Houses on pieces of actual ground have become so expensive, many first-time, would-be homeowners are considering purchase of a shiny glass box in the sky. Hopes of condo heaven often become experiences in Condo Hell, as documented in this useful Macleans article.

The best single observation I see in the article is this: … “the truth is that people who don’t have extra money shouldn’t be living in condominiums.”
Without a significant cash cushion to absorb the shock of some really big financial hits, condo owners can receive devastating blows.

Online cloud storage of files has become quite popular, making Dropbox into a company potentially worth billions. Many people are nervous about storing their stuff in such large repositories, not just because NSA apologists like Condoleeza Rice are getting involved, but because large cloud services are such juicy targets for hackers … governmental, military and criminal.

A photo uploaded by someone to the ownCloud live demo site, here.
OwnCloud offers a free, open source way to create your own online storage system. It works just like Dropbox or Apple’s iCloud, allowing you to access files from anywhere, synch your various devices to you music collection, your passwords, photos, etc.
But ownCloud it just that … your own cloud. It stores your stuff on your own computer and the software makes it accessible to you via the internet, no matter where you are or which device you may be using. Instead of being part of a big juicy target, you are one lonely little cloud, hardly worth hacking. Of course, it’s secured to make hacking difficult, using the same security protocols used by the big services.
For starters, I have an old Mac G4 Power PC that’s collecting dust. I plan to experiment with it, perhaps turning it into a Linux box and then adding the ownCloud server. It should give me several gigabytes of cloud service. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Let’s start the slideshow with Al, our neighbour’s son-in-law, driving the antique fire truck… Mouseover to pause.
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The Beach Easter Parade along Queen St. East is very “small-town” in the most delightful way. Perfect weather at last, and a very happy crowd. The show went on for about an hour and a half, then bystanders flooded onto the road and followed the parade.
All politicians were asked to stay away this year, just because of one internationally embarrassing mayor. I wish they had simply named the one they didn’t want and let the others attend as they always have.

There are a lot of nice old houses in the Beach area, but we noticed and liked this one in particular, today. Turrets are always quaint and the wraparound porch would be a cool place to spend time on a Wheeler Avenue summer day.

The very first episode of Beverley Hillbillies …
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBmYkXVteaU

Hey, Paul, your Air Canada slogan, We’re not happy until you’re not happy, continues to inspire.

I just put this here to add to the number of views a bit. Air Canada deserves the attention, don’cha think?

I’ve said that I have been busy framing Helen Andersen art again, which is true, but I should add that Danica has been doing a lot of the work… and very well IMHO. She has developed a great eye for what looks good in what frame and she has been very busy sourcing frames in suitable sizes, opening them up, cleaning glass and reassembling. Obviously, this is a BIG part of the job and because of all the patient help, we have been able to complete about 15 more pieces in pretty short order.

We put these two in matching frames and double mats because the sizes and colours made a good pair.
Top: A landscape sketch by Helen Andersen, labelled Oliver, BC.
Below: An abstract composition in gouache. undated and unsigned, also by Helen.


One more, for good measure …

A loose little sketch of a cabin in the woods. Signed and dated 1981

As promised, here’s an update. Mavericks is behaving well, very well actually, on an iMac (with 6 GB RAM) and a Macbook Pro (4 GB RAM). If you have MacKeeper, get rid of it first.
The installations went smoothly, although they take time, and the OS is a free 5+ GB download. After installing Mavericks, I added free Sophos anti-virus protection and it plays well with the new OS.
Anti-virus measures were not necessary on Macs when they represented only a tiny portion of the computer population out there. Nobody seemed to bother making malware for Macs. But Apple stuff is everywhere these days, and besides, you could forward email cooties harmful to Windows friends, even if they don’t hurt you.

Ian has been selecting an e-bike to use around town this summer. Probably a good thing that the amphibious scooter never made the marketplace.

My favourite blogging software (making this blog and those of several friends) is free and now easier than ever to use.

WordPress 3 9 “Smith”
You may host your own WordPress blog, as I do, or you can have WordPress host your blog (also free) for you . If you ever feel like becoming Facebook-free, this is a pretty good way.