Jones Falls Lockstation

A few months back we took a small road trip looking for locks along the Rideau Canal. It wasn't long before we stumbled upon the Jones Falls Lockstation. The road off the highway was inconspicous, and the parking lot modest. There was a small nature trail leading up to the Stone Arch Dam, although we had no idea how long the trail was or if it was going anywhere. 

Coming around the bend, the dam appeared most unexpectedly. We were already at the top of the tall dam, looking downward to the base below - densely covered by trees and brush. It was incredibly impressive, and worth the trip alone, but we continued past to the actual locks. If you look at the map below, we came in at marker 12, then advanced our way down to number one. On the way out, we saw our mistake and pledged to visit the main entrance next time.

The arch dam itself is 60 feet high and 350 feet across, and there are four locks on site. Work on the entire project began in 1827 and completed in 1832. I can't help but marvel at the engineering and work that must have gone into this - of course it was difficult and hard to imagine such a project taking place so long ago, and the same could be said for any of these older projects. The fact that it's all still standing and in operation is a testament to the passion that was put into the construction. I knew that once we saw this dam and the time period it was made, that it's a hidden gem among all of Canada, and made me quite proud to be part of the country and standing on site.

I only took a few photos - my only camera was my iPhone 4. With a bit more preparation next time, it would be easy to spend more time and watch the boats go through the locks, and have lunch at the Hotel Kenney. There's a lot of history to be uncovered, and it's not that far from home.

I would highly recommend checking out these links to learn more about the locks, and Jones Falls in particular.

Parks Canada - Jones Falls Lockstation The source and description of each point of interest marked on the map in this post.

Parks Canada - History of Jones Falls
Rideau-Info - Guide to the Locks
Wikipedia - Jones Falls Dam

Chromecast

A few months ago Google shook things up a little by releasing the Chromecast upon us. It's a small streaming device that plugs directly into your television's HDMI port, and acts entirely wirelessly. Chromecast was a bit different than other streaming boxes in its simplicity: plug directly into HDMI, no inputs, just a single micro-USB port on it and it has no interface of its own. See, the Chromecast puts itself into a ready state, allowing other devices to send content to it. So anyone on my wireless network could theoretically open their YouTube app on their phone/tablet/computer and start playing it on the big screen. It's a rather simple device, but quite elegant, and at $35 it was exactly what I was looking for.

Unfortunately, the device is not available in Canada, and Google seems to have forgotten about us up here.
In addition to tech news sites, I would check the Play store every day for availability, only to be let down over and over again. There were other options: buy it online through Amazon.com (not the .CA store) or drive down and pick one up at retail. Well, I must not have needed it as badly as I thought, because I wouldn't do either. Until earlier this week, I get a call from my friend. He's take the family down across the border for a day trip and picked up a couple of Chromecasts. On his way home he dropped it off, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

I've been watching a lot of online video recently, over the past few months. It's come a long way. There are numerous channels on YouTube that I subscribe to and check for new content on a regular basis. Ever since getting the Nexus 7 tablet, I've been prone to browsing the videos section of Reddit and generally neglecting any serialized shows and movies. When the Chromecast came out, I knew it would be perfect: browse for the videos on the tablet, and show them on the big screen. Especially handy for sharing videos amongst a room of people. It would be perfect. But without the device, I had to try other means: namely, the YouTube app on XBMC, which is installed on a home theatre PC connected to the television.

Being at home sick for the day, I used the app on XBMC liberally. Recently, I changed my e-mail address and thought it would be a good time to update which account the app uses. This was a big mistake. The app is flaky enough on it's own, that I've learned it's best to leave it alone if it is working. For the life of me I couldn't get it to connect to my new account, and I wasn't about to fool around too much with the system (that is, the XBMC install) in fear that the damage would spiral out of control. If you've ever setup XBMC and had some issues, you'll know what I'm talking about (although it's much better these days). I resolved to install an app that allowed me to add channels, but it wasn't tied to any Google account. A few hours later, the phone call came in and my Chromecast experience would begin - right on time.

It really was as easy as they said to set it up. Plug it in (and plug in the USB cable for power - my television set isn't new enough to sport the latest HDMI powered outlets) and install the Chromecast app on my Nexus 7. It does an ad-hoc wireless connection, then connects to the main wireless network in the house after entering some credentials. It reboots itself, downloads a system update and I'm off running four minutes later. Streaming items to it couldn't be easier. Once YouTube is open, I choose the output device and it just works and I can take the video back right away.

Other devices don't seem to have an issue connecting - YouTube on my iPad, or Chrome on my laptop. I haven't tried putting the entire browser window on it, but I feel that will be a less used feature. Not to mention that if I want to do that, there are many other devices that are capable (HTPC, mainly). The Chromecast is simple, unobtrusive and capable. It's a no brainer for me to be putting one on each television in the house.

Riddick

Riddick appears on screen crawling, limping, through a harsh wasteland fraught with alien creatures bent on
his destruction. He's able to elude them, one by one until it becomes too much. He rethinks his strategy, slows his heartbeat, and rests in a custom made tomb. Narration kicks in and we're treated to the story of how Riddick got himself into this situation in the first place. People who could take a cue from him: he blames nobody but himself for his misfortune.

Redemption.

The first act of the movie follows Riddick in ultimate bad-ass survival. Ten years have past since Chronicles, and just in case we forgot, we're bludgeoned with reminders on how awesome he is. In the harshest of environments, Riddick thrives, domesticates and controls.

And just in case you weren't convinced of how brutally talented Riddick is at being brutal, they bring down teams of bounty hunters for him to play with. It's all absolutely brilliant fun, and I loved every second of it.

Pitch Black was a great film that came out of nowhere. I got it as a gift for Christmas on DVD many, many years ago and fell in love with it. Then, years later the sequel would come out and while it took a different direction, it was still enjoyable. Unfortunately it seemed to the final nail in the coffin for Riddick. Lo and behold, nine years later we discover Riddick was never in the coffin - in true Riddick fashion - he was just lying low waiting for the right moment to strike.

Riddick, the movie, strikes back to the beginnings of it all in a true echo of Pitch Black. The plot is simple, as we're returned to a desolate planet with a terrifying hook. In Pitch Black, we await darkness, and in Riddick, we await the rain. You're familiar with the formula basically, but the ride is different, and very satisfying. Katee Sackhoff turns up for a decent performance, but falls a bit shy of the original Radha Mitchell. All the other characters are fairly straightforward and stereotypical, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. They bring a bit of comic relief to what could be misconstrued as a bit serious, and poke fun at the most important thing they could here: the myth of Riddick. It's akin to thugs taking about what Batman is and letting their imaginations go wild. Except instead of the streets of Gotham, the rumours spread throughout the entire galaxy here. It brings a bit of small town wonder to an otherwise gigantic scale. Riddick has an entire planet to explore, but the majority of the film takes place in and around a small mercenary outpost and it's surrounding inhospitable land.

After watching this, I had a look at the trivia and background of the film, as I typically do. It was interesting to see Vin's role in getting this film made: he agreed to do a cameo in third Fast and Furious movie, Tokyo Drift, in return for the rights to the Riddick franchise. So what may seem like selling out a bit for a quick bit of cash has ulterior, positive motives. Vin even helped fund the film to avoid delays in production. And we reap the reward. Riddick is a passion for the people involved, which really comes through on screen. Hopefully it doesn't take another ten years for a project in this world, but then again, we don't want to rush a good thing.

Nexus 7

Do you recall when the first iPad came out and your thoughts/feelings on it? It wasn't that long ago - April 2010 in fact - that Jobs and Apple dropped this piece of tech on us. It was met with skepticism in part, probably due to one line of thought that it looked simply like a big iPhone, and that Apple was brash enough to tell how this device was going to fill a hole in our lives that we didn't know was there. It's bold, but in the end they were right of course. The iPad would take the poorly performing tablet market and redefine it, just as they did the portable music device and smart phones in general. But I still scoffed at it a bit: it was easy to do so while working in the tech industry. My coworkers and I didn't see how it fit into the corporate world, and to a degree we are still correct, although the app selection and evolution has made them more business and productivity friendly.

The president of our company wanted one, so we got him one, then the IT department got one as well so we would know how to support them - standard practice. But we never used the thing and it collected dust; that is, until I started taking it home on the weekends. I brought it home during my stint with Fallout 3, and it served as the perfect companion on my in-game journeys. The iPad sat propped up on a pillow next to me, open to a browser with various Fallout wiki articles and guides opened. The size was pretty ideal for that, but I didn't get into the tablet for much else. I thought about getting one, but didn't feel that the price of it was justified. This would continue for a while, especially as more tablets came out, and the tech evolved rapidly. I didn't want to be stuck with old tech or missing key features. You know what I mean.

Then the Nexus 7 came out, and introduced us to an affordable tablet that wasn't particularly lacking. Sure, it wasn't loaded to the teeth with features, but it delivered a great experience in what I know think is an ideal size. The original iPad was too big and heavy for me, for what I wanted to use it as. The Nexus 7 was considerably lighter but also much smaller: a seven inch screen to the iPad's ten. My parents ended up giving me the Nexus 7 for Christmas this past year, and I was immediately hooked. It presented me with the Google ecosystem that I was so entrenched in already, in a very satisfying way. Enter my Gmail password once, and the tablet comes to life with all the services I used. A much better experience than the individual apps and permissions in iOS.

And I realize that my devotion to all the Google services is a big reason I enjoy the 7 so much. But I also enjoy it because it's refreshing, and modern. After using what feels like an antiquated iOS device for so long, it was a delight to get into something new and all the little OS flourishes were quite welcome.

Then, the new Nexus 7 was coming out, and I couldn't help myself. I didn't need the device, but I wanted it. The day it was available in Canada, I bought it without hesitation. For the first time in quite a while, I was helpless against the allure of a product. The high resolution screen was a big improvement and perhaps the major reason for getting the new 7 revision. But in general it is truly a refinement of the tablet experience: it was ligther, a bit more narrow and thinner, which makes it that more comfortable to hold for longer periods of time. The screen is the big draw, and now the tablet is replacing my Kindle as my primary e-reader.

The entire Play store helps the transition as well. Buying things through the web interface and sending them to the tablet is a dream. I'm impressed by the number of e-books, magazines and media that is available. Which brings us to the apps. You know the drill: Android is lacking compared to iOS, and this is undoubtedly true. But it's getting better all the time, and from my perspective, I'm not missing much. I'm not app crazy to begin with: I have a few main apps and they are all on Android - they work, they are good and I'm happy.

A few short weeks ago I was given an iPad Mini at the office, so I could compare the 7 to the Mini directly. What's the verdict? The 7 is better in every way, I suppose. The screen especially, but it's a bit unfair - the Mini has some catching up to do and is a bit older than the new 7 anyway.

I don't take the tablet with me everywhere. You could describe it as a Reddit browsing device more than anything else. But I find myself using it more for reading now - comics, RSS feeds (yes, I'm still holding onto them) and books. So what's next? Nexus 5, for sure...then perhaps the 10?