Shane Shennan's Outstanding Journal

Person Marking in a Checkbox

The words we choose to use have an affect on us. Thus, when I make a list of things I have to do, I don't call it a to do list anymore. Instead, I write "Ta Da! List" at the top of the page. When I check off a completed task, the Ta Da! at the top of the page reminds me to pat myself on the back. That way, I can have six senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch . . . and the sense of accomplishment!

It took me 6 years (including one year off) to do it, but this morning I graduated with an BA  (Honours) in English Literature! My immediate family and most of my close friends were there to see me graduate: Mom, Dad, Joanne, Robin, Steve, Matty and Sarah. Jamie had a medical appointment this morning, but joined us for a wonderful lunch at the North China Buffet! Marjorie had to work, unfortunately.

I ended up with an overall average of 73%. I got 76% for my nine non-major credits, and 71% for my eleven major credits. It was a close thing, but I did get my honours degree! Thanks to God for the strength to persevere, and thanks to God for great, supportive friends. It was a blast to be surrounded today by the people I love!

Today I turned 29! I had a great day. I had planned not to celebrate today, because my two other May birthday friends and I are celebrating together on Saturday. But my family kidnapped me from work and took me to the Mandarin for Chinese food! I got an iTunes Gift card from my sister, two nice shirts from my parents (including a Spider-Man one!), and a home-cooked meal-of-my-choice from my friend Robin, to be redeemed later!

I also got lots of kind Happy Birthday messages from my friends and acquaintances, on my Facebook wall. However, I was very displeased to find the following ad on my Facebook today. Apparently the Facebook advertising program noticed that I was not only 29, but also single! Imagine that! Unheard of! Hear that whimpering sound? That is the sound of the universe imploding because I am 29 and single.

At least I can be grateful that Facebook did not show me pictures of scantily-clad women, like some other high-traffic sites do.

29 and Single!

If you want something done right, sometimes you just have to create a steam-powered robot army to do it for you. Not that I don't have loyal followers to do my bidding, but some things are best left to robots.  Plus, watching a robot army at work is absolutely inspiring. The way they destroyed the scores of zeppelins sent to hunt me down last year, it almost brought tears to my eyes. I feel more comfortable around robots anyway. People always end up talking about love, mercy and goodness. Give me a robot's blank stare and mechanical heart any day.

When the old robot died, the people did not notice. It died suddenly, the middle of the orchard, its power cells shrieking for a few seconds before its spider-like legs collapsed. The people did not notice when the old robot died, but the robots did. They converged on the spot at dusk, all forty-seven of them, scurrying around on their eight limbs, examining the body, asking questions, remembering. The old robot, they knew, had been the last of the original robots from the colony ship. The old robot had planted the ancient apple tree now dripping blossoms over its body.

My previous post talked about two public webcams in Russia. Well, tonight I looked on Google Maps and found a satellite picture of one of the webcam locations! The webcam labeled Dramatic Theatre shows a pretty distinctive fountain and a garden-like area. It was easy to find it on Google Maps once I had found the city of Novokuznetsk.
Here is a picture from the webcam and another from the Google Maps satellite picture.

Novokuznetsk Dramatic Theatre Webcam

Novokuznetsk Dramatic Theatre Google Maps

Recently, I've been watching public webcams from Russia. Don't ask me why, but I find them fascinating.

The first one I came across was this webcam which shows lots of buses. It must be a bus terminal. A bright electronic billboard distorts much of the picture at night (during my day). I found a nearby link for another webcam without glaring lights. This second place seems to have a large fountain that's not on right now. If you watch long enough, buses will stop for a few seconds to pick up/drop off passengers.

Both webcams seem to be in a city called Novokuznetsk. My friendly neighbourhood Wikipedia pointed me to a photo someone took of the second webcam location. The picture shows the fountain working! Babel Fish told me that that location is the Dramatic Theatre.

Sweet, eh? Did I ever tell you how much I love the Internet? Now I can watch those webcams knowing a tiny bit more about the city!

Remember how I was wondering earlier about where I could travel to? Maybe I should go to Novokuznetsk, find all the webcams, and wave at them!

My friend Robin is encouraging me to travel. She has been to Kenya, Indonesia and England (plus probably a few places I've forgotten). I like the idea of travel; I'm just not very motivated to go anywhere. I was born in South Africa, and twenty-nine years later I have lived in Zimbabwe, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and now Ontario. My whole life has been a really slow trip across the face of the Earth, in a way.

If I did go somewhere, it would probably be to someplace beautiful. I like the majestic landscapes I see in National Geographic or in movies like Lord of the Rings and Narnia. I might eventually want to visit a famous city, but the poet in me would like to travel to someplace less developed first.

I have the StumbleUpon toolbar installed on Firefox. StumbleUpon is basically a button you click to randomly browse within certain categories or channels you have specified. Well, I just discovered that you can specify a search term, and then StumbleUpon takes you only to sites relevant to that term! I'm stumbling across podcasts I've never heard about, just by using the term "podcast."

There is so much content in the Digital Expanse that you often do not know what is out there. StumbleUpon gives you random pages in the categories you choose, but the pages have been chosen and reviewed by StumbleUpon users. It is a really cool way to browse the Web, a neat combination of randomization and community.

GuitPicken61 posted an intriguing question: "Is there music which really makes you feel strong as a man...makes you think big thoughts...makes you dream big dreams...centers you...makes you want to leap over tall buildings..."

• Although they have so many powerful songs, sometimes I think that "Where the Streets Have No Name" is U2's greatest. It's a song about hope, but a strenuous hope you have to work toward, travel toward. And you have to take someone with you. "When I go there, I go there with you."
• "Gift Shop" might not be as well-know as other Tragically Hip songs, but it inspires me. It is about those moments when you have to do something that scares the daylights out of you. But when you do it, "the rest of the world becomes a gift shop." The world opens to you.
  
• "Lovers in a Dangerous Time" was written by Bruce Cockburn. The Bare Naked Ladies cover of this song is really good, but you have to hear Bruce Cockburn's original version. It starts out with this cool bass line that fits perfectly with his melancholy voice. "Gotto kick at the darkness til it bleeds daylight."
  
• To me, "Torn" is all about Natalie Imbruglia pleading with someone (me?) to be a strong and loving man. The song talks about the pain and loss she has experienced because the strong, loving man disappeared when she most needed him.
  
• "Green Eyes" is a Coldplay song in which the singer thanks someone for being there for him. "Honey, you are a rock on which I stand." Someday I'll meet a woman who makes me feel like that. "I came here with a load, and it feels so much lighter now I've met you." No way I can resist that.
  
• "Control" by MuteMath talks about surrendering completely to God. "Take control of the atmosphere. You can take my world, You can fill the air." The paradox is that surrender is a powerful thing. Surrendering to God gives you purpose.
  
• Moby's "Extreme Ways" is one of the songs I strongly associate with a movie. I enjoyed the Bourne movies, and this song was featured at the end of all three. This is the song of a survivor, the person who has made it through, somehow.

Hey, GuitPicken61, thanks for the opportunity to write this post! I love writing about music!