Author: Nick Kempinski

  • The Way [they] see it

    So I’m drinking my starbucks and I read on the back of their cup

    Chances are you are scared of fictions. Chances are you are only fleetingly happy. Chances are you know
    much less than you think you do. Chances are you feel a little guilty. Chances are you want people to lie
    to you. Perhaps the answer lies on the side of a coffee cup. You are lost. – David Cross, Comedian

    This is from a comedian…so…is this supposed to be funny?

  • Formin Normin

    Like any group of people, the swing band that I am in is going through the stages of becoming a performing
    teams. I think anytime you get a group of people together they inherently “want” to be a performing team, but
    whether they can go through the phases is a test of character and dynamics

    1. Forming
    2. Norming
    3. Storming
    4. Performing

    Right now we are at stage 2: Norming. Right now the group is getting to know more about each other, jokes are
    starting to fly a little more and we are getting to know more about each others stories. Now, the trick is
    this next stage…can we do it? The Storming stage is were people start to talk about others behind their backs
    like “Nick’s Solo completely sucked ass!” I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but it’s a part of life. What
    needs to really happen at this stage is someone says to me “Nick, you solo completely sucked ass!”, in which
    my response would either be “@$)& you!” ( note: for the group to stay together this must be an accepted form
    of response ) or “I didn’t know that, where did it chomp?” The storming phase is all about being able to talk
    about the bad with the good. And if a group of people can successfully get there, then they are definitely on
    the road to bigger and better things.

  • The place was packed!

    Last night was the first public gig for the Blue Morris 6! If I do say so myself, we kicked! Half way
    through I was in a little pain ( long story involving canada day celebration, beer and a big step…) but I stood like a flamingo on one leg and played away.

    There were a few small flubs, but that’s the beauty of swing, no one noticed. If if they did, they didn’t
    care because they were dancing away. It was great to see people swing dancing in a little cafe. Can’t wait
    for the next gig. I’ll keep you posted.

  • Now I can say … it’s the coolest!

    Been playing around with 10.4 all night. Some minor alteration needed after I installed it: needed to re-set
    apache to my liking, and I’ve got this unknown user in my user list…I must have been screwing around with it?
    But other then that I can now officially say that 10.4 kicks!

    widgets

    when 10.4 originally came out and widgets where explained I wasn’t personally hyped about them. They really
    aren’t anything special. And from my perspective, they are totally outside of the “Mac Design”. And after
    playing with them, I still don’t think there is anything special. Nothing a good RSS feed or homepage
    couldn’t answer.

    safari rss

    I’m pretty much hooked on syndication. I’m not going to say RSS because not everyone is using that format,
    there are also older flavours like RDF or the newer Atom
    Safari handles these like a dream! the xslt they’ve got running to transform these are beautiful, searchable
    and practical. Plus something really cool! If you’ve got FOAF, pay close attention to the bottom right
    corner…it’s awesome!

  • I’m a 10.4!

    So, fingers were crossed, eyes squint like Clint Eastwood in his westerns…and go! I’ve now upgraded to OSX
    10.4 Tiger. Does this mean I can now say “I’m Grrrreat!”?

    Still new for me so I’m going through and figuring all the wonderful features and tools out. So far, I like
    the safari RSS reader. Need to look into it some more to but so far I likes it.

  • My Personality 2

    It’s been about 6 months since I did my previous personality test. Let’s see what’s
    changed…almost nothing

    Jung Type: ENFP (the same)

    “Journalist”. Uncanny sense of the motivations of others. Life is an exciting drama. 8.1% of total
    population.

    Enneagram: 9 sx/sp/so (the same)

    Type 1 Perfectionism |||||| 26%
    Type 2 Helpfulness |||||||||||||||| 66%
    Type 3 Image Awareness |||||||||||||| 60%
    Type 4 Sensitivity |||||||||||| 46%
    Type 5 Detachment |||||||||||||||| 66%
    Type 6 Anxiety |||||| 30%
    Type 7 Adventurousness |||||||||||||||| 63%
    Type 8 Aggressiveness |||||||||||||| 60%
    Type 9 Calmness |||||||||||||||||||| 90%

    (table above: pretty much the same)

    Nines are calm, laid-back, and optimistic. They are able to see everyone’s point of view and have a natural
    desire for peace. Nines are effective mediators. Fearful of conflict and separation from others, they may be
    too accommodating.

    Your variant is sexual: sx/sp/so

    Overall, you score highest on assertive traits (sx), followed by withdrawn traits (sp), and lowest on
    complaint traits (so)

  • Doesn’t Have To Be Today

    Just because I’m thinking it, or typing it doesn’t mean that it should be published right away. ( oh! gasp!
    really??) Nope. So, what I’m going to play with over the next little while is using some of the features that
    have been put in wordpress, for they were designed for. Who knew? I’m going to use
    the timestamp…( oh! gasp! )…and the “draft” ( more gasping and maybe a couple of murmurs ). Matter of fact
    I’ve already started…this
    post alone was actually entered in 2 days ago, but didn’t show up till now ( ooo! aaah!).

  • Entrepreneur’s Credo

    • I do not choose to be common.
    • It is my right to be uncommon – if I can.
    • I seek opportunity – not security.
    • I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled, and dulled by having the state look after me.
    • I want to take a calculated risk, to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed.
    • I refuse to barter incentive for a dole.
    • I prefer the challenges of life to guaranteed existence; the thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of Utopia.
    • I will not trade freedom for beneficence nor my dignity of the handout.
    • I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat.
    • It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid, to think and act for myself, to enjoy the benefit of my creations and to face the world boldly and say:
    • This, with God’s help, I have done.
    • All this is what it means to be an Entrepreneur.

    Official credo of the American Entrepreneurs Association

  • PodCasts Popular?

    It seems that with the launch of the new Podcast Subscriptions through iTunes, they had more then One Million subscribers in less 2 days. That’s just the number of subscribers. How many are out there that submitted their podcasts?

    I must admit, it’s something that I’ve been thinking about. Could I have some form of regular weekly PodCast? I’ve got the software and the hardware to do it…hmmm. Maybe something for the idea block, maybe I could piggy back between blogging and podding.

  • Blue Morris 6 Swing Band

    Ah, a small moment of self promotion

    Recently I joined a Swing Band, and last weekend we had our first performance. We’ve got another one coming up Friday July 8 at Tree’s Cafe (450 Granville St). Here’s the promotional stuff that Blue has put together.

    Available bootleg songs

    1. Deed I Do – (MP3, 6.0 MB)
    2. All of Me – (MP3, 6.2 MB)
    3. You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To – (MP3, 4.5 MB)
    4. Do Nothin’ Till You Hear From Me – (MP3, 6.3 MB)

    Cat’s in the band

    • Aaron “Blue” Morris – guitar
    • Carly Jepsen – vocals
    • Greg Lui – tenor sax
    • Nick Kempinski (Me) – baritone sax
    • Kevin Wilkie – drums
    • Some Other Cat – bass