuesday) Sherri and I went to hospital so Sherri could be checked as she was having contractions. This is the account, typed up as we were being seen.

10:58am
Sometimes the unknown can be a wonderful thing.After all a surprise isn't a surprise if you know about it beforehand. However sometimes the unknown can be downright scary. Take now for instance. I'm sitting in the maternity triage department at the Ottawa General Hospital and just been told that yes, the sensations Sherri has been feeling are indeed contractions. I know that they can work wonders now, but contractions at 28 weeks is still not to be sniffed at. If I remember correctly there are some drugs Sherri can take to delay and indeed stop the contractions, which is where I'm hoping this hospital visit will lead, but for now Sherri is lying in bed, wired up to some monitoring device whilst they determine exactly what the next course
of action is going to be.

It feels kind of weird sitting next door to the room, where something similar happened with the twins. That was 33 weeks and I left the hospital a father of twins much quicker than I imagined. Back then we were totally unprepared.Sherri hadn't even bought any pajamas or anything for her hospital stay. I had to go out the next day to pick everything up. Anyway it's not going to happen.We are going to leave this hospital in a few hours with Adam tucked up safe and sound where it should be for at least 6+ weeks more... to be continued

11:28am
Just had a student doctor in asking lots of questions. It's funny but why do you get so many people asking essentially the same questions. I know in emergency departments, this is done on purpose to gauge someones alertness, but here it just seems like pointless repetition. Anyway the student doctor doesn't seem too concerned. Contractions are pretty normal and we could potentially go home and Sherri could still be having them weeks later. It's only a real concern when the contractions begging to change, getting closer together and more intense. We'll have to keep any eye on that. Before that however they want to do an internal exam to just ensure that Sherri's cervix isn't dilated and that it is till long. We were warned that it could take a while before we are seen again... to be continued

11:52am
Doctor just came in and went through everything with us. He's going to do an internal exam and take a fluid sample. IF the internal is fine, then we are probably back off home. If it's something not normal, he'll send the swab off for analysis, looking specifically for a certain kind of protein. We're just waiting on a nurse to assist... to be continued

12:03pm
The doctor has complete his exam and everything seems fine. He's still going to send off the swab and a urine sample, just to ensure there's not infection. We still need to come back tomorrow if the contractions persist so they can check the cervix again. Doctor is going to come back soon to just let us know we are good to go... to be continued

12:19am
We are good to go!

Told You So!

As I said before, enjoy the good weather while you can, because the bad is nipping at it's feet and boy is it nipping. We've finally got the kind of weather you can expect at this time of year. Yesterday was about -26 with the windchill and first indications (I just had to take the babies pram out of the car, ready for daycare) are that today is similar. Apart from walking the babies to daycare, I shall be safely ensconced in a car, as I'm being picked up by John as we are both off to a clients for a meeting downtown.

I'm managing to keep very busy. The devil finds work and all that. Podcast User Magazine, for which I am one of the co-founders recently celebrated it's first full year of production. I'm still writing articles for the Globe and Mail newspaper and my other writing ventures are coming on nicely.

Sarah and Lucy are just fantastic. They are now in their own beds, after Sarah escaped from her crib. tTwice. Fortunately we were downstairs to hear the thud of her landing on the floor. She's a smart cookie though and managed to not hurt herself. They both adjusted to the beds really well. The only side effect is that they are not so keen on their afternoon nap at the weekends. We managed to change things around though and just keep them up downstairs. Lucy eventually crashes on the sofa and is just the cutest thing you've ever seen. Sarah eventually flags, but can't fall asleep downstairs, as there are just too many things to capture her attention. On Sunday when I saw she was getting tired, I said "Do you want to go to bed?" and she said "Yes". We both went upstairs and she climbed into bed and that was that. In the mornings they are both so funny. If they are awake (and they usually are), they're both usually sitting up in bed with a book. Can't complain about that now, can you.

Anyway I've gotta go. Not long before the little ankle biters are up and I have to get them ready to go. S'laters

Happy New Year 2007

Before I go any further, let me say that I think Guinness is my new best friend. I'm 7 cans into an 8 pack and I still feel pretty lucid. Apart from that, hope you have a great New Years and hope 2007 is your year.

The older you get, the quicker years seems to fly by. That is all so true, but it's even truer once you have children. Sarah and Lucy are now 2 and I'm constantly amazed at how advanced they are developing. Yes, I know a lot of that is a father's love for his children, but I look at the pair of them and they are so much like little people, rather than babies I remember not so long ago.

Fatherhood for me has been an experience like no other, but it didn't begin with Sarah and Lucy, oh no. Lest not forget that my two oldest daughters, Mandi and Alanna. Steps are for outside your front door. Enough said. Like some elegant, fantastic cocktail, we now have Adam to add to the mix. 4 girls and a boy, life is sure going to be busy.

Before I go on, I have to set the record straight. Having a boy is going to be an unbelievable experience. Many times, before I came to Canada, I used to dream of having a son and moulding him in my image. Well maybe that isn't the best of ideas, unless he wants to fart, burp and drink like his Dad, but since becoming the father of 4 girls, having a boy is just icing on the cake. I can honestly say, that before I found out Sherri was having a boy, I had not the slightest interest in the sex. To me, Sherri was pregnant with my child and that for me was the big news. Having children is a blessing like no other. Watching them grow, and in the cases of Mandi and Alanna mature into beautiful intelligent young women is a buzz like no other. Yes I used to dream about continuing the Meeks name in Canada, but that's just a kind of dream that seems so irrelevant, when you see 5 pounds of pure love in front of you.

So yes, as you can probably guess, the biggest news of 2006 is Sherri and I finding out we are to be parents yet again. Sherri found out first, as is often with pregnancies and she thought she'd surprise me by buying an expectant father card from Hallmark. She presented it to me as she picked me up from work. It's funny, you should be able to imagine the scene, by just closing your eyes, imagining the face of a man in pure shock and hearing the words, "But How!". OK, maybe I'm not so crazy as not to know the how part, but man was I sure surprised.

Mandi left home in July and moved in with her boyfriend Jason. They've got a small flat downtown, which means they're pretty much in the centre of the Ottawa universe, if they are able to kick back and relax in between studying. Mandi is in her first year of university and doing really well. It's hard work, but she is a no stranger to hard work. Her first year is pretty much paid for, by bursaries and scholarships. She really has her head together and I couldn't be prouder.

Alanna is doing well at school. She's currently doing co-op, or work placement as we used to call it in the UK. It's not company I would have chosen for my little girl, but she seems to love it... most of the time. So what is the job? It's working at a funeral home. At least most of the customers don't answer back. She also works part time at the local grocery store, Loeb. Mix that in with her social life and she's always up to something. When she's not out, she's in the pits of the Meeks household on her computer in the basement.

Sarah and Lucy continue to amaze me virtually every day. They are so bright and intelligent and such a joy to be around. I'm not delusional, yes they can be a handful some of the time, but they are deep down, very good kids. Sarah breaks my heart, nearly any time I have to leave her behind. She constantly says "Daddy don't you" and then follows that up, with the heartbreaking, "I Miss You". Lucy should be a baby model as she has such dainty features. I could just eat her up sometimes.

Work continues to challenge me, but in the best of senses. There is always so much going on, but it makes the working week fly nearly as quickly as the weekend. I've been writing articles for the Globe and Mail, a Canadian national newspaper, which has been really rewarding. It's a huge buzz to see your name in a newspaper or magazine. I'd love to further develop my writing, as I've been a frustrated writer for so long, it is great now finally having an outlet. Add to that all the writing I've been doing for my own sites, Indie Launchpad, Podcast Launchpad, Vidcast Launchpad and Games for PPC, and you can see I'm a pretty busy bunny.

The year on the whole, was relatively mild. Summer was hot, but it didn't seem to last too long. The winter was very much delayed and we didn't get any decent snow until Boxing Day. Ah I used to complain about the lack of snow, but not any more. Nothing kills the joy of snow quicker than having to shovel the driveway.

So enough of the idle chit chat, how did me goals for 2006 go:

1. Lose a bit of weight, by ideally getting at least a modicum of exercise
   Urr, lets pass and go to number 2.
   
2. Start my book of non fiction and try to get to at least the third chapter
   Didn't manage to do much on this either, but I'm not too concerned, what with all the other writing I've been doing.
   
3. Update Sarah and Lucy's web page, so there's at least more than a single photo of each of them
   Did that, hooray, although I still need to add some more content. I did manage to do a total update on the website. The photo album especially is really good now and a synch for me to update.
   
4. Release first Indie Launchpad podcast
   Did that and then some. Just coming up for the years anniversary of the Indie Launchpad podcast. It was very challenging in the beginning, but I love doing it now.
   
5. Release "When I Was a Kid" as a complete work, edit it and pad out a bit, also come up with a new title.
   Haven't done this, but it's still sitting on my to do list, demoted to "Do when I get a chance and my list is empty"
   
6. Try to get my life better organised, so I can actually achieve all the things I want
   Didn't manage to do anything along those lines this in 2006, but I now have Getting Things Done, the GTD bible and hope to address this problem later in the year.
   

So what of my predictions of 2006:

1. Yahoo buys Tivo.
   Err, no they didn't and don't look like doing any time soon.
   
2. Adam Curry sells part/all of Podshow Music Network.
   AC hasn't sold out, but there are enough rumblings to expect some major developments in 2007
   
3. Candy Butchers / Mike Viola makes it big and sells lots of music.
   Released a new album, but major recognition is still waiting to happen.
   
4. Podcast on demand becomes a possibility.
   Google Reader has gone a long way to bringing this vision closer, but it's still a way away.
   
5. Canada wins gold for the men's Olympic Hockey team.
   Mmmm, let's just say that this is probably better forgotten.
   
6. Britney Spears files for divorce.
   Yeah a point at last. Always sad when 2 children are involved. 4 if you include the parents and I think you can.
   
7. England reaches the World Cup final in football.
   Another doozy, best forgotten.
   
8. Pink Floyd announce a world tour
   Dave Gilmour had a tour as did Roger Waters, but the elusive PF tour is still but a pipe dream.
   
9. Yahoo buys AOL
   AOL looks like it's in a downward spiral, so expect a lot of companies picking over the carcass.
   
10. Nintendo ceases production of Revolutions games console
    Looks like I was totally off on this one. The Revolution, or Wii as it's now called has been a mega hit. The PS3 on the other hand is just way too expensive to really worry about. Give it a couple of years and it should be something quite special.

So that's all the old stuff covered. What are my goals for 2007.

1. Get myself better organized, both professionally and at home.
2. Move my blogs over to Word Express. Blogger is beginning to buckle under the strain. It would be really great to host my own Blogs with a proper CMS system
3. Get the bloody basement tidied up.
4. Get to grips with TurboGears, a Python based web framework (yeah I know, I'm a geek)
   
5. Quit drinking at home until March. Should help with item 1.
   

So there's a few thing to keep me busy for the year, what of predictions for 2007. Well here we go:

1. Steve Jobs steps down as CEO, but remains at Apple, possibly in a similar position to Bill Gates at Microsoft.
2. Emusic bought by a larger company
3. Google launches online file storage service
4. iTunes clone purely for non DRM music launches
5. Harry Potter doesn't die in the seventh book and final book.
6. Ford makes major announcement
7. iTunes launches multiple pricing levels
8. George Michael releases freely available, non DRM album of new material
9. Windows Vista has a very slow uptake, by existing Windows users.
10. New service or product is released which brings podcasts to the masses, causing uptake from people previously afraid or confused on what to do.
    

So there you have it. A year in review and a look as to what to expect in 2007. I'm really exitied by the coming year and can't wait to sink my teeth in. Watch this space,

Happy Christmas!

It's funny, but I only noticed recently that where I'm originally from, wishing someone Happy Christmas goes by without so much as a raised eyebrow. However I've done it a few times here in Canada and people look at me like I'm a nut. Ah it's Merry Christmas is it? Blimey is it really that much of a difference.

Anyway as always I'm off track. Today is the 28th and I'm just going to start reviewing my usual New Years post. You know the one where I make predictions and try to set out goals for myself during the year. Should be interesting as always.

Just wanted to post something here before hand, to do the usual compliments of the season. Don't forget there will also be a podcast to accompany my New Years blog post. I'll give you more details of how to listen to it nearer the time.

Turrah!