As most people know, both WordPress and Drupal belong to the class of software known as content management systems (CMS). The benefit of these systems is that they allow users to create content easily, often by typing in content via a dashboard or some other simple form of entry. The actual HTML generation is taken care of by the CMS, allowing the user to focus on creating content without worrying about the details of the HTML. I've had my personal blog for nearly ten years now, and have been on WordPress for nearly three. As I write content, there's always the implicit expectation that my content ...

Today is my father's birthday. He has been spending the last few days on a great fishing trip adventure, flying around various parts of British Columbia with some friends and fishing. As I've pointed out before, my dad is not only my father, but also one of my good friends. We've had lots of great adventures together, and hopefully we'll keep the tradition going. Given that we're both so busy these days, it's not very often we manage to get together and hang out. But that fact makes the time we do spend together that much more enjoyable. So on that note, I want to wish my dad an awesome birthday. ...

A New Day Begins In Vancouver I took this photo at around 5am this morning. Watching the sun rise or the sun set is something I will never tire of. Seeing the orange-red glow stretch across the horizon always makes me think what a beautiful thing it is to be alive, and what an amazing part of the world I live in. There are some people who think sunsets are cliche, and that taking photos of them is a waste of time. But I think the complete opposite, and as long as I have a camera, there will always be a sunset or a sunrise worth taking a photo of. This entry was written for Blogathon 2008, and ...

So my friend Adrian is a really smart guy. I think he's completed four or more years of post secondary education, and managed the entire IT department singlehandedly at my company. I put him up to a challenge to see how long it would take him to figure out how to get the case off my iPhone 3G. Here's the end result. Only took him 43 seconds. Not bad. This entry was written for Blogathon 2008, and in support of the Union Gospel Mission charity. If you'd like to donate to the cause, please visit the blogathon donation page and fill out the form near the middle. You can also follow the blogathon ...

Today I read an article about a unique solar powered community in Canada. The actual location of this community is Okotoks, Alberta. The residents there have created a solar array for their houses that manages to completely power 52 homes. The 52-home solar community has installed an array of solar panels on the roofs of their houses and garages. Glycol solution runs through an insulated piping system, or collector loop, that connects the array of solar panels. The solar panels absorb the solar energy during the daytime and heat the glycol solution. The glycol solution travels through the collector ...

I've always been a fan of the super-hero genre of films. Spiderman II was without a doubt my favourite of the bunch so far, mainly because of the character development and chemistry between Peter and Mary-Jane. While I have enjoyed the Batman series of films, I was never really that interested in the character. I think of all the versions, I like Michael Keaton's version the best. Batman Begins was an interesting film, but I wasn't entirely sold on the depiction of Batman by Christian Bale. Photo From Fox News I've seen The Dark Knight twice now, and I think it's as close to perfection as you ...

I read this story a few days ago, and found it extremely sad. Hundreds of dead baby penguins have started washing up on distant shores. It is difficult to imagine what must have been going through the heads of Rio de Janeiro beachgoers in recent months as they have seen hundreds of baby penguins wash up onshore dead. At last count, more than 400 penguins, swept from the shores of Patagonia and Antarctica, have been found dead on Rio de Janeiro's beaches, reports the AP's Michael Astor. .. Erli Costa, a biologist at Federal University, has a different theory: He thinks rapidly fluctuating weather ...

It's around 4am, and I'm drafting this post on the couch, glancing up occasionally to watch a bit of Dances With Wolves on Apple TV. I'm on entry #15, which means I have about 33 left to go. I am already faltering a bit with regards to content, which I think is more of a result of my lack of sleep rather than my imagination. I'm hoping to actually post an entry or two in advance and grab a wink or two if possible. Otherwise I'll be forced to do nearly a 40 hour stretch without sleep, which I imagine will prove rather difficult come tomorrow night. John and Raul both left sometime ago, so I am ...

I love camping. It's perhaps the second most enjoyable thing in my life these days, the first being a nice, toasty warm plate of nachos. There's something magical about a campfire next to a lake, or sitting around drinking a few beers under the stars with people you care about. I have always, for as long as I can remember, had trouble sleeping. Part of the reason is that I have a bad back (due to an injury I obtained in high school), and frequently wake up when I have an achy back. I also find that most city noises wake me up, and that I generally toss and turn most nights. The only time I find ...

The following is a guest entry by noted podcaster and new media guru, John Bollwitt. The true reason why I’m making this post is to make a guest appearance on Duane’s blog for Blogathon 2008. In fact, he tells me that the only way he’ll give me a ride home so I can go to bed is to make said post. But in a moment of “behold the power of blogging”, it made me recall a thought I had today about owning a car in general. Plain and simple, Rebecca and I don’t own a car. Part of it is by choice, the other is the simplicity of keeping cost of living down. We haven’t had a vehicle to be ...

As most of you know, I really enjoy photography. I have been fortunate enough to have received a bit of recognition for some of the shots I've done, and even managed to attend the 2008 Canadian Juno Awards as a photographer. I thought I'd post a few of my favourite shots here for those that are new here. Most of these shots make use of a technique called high dynamic range (HDR) photography. This entry was written for Blogathon 2008, and in support of the Union Gospel Mission charity. If you'd like to donate to the cause, please visit the blogathon donation page and fill out the form near ...

In October 2003, there was a massive release of energy from our sun. The resulting coronal mass ejection (CME) headed straight for our planet, bombarding it with a massive amount of charged particles. The official classification for the flare was an X17.2, which is one of the top three recorded solar flares in the history of our planet. Photo from here The charged particles disrupted satellite communications in space, and also lead to auroras being seen as far south as the Chicago. I was fortunate enough to be following the activity while it was happening, and was notified via email (via SpaceWeather.com) ...

A while ago I posted about my recent purchase of the Agent 18 Eco-Shield product. I received it via FedEx the other day and have had it on my iPhone ever since. I thought I'd give a quick review of the product. Agent 18 Eco-Shield First, I have to say that my primary motivation for purchasing the product was that it is supposed to be made entirely from recycled plastic. The product is indeed made of plastic, and fits my iPhone 3G perfectly (the last case I bought didn't fit properly at all). Unfortunately, while I love the case, I have to say I was extremely disappointed with how much packaging ...

I thought I'd mix it up a bit and post something a little different. This is a cute little video that was shot at the Vancouver Aquarium a few years ago. Consequently, it has become one of the most watched videos on YouTube of all time. This one version has been viewed over ten million times. [easyvideo video="http://www.youtube.com/v/epUk3T2Kfno&hl=en&fs=1"] This entry was written for Blogathon 2008, and in support of the Union Gospel Mission charity. If you'd like to donate to the cause, please visit the blogathon donation page and fill out the form near the middle. You can ...

I love hearing stories about groups or cities becoming more environmentally conscious. I have a pile of posts to do in the next 24 hours about clean energy, and I thought I'd start it off with this piece. Photo by Sekihan on Flickr Los Angeles recently voted to ban plastic bags by the year 2010. Not only did the entire city council support that effort, but the vote was actually unanimous. The City Council voted Tuesday to ban plastic shopping bags from stores, beginning July 1, 2010. Shoppers can either bring their own bags or pay 25 cents for a paper or biodegradable bag. The council's unanimous ...

I read this interesting article today that basically said that most people in the United States were only 11 days away from financial ruin. That is, if they were to lose their jobs tomorrow, they only have enough money to last for about 11 days: More than a third of adults could survive financially for only 11 days if they were to lose their job or be too ill to work, according to a survey. The finding gives a worrying insight into the lives of millions who are living on a financial tightrope. Researchers looked at how much people spend every month and how much they have in savings. It found ...

First off, I'm going to put together a Blogathon-wide RSS feed so that people can follow what everyone is doing on blogathon without having to visit each site individually. You can subscribe to it by clicking here. Also, if you're part of blogathon, please drop a comment and I'll add you to the feed (I'm going to do my best to add everyone I know about), but given that time constraints of writing posts, it may take me a few hours. Raul and John at my place Raul and John are currently keeping me company at home. My laptop LCD broke a few days ago, so instead of committing myself to spending 24 ...

I have lived in Vancouver most of my life. It is a city I hold dear to my heart, but a city that has, over time, grown cold to some of its inhabitants. My daily walk takes me from my apartment near Beach avenue in Vancouver, down across Yaletown, passing near Gastown, and into Vancouver's business district. One thing that has become evident, especially in the last few years, is that the homeless crisis in Vancouver is reaching epidemic proportions, with many people forced to sleep on the street each and every night. Homelessness in Vancouver, photo by Eric Rudolph I posted an entry over on matthewgood.org ...

I read an article today that indicates how one of the largest ice-shelfs in the antarctic region is in danger of collapse: Photo From ESA The Wilkins Ice Shelf is experiencing further disintegration that is threatening the collapse of the ice bridge connecting the shelf to Charcot Island. Since the connection to the island in the image centre helps to stabilise the ice shelf, it is likely the break-up of the bridge will put the remainder of the ice shelf at risk. .. This break-up is puzzling to scientists because it has occurred in the Southern Hemispheric winter and does not have characteristics ...

Blogathon is a team effort, and as such, I'm happy to be blogging along side of some of Vancouver's best bloggers. So, here are some shouts to some of my fellow bloggers participating in Blogathon, not all of who are on the sunshine shift tonight (but will be checking in at various times during the weekend): Tania Morrison (Ottawa), Raul, Shane Gibson, Karen Hamilton, Ayeza Garcia, Isabella Mori, Danny Dang, Mehnaz Thawer, Jenn Lowther/Nadia Nascimento, Barbara Doduk, Chris Richardson, and Colleen Vince. I had a little nap after work tonight hoping that it would give me a bit of extra leverage ...