Archive for July, 2006

30
Jul

About Me

My name is Joe Fulgham, though most people who know me online call me “Puck”, even when meeting in real life.

I’m a self-employed web designer and love my job.

I’ve been married since July 20th, 2002 to Melany (Hamill) and we’re doing great.  No kids, but that’s the way we want it.  We have a Boston Terrier named Loki who is adorable, smart, and fun.

For fun I play road hockey, golf, and play a heck of a lot of games, both traditional (board, card, etc.) and video games (PC mostly, though I own a 360).

I’m a skeptic, athiest and a scientist in that I believe in the Scientific Method over the 2000 year old writings of wandering desert nomads.

“It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.” - Carl Sagan

30
Jul

Twenty Years

Sardis Secondary Class of 1986 had our 20 year reunion last night at Industry Nightclub in Chilliwack.  I definitely wanted to go, but didn’t really think there’d be many people I wanted to catch up with when I got there.  “Everyone I want to know, I kept in touch with,” I thought.  Boy, was I wrong.

Granted, there were still a lot of people that I only sort of knew, but it was so great seeing people and catching up after twenty years.  Physical changes ran the gamut from Tom Simpson who looks *exactly* the same as he did back then to others who have changed quite a bit though you can still see “the real them” in there once you check out the nametag.  With my recent weight loss I got a lot of “wow, you look great!” comments which felt really good.

The night was really casual and fun.  Industry gave us the club for the night for free, and we just hung out and had several drinks and Daryl Campbell’s band played 80s cover tunes.  They were really good, though my throat got a bit hoarse from having to shout over them to talk to people.  I’m glad we decided to do it this way rather than some big expensive “do” with ticket prices and such like I hear the Class of ‘96 had going on the same night.

There was some rumbling about doing this again for our 25th, and I think it’s a great idea.  Some others thought maybe a BBQ every summer for those nearby but I’d rather keep it “special” so nobody blows it off because it happens all the time.

22
Jul

Coloring Toren’s Art

Toren updated his blog with a picture of a Mutants and Masterminds villain named “Rust”.  He was pondering how to color it and I thought I’d give it a whirl, just for fun.

Note that I really have no drawing talent at all — I have a good eye for design, but not a good hand for actually creating it.  Taking that into account I’m pretty proud of what I came up with.  It was a real brain-twister for me to figure out where the highlighting and shadows go.  I’m just not used to thinking that way, and I’m sure I’ve screwed up in several places.

 Rust Rust #2

Toren made some notes about the character’s skin colour.  I went with the grey hair because it seemed right.  She looks older, wiser, and her powers (corrosion effects) might have actually removed the colour from her hair.

20
Jul

Never Rains But It Pours

These have been a pretty crappy last few weeks.  What with the flight to Toronto draining our funds combined with a couple clients getting very much behind on payment, guests out the next week who of course we had to take out for good times, we’re broke.

Top that off with me taking a corner in the underground Save-On parking lot too sharply and scratching the shit out of my car door.  Thankfully it’s just the door, but I don’t have the money to get it fixed right now so my brand new car has a huge shitty scratch on the side until I do.

Oh, and one of the new tenants downstairs being a violent drunken loudmouth who has threatened (not us, the others there) that he’d “fuckin’ burn alla ya’s fuckin’ house down!” and then today “If he fucks with my fuckin’ welfare cheque I’ll destroy every fucking thing in this fuckin’ house!”  What the hell can you do about that?  It’s not police-worthy (yet), and confrontation is just going to lead to shitty living conditions.

Yesterday when we were playing road hockey in Chilliwack a group of asshole kids on the roof of the school next to us threw a shoe down.  Dennis and I had our backs to the gym so it was kind of weird seeing a shoe show up from out of nowhere.  But then a rock the size of a baseball came down and landed about 10 feet away from my dog.  Had it hit him in the head, he’d be dead.  Hell, if it hit *me* in the head I might be dead.  We surrounded the school and shouted at them to get down.  Colin McLean found where they got up because there were four bikes parked there so he camped it out.

Someone phoned the RCMP and an officer showed up almost immediately.  I gave him the rock and said “this came down and landed about 10 feet from my dog so you can see why we’re upset” and he said “Geez, yeah, no doubt”.  He joined us by their bikes and finally talked them down.  He got all their names and addresses (and had dispatch call to confirm they weren’t lying) and then headed off to meet with each of their parents to discuss punishment.  I’m sure they were terrified, first that an entire team of hockey players were running around the rooftop holding hockey sticks, and then that the cops had come and were talking to their parents about what they did.  I’m pretty sure it won’t happen again.

So it ended ok, but still, more bullshit added on to a bullshit week.

Even the good stuff is tinged with shit.  The couches we’d ordered from the Brick finally arrived, but as I said we were broke!  I managed to finagle the money and paid for them and Mike Thornley helped me pick them up.  They’re great, but we’re now broker than broke simply because all this shit has happened at once.  When the cheques I’m owed come in we’ll be doing fine again.  Until then we’re just taking it easy, staying home as much as possible and living on the cheap.

Bah.

04
Jul

Vik’s Wedding

I’d never been to a Hindu wedding, but it was a blast, even if the trip itself sucked.  Here are some photos.

2842 2879 2897

More in my Gallery

03
Jul

I hate travelling

I know, it’s weird.  So many people love it.  They love new places and new experiences and meeting new people and I guess that stuff’s pretty cool.  But the actual travelling sucks.

Back in ‘98 Sean Bosko & I drove to Milwaukee for GenCon.  GenCon was awesome, but the drive there and especially back was gruelling, boring, and shitty (in one case, literally).

We got back from Toronto yesterday and flying there and back were the most uncomfortable flights I’ve ever experienced.  Just under 5 hours each, but within 5 minutes I was squirming uncomfortably in my chair.  Once we were there we experienced the most overpriced hotel ever, as noted in my previous post.

The taxi driver from the airport to Vik’s wedding charged us $23 and once we got our bearings we realized he drove well north of the banquet hall and then back.  Also, he didn’t have a meter and just looked in a book and said “$23″.  Yuh huh, thanks pal.  It would’ve been a $15 trip in Vancouver even with the overdriving.

The wedding was great.  I’ve got photos that I’ll put up later (separate from my complaining).  If you get the chance to attend a Hindu wedding, go for it.  I’ll talk more about it when the photos go up.

To avoid the outrageous taxi fees back and forth from the airport we rented a car.  Because it was a long weekend it was a bit pricey, but should have worked out to the same price as a taxi, except we could use it for our remaining time on Sunday.  Of course, it wasn’t — there was a “Premium Location Fee” tacked on simply because we rented at the airport.  It’s like businesses realize how removed from the real world you are at an airport and do their best to suck you dry of every last dollar.

Man, I’m going on about money like I’m Toren.  I’m fine with paying for what I get, but highway robbery pisses me off.  I’ll make a more positive post with pictures shortly.

01
Jul

Home of the $4 Coke

Greetings from Toronto.  Mel & I are here for our friend Vikram (it’s a real name!) Khera’s wedding.  I’m having a weird reaction to no caffeine and jetlag in that I got up at 6 am local time, which is 3 am my time.  I’m sure I’ll crash later in the day… ugh.

Why no caffeine?  Well the minibar prices for a diet coke are highway robbery.  I’d expect to pay Way Too Much, like $2 for a can, but when the price is DOUBLE that you’ll instead see me bitch on my blog while trying to absorb as much caffeine as I can from the complementary tea (I don’t like coffee).  Screw you Sheraton Gateway Hotel, you could’ve made stupid money off me instead you get nothing!

Vik is Hindu so the wedding should be a real treat.  We’re heading out soon.  I’ll take lots of pictures.