I can’t believe I’m doing this. It’s 6:10 a.m. and I’m sitting in front of this computer posting on my weblog because this is definitely a Kodak moment to share. Patrice has just left the building wearing a Halloween costume. Patrice! Who is one of the shiest people I know on earth. Patrice! Who is always a little big reluctant to do crazy stuff. But he proposed the guys at the office to wear a costume today and think they are going to flip out when they see him.

Although there are a few clouds out there, I’m glad we’re finally looking at the sun’s face today (must be that solar storm working, ha!). I like days like this, right now I’m relaxing, chatting with Jaya and keeping Nat company via e-mail since she’s a little bored at work. I have a CD-Mix playing with nice Blind Melon, Soul Asylum, etc. and I’m waiting for the hubby-ho to come back home so I can go out because there are things to buy…

Halloween candy, which is BANNED in this house until Halloween afternoon, otherwise we end up eating it and kids will have nada. That isn’t a good thing because, if you don’t know it already, I’m a diabetic! However, going out for candy today will be a good excuse to stop at HMV and look for the new R.E.M. Greatest Hits CD (blame Jaya on that one, she got it, now I want it). We did buy a bag of Lifesavers last night, but Patrice already threatened me with eating all the red ones, so I’m going to hide them from him… buahaha!

The web hosts switch went quite smoothly thanks to Candi (if you’re looking for a reliable place for your website, I seriously recommend you No Hassle Hosting). Then on the other side was my dear friend Jaya, who is most patient and helped me figure some stuff out (or did it herself, actually). Thank you so much, Jaya, for hosting my little weblog during these months and well… we’ll be living in the same happy house now, only in different rooms. And last but not least, thanks to Babs (hello there girl!) for always telling me about good stuff.

Things to organize here: FINALLY put the links portal up so people won’t find my annoying 404 Error message anymore. I also have to change my About page to make it less long and boring (people don’t want to know a bunch of silly things, do they?) and eventually try to figure out what is making the index page so slow when loading (Blogrolling, maybe?). I’m also going to put my photo gallery under BeatrizDominguez.com, along with the other photo projects (May Day and 26 Things). Oh yes, this will keep me busy over the weekend. I also need to install the rest of programs in my new PC and the programmer is coming to connect the router and watch football with Patrice, oh boy…

I’m at the happy place today (aka Patrice’s office). It’s rainy and grey outside, but being around these guys sure brings sunshine to my life, they are so relaxed and funny! I truly miss working here and there’s a chance for me to come back, slight, but a chance… good enough! And what makes it even better today is that someone brought a Calvin and Hobbes book so while Patrice finishes his work, I’m sitting here, chillin’, reading some funny stories and playing in the internet. How’s your day going?

Excuse me if things are a little bit wonky at BeaLog for the moment. My precious host Jaya has decided to give us a better place to live because she wasn’t very happy at the old “house”, so the websites are propagating; this weblog might disappear for a few hours, but don’t panic (ha!), I’ll be back. Thank God there are smart girls like Jaya and Candi to help us mortals figure things out.

I’ve never been a music file swapper. In fact, with the slow processor in my old computer and the little space in my hard drive keeping music files was not a great option. I did have a few I downloaded once and then a friend copied them into a CD (in mp3 format). Now I have this powerful computer that comes with a CD-writer unit (I even can make DVDs!) and I decided to burn those mp3 files into a real CD I can listen to in the car and around, then I went looking for more music using Kazaa Lite K++ so I could finally have those songs I like so much without having to buy a whole album. In less than a week my computer had around 400 MB of music (adding the new and the old ones), but yesterday it hit me: “Isn’t there a big thing going on with the RIAA giving subpoenas to people for this?” - I got scared and immediately removed all the files.

I don’t know how it works here in Canada, but according to these two articles, if you follow certain rules, it’s kind of legal here in Canuckistan to deal with music files. I have no idea how it works and I still have to read the articles carefully, but I just wonder… why do normal people, the users, have to deal with legal stuff when the companies that create the file sharing software should be the ones paying the artists. Probably they already do, but you don’t give people the technology to get music for free (instead of over-paying at the music store) and then tell them it’s illegal. I’m all for buying a CD, you can come and check my collection, but sometimes you just don’t have the money or simply don’t want to buy the whole album and you ABSOLUTELY want that song.

I’m sure there’s a better way to get artists paid for their work without having to hit the user. I think the whole menacing with legal actions just makes part of the current terror campaign against American people who are always treated like criminals in their own country (just check the controls at the airports, ugh!). I hope organizations like the EFF can find a way to end up this madness, so people can enjoy their favorite music, while the artists get what they deserve for their creations. Meanwhile, even if there’s not a big thing going on here in Canada my computer is clean of mp3 files, but I don’t guarantee I won’t download more to burn them in a CD; I just keep the sharing option closed.

What are your thoughts?

9 Coronas! Hilarious - I found it at a website by a very funny guy from Calgary, and he seems truly Canadian. Make sure you check the Molson Canadian videos, he he!

I decided that I’m going to participate in the second round of 26 Things : The Photographic Scavenger Hunt. I didn’t have the motivation to do it a couple of months ago, but I think it’ll be a good idea to keep myself busy and entertained looking for photography subjects. Are you going to participate too? It starts November 1st!

Then when everything is ready I’ll put it up in a new webhosting account. It’s been great being part of Jaya’s little community, but since I have BeatrizDominguez.com hosted at No Hassle (great hosting service!) I thought it was a good idea to upgrade the account and put everything together in the same place. Oh well, it seems that I have some nice little projects to overcome the cold months.