My site was down for a spell there; it seems I may have inadvertently made a boo-boo while test driving new FTP apps on my new Mac (Yes, there is a learning curve).

But I’m back up now (thanks Gwyn and Rob) so to get caught up, here’s a quick ‘news’ post:

Over at the Strutta blog, I’ve been posting pretty frequently; today I posted about a “Hardware Drive” we’re doing here in our neighborhood for donations to Free Geek, a non-profit that “helps the needy get nerdy.” There might be a Free Geek chapter in your area, so give it a look.

Apologies for the quick catch-up post; we’ll return to your regularly scheduled programming soon .

Please stand by.

Things will be quiet around here for the next week or so (yes, even quieter than of late) as I am going away on my annual week-long Powell Lake vacation.

Every year, we make the trip up to Powell River for a week at our float cabin, and you can believe me when I tell you, it is paradise. As proof, here’s a video of last year’s fun, edited by my wife, that includes some short clips of my brother, my cousin and myself tearing it up on the wakeboard and ski:

Heh, the bikini shots don’t start until about halfway through, when the rest of the group comes.

I’ll be sure and return to a regular posting schedule when I get back; it will almost be Fall by then and after all of that leisure time, I should be ready to get back to business.

Ta for now.

I am taking a quick holiday to Kelowna, BC for a week of golfing, wake-boarding and of course water-skiing (in case I have not mentioned this in a while, water-skiing is one of my favorite pastimes).

It’s also something of a work project, as while we’re there playing three Golf BC courses, we’ll be compiling footage and audio for GuysOnGolf.com, my beloved side project that I started along with my brother and friends Jeff Leyland and Ryan Sullivan of The Team1040 sports radio station here in Vancouver.

We’re still just getting started, but there are already some videos, podcasts and a number of BC course reviews over at the site.

While I’m gone, I’ll be trying to upload a few posts, pics and maybe even some raw chunks of video, so keep an eye out for that (if you’re a golfer, that is).

We’d love to have you in our new Facebook group, too.

Or at least I hope it is. Today is 7/7/7, a (triple-digit) phenomenon I suppose we see come about every year now; each time one year, one month and one day later than the last.

I happened to notice this time though, as today I turn 31. We’re having dinner at 7, just to be cheeky.

Or rather, in this case, back in my comfy office chair in front of my window, typing away on my desktop PC.

To bring you up to speed, well over a week ago I experienced a system meltdown, and it seemed as though all was lost. In fact, I even got a call originally from Garry Wagner at Computer Troubleshooters saying that the error wasn’t familiar to him, and that a pricey data recovery (by a third party) might be necessary, and still offer no guarantees.

But then Garry called back on Friday with better news; he had found the glitch (attempting to re-create the actual technical jargon would just expose me for the non-techie that I am) and that all was going to be right with the world.

Garry was extremely helpful, picking up and delivering my system right to my door, and he did it all within the budget of his original quote. Can’t find fault with that kind of service, now can you?
Thanks Garry, you saved me. Now I promise to back-up my data often, and never to take my system for granted again.

I wrote my own version of the famous Mac ads the other day, a moment of clarity amongst a dark cloud caused by a system meltdown of my trusty Compaq desktop system. It’s easier to see the humor in them, now that I’m dreaming about owning one (an experience I can’t even enjoy, because of the teasing and taunting coming from current Mac owner friends. Some friends you are).

I might still shoot my version of the spot, because I’m finally getting a better video set-up for the office.

(My view, with my dark monitor looming in the foreground)

The view from my office window and the comforts of my desk are tied directly to my level of productivity and overall cheery disposition, hence blog posts, twits and even Facebook status updates (wha-what?) have been infrequent and rather grumpy in nature. After all, the still-unfixed hulk is staring back at me, silently begging for a more qualified technician (I’ll get on that soon) to bring it back to life. Even a dual monitor set-up with the laptop hasn’t helped my mood (or my stalled hard drive), so here I am venting. Any jokes or other such pleasantries are more than welcome to lift my spirits.

Normalcy shall return in short order, promise.

Greetings! Just a quick hello:

I’ll get a chance to upload a lot more photos to the Flickr account (they’ll appear in the feed) upon my return; for now there’s just too much fun to be had, and too many sites to see.

Talk to you again soon!

Okay, so sue me. I wrote a headline that I knew would grab people’s attention. If you’ve been paying attention, that is a tactic that I recommend fairly regularly.

In actual fact, my clever little headline is a misnomer. Pardon the comparison to illegal street drugs, but if MySpace were cocaine, then Facebook would be crack. Which is to say that it is much more addictive, and has caused a epidemic of dependency. You’ll pardon the hyperbole as well of course, but ask any Facebook user and they’ll tell you; once you start, you’re hooked.

I’ve already touched upon why this is, but as the weeks and now months have rolled by since I joined (at Lindsey’s rather insistent request) I have realized that Facebook deserves the spotlight yet again. Because even though I have expressed surprise over the number of people that I have reconnected with through Facebook, my surprise has evolved to all-out awe; I simply can’t believe the people I’ve stumbled across.

I’ve said it before and I will repeat it now: The true measure of an online social network is in its users. MySpace had its time in the sun (before the spammers polluted it. Side note: MySpacer’s are still getting hacked all the time, too. Here’s how to prevent it, courtesy of Rob) but even then, when I got a friend request (from someone I actually knew) on MySpace, I half-expected to receive it.

On Facebook, all bets are off.

In the interest of protecting identities (as Facebook does from non-members) I will be vague, but since joining I have “connected” with: 7 cousins, five clients, 15 or so fellow bloggers, 14 high school mates, two fellow members of a teen youth group, nine friends from middle school, a handful I’ve known since kindergarten, two siblings, one former next-door neighbor and my Mom. And that’s just to name a few.

Perhaps the best part about Facebook (right this minute) is that so far it is still just a private party where all the cool kids have shown up. The “marketers without permission” have yet to storm the gates en masse and fill our inboxes with stuff we don’t care about. And for now, it’s a whole lot of fun.

So heavily-used is Facebook that I now write my headlines (and indeed my posts) with special attention paid to the fact that they will be imported into my Facebook newsfeed. Ironically, most won’t ever make the connection that this little blurb was published elsewhere on the web, but somehow just knowing that I have an even closer bond (I know many of them personally) with my readership, makes writing this all that much more fun.

So if you haven’t tried Facebook, maybe you should give it a go. I’m sure there’s a network or a group of like-minded folks just waiting to add you, tag you and let you join in on all of the fun.

What do you love or hate about Facebook? What would like to see changed? Are there other networks we should hear about? Ning? Virb? Speak your mind in the comments.

Nothing would make me happier.

It’s been months since a copy of the Tell Ten Friends newsletter has gone out, and I should be tried and convicted for my delinquency with the video podcast as well.

I’ll return after the long weekend with a flurry of posts including client updates and Tell Ten Friends news; and a copy of the newsletter and maybe even some new video shouldn’t be far behind.

Happy Easter, all.