Category: Counting

Super Secret Surprise CALL Stuff II … JULY!!!

SUPER SECRET….
Surprise CALL STUFF II …..
It is now …. JULY !!!!

JULY IS HERE NOW! And I hinted at some Super Secret CALL Stuff in a previous post that are coming in July! Well IT IS NOW JULY!

The tech upgrades are the first upgrades that are … not disaster related! Well, okay, maybe a stretch as during Covid, and just as we were returning, CALL (& elsewhere too!) was upgraded with a bunch of new computers – both DELL and APPLE! But that was expected and … if COVID is not a disaster, then what is!

Okay, you might then argue that The Pods at the Front of CALL were another non-disaster upgrade, but …. the screen at the time had broken and well, why not upgrade the back computers to a kind of ‘If you build it, they will come‘ scenario for students. (Spoiler Alert – An ALL TIME FAVOURITE MOVIE of mine! And it worked … Covid started about 3 weeks later! AND CALL also got new furniture JUST BEFORE COVID! And believe me, the old furniture WAS a disaster! Whew!

CALL Facility Large Screens
       CALL Facility Large Screens

So THIS current upgrade is unique in that we are getting FAR SUPERIOR STUFF that we did not have before! And those things are …… well, you will just have to wait until the next Bog Blog post. For now, I will include more photos of lots of stuff that has happened in CALL, and the first of the Before and After photos too! And a few random ‘Favourite Bog Blog’ posts at the bottom too! 

And don’t forget about … The Great CALL Flood of 2015!

But for now, you will have to:

  • Monitor this OAC Blog!
  • Make a resolution to be ready for anything!
  • Station yourself at the ready!
  • Display your boxes of CALL hi-tech upgrades!
  • Project the future!
  • Measure up to … 55″ of PowerPoint slides in every direction!
  • And if not PP, then switch to a 55″ Keynote instead!
  • Don’t get drunk on screenshots!
  • Screen everyone who visits CALL!
  • Memorize how to spell HDMI!
  • Surf the Internet riding high on a CRESTRON .wav!
  • Get ready for one DELL of an upgrade!
  • No boots needed in case of a flood, only … re-boots!
  • Didn’t cost much either! We paid in cache!
  • CALL will be safe from monitor lizards, finally!
  • Monitor the upgrades ’cause it  … hertz so good!

See everyone in JULY!
Come on down to
THE CALL FACILITY …
BE READY …..
After … July 13th!

READY!
                                                                          READY!

And … just to end on a
Shameless OAC
Bog Blog promotion …
Here are some random Bog Blog favourite OAC posts!

My Favourite ‘Favourites’ at OAC!
So … What’s Next for … 2022?
CALL Computer Refresh Deja Vu ….. All Over Again
A Walk Down Memory Lane .. or .. 1 Domegemegrottebyte Worth!
Favourite and Useful UVic Links
NEW CALL LAYOUT !
The CALL Facility & other UVic Mysteries
UVIC Social Media
Social Media at UVic or … LIKES and FOLLOWS
On Campus Photo Shoot
On Campus Photo Shoot Redux
And of course …. CHD Jeopardy Opus (all the Jeopardy pdfs!)
And a favourite topic is … UVic Recycling!
The ReCycling of CALL and … HSD!
Comparing Apples and Oranges III . . . The ReCycling

And one of my
ABSOLUTELY FAVOURITE
Bog Blog Posts …
Secret Gems of Clearihue!
SSShhhh . . . Clearihue’s Hidden Secrets . . . & GEMS

And  if  you  made  it  this  far
A SNEAK  PREVIEW
of  the NEXT CHD  Jeopardy!

 

A Walk Down Memory Lane .. or .. 1 Domegemegrottebyte Worth!

Let’s go for a walk down …
Memory Lane !
Of 1 Domegemegrottebyte Size !!!!

I hope you have been able to keep THIS BOG BLOG POST TOP SECRET!

If not, then go ahead and TELL EVERYONE! The secret CALL Upgrade with lots of new TECH TOYS is less than TWO WEEKS AWAY!!!

The CALL Facility will actually be closed the first two weeks of July (1-5 and 8-12) while the best technical crew on campus brings CALL to the height of upgrades! A long time coming and this will significantly change how CALL can and WILL be used for classes, demos, workshops, orientations, lectures, exams and even drop-in usage! And maybe even MORE uses as everyone discovers that CALL can now do ….. oops ……. almost let the cat out of the bag! You will have to wait or better yet, drop by and talk to me! CALL has had computer refreshes but this time .. is different. CALL did get new furniture and a newer version of The Pods, just before Covid, but this is going to be really cool!

Oh, and if you were wondering about what a Domegemegrottebyte is ….

  • Domegemegrottebyte (1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 Bytes) (or 1033 Bytes)

And for comparison, click HERE for some eye opening comparisons! I had never heard of The Byte Scale before! WOW!

Okay, now for some fun stuff! There are vintage photos of The CALL Facility and even the notorious and infamous …. Lab ‘B’ that I have found. AND some Great Flood photos and even Classic CALL photos. Below are a bunch of mini-galleries, each with a mini-them! Some are so old, that colour had not been invented yet! All this in comparison to various upgrades and the UPGRADE TO COME IN JULY! I will do a blog about that, when complete and we have a Fully Functioning  DEATHSTAR  CALL Facility! Check them out below in a bunch of Galleries!

The CALL Facility will be completed on schedule
                           The CALL Facility will be completed on schedule
You must feel The Pun around you
                                             You must feel The Pun around you

THE LEGENDARY LAB ‘B’
the night before it was … DISASSEMBLED! 

Classic CALL Facility Photos – Pre-Flood!

The Great Flood of 2015!

Vintage & Old Photos of CALL 1989!

CALL During Flood Renovations

Behind the Scenes CLTE Renovations!

CALL FUN FAIR – Meet the Team

Meet the Team in The CALL Facility
                                                             Meet the Team in The CALL Facility

 

And some more cool links from previous Bog Blogs about upgrades and new tech and toys through the years! And don’t forget to recycle boxes, hardware and even food and paper! JUST DO IT!

NEW! The CALL Facility Furniture HAS ARRIVED! NEW!
CALL Computer Refresh Deja Vu ….. All Over Again
SSShhh or Clearihue’s Hidden Secrets .. or CLEARIHUE’S HIDDEN GEMS!!!!
The CALL Facility Original Ad for Employment September 1989
1989 to 2019 30th Anniversary of The CALL Facility!
Meet the Team Systems Open House
The CALL Facility Original Ad for Employment September 1989
CALL Towering Tech Arrivals
The Recycling of CALL and … HSD! (Upgrades need recycling!)
Recycling Never Gets Old at UVic!

See everyone in JULY!
Come on down to
THE CALL FACILITY!

And … just to end on yet another shameless OAC Bog Blog promotion, yet another Post ending with yet another previous blog on …. PUNS! Please be kind! And if you can’t be kind, then I will just have to make more puns! The choice … is yours!!! The Pun is strong in this one ……

 

 

 

Super Secret Surprise CALL Stuff … coming in July!

SUPER SECRET….
Surprise CALL STUFF …..
Coming in JULY !!!!

CAN you keep a secret? You better be able to! There just might be some VERY interesting stuff coming to your local CALL Facility, scheduled for the first two weeks of JULY!  Just before that though, will be DHSI for the first two weeks of JUNE!

What is DHSI? Well, I will write another post closer to June, but another Super Secret CALL Scenario is ….. click here to see what DHSI is!

But for now, you will have to:

  • Monitor this OAC Blog!
  • Make a resolution to be ready for anything!
  • Station yourself at the ready!
  • Display your boxes of CALL hi-tech upgrades!
  • Project the future!
  • Measure up to … 55″ of PowerPoint slides in every direction!
  • And if not PP, then switch to a 55″ Keynote instead!
  • Don’t get drunk on screenshots!
  • Screen everyone who visits CALL!
  • Memorize how to spell HDMI!
  • Surf the Internet riding high on a CRESTRON .wav!
  • Get ready for one DELL of an upgrade!
  • No boots needed in case of a flood, only … re-boots!
  • Didn’t cost much either! We paid in cache!
  • CALL will be safe from monitor lizards, finally!
  • Monitor the upgrades ’cause it  … hertz so good!

And maybe, just maybe, the photo below in a Super Secret location, safe from prying eyes … will have some clues!

And just have to end on a serious note ….. NOT!

See everyone in JULY!
Come on down to
THE CALL FACILITY!

And … just to end on a shameless OAC Bog Blog promotion, I did a whole post on puns and jokes during early Covid in 2020 …….

 

 

 

 

ON VACATION! Back on AUGUST 28!!

I AM NOW ON VACATION!

FINALLY August is here!

And I am going to go absolutely nowhere! Well, maybe Cobble Hill for coffee and ratatouille in the forest! Or walks on the beach! Or a longshot is Tofino or Alberta! But anywhere I do go, will be very random and very spur of the moment!

I did scale back my OAC posts this past year (September ’22 to August ’23) but still managed some fun posts and pages, as well as some updates and brand new random posts! And I plan on a few more when I get back in September!   Who knows how busy September 2023 will be but .. it WILL be busy! I am already taking bookings for JANUARY OF 2024!!! YAY BOOKINGS!

You can always check out all my CHD Jeopardy training files here including my most recent Jeopardy Double Trouble in .pdf format. AND a YouTube video of Double Jeopardy it here! ENJOY!

AND ANNOUNCING THAT I HAVE FINISHED 99.99% of the NEWEST CHD JEOARDY –HALLOWEEN the 13th!!! In October and for all our new and returning COOPS 

Good luck! And even MORE prizes (Chocolate! Gummy Bears and maybe SURPRISE PACKAGES TOO!) to win and new TYPES of questions too!

CHD Jeopardy Greg's Playlist IIAnd I might also have a new shorter version of my CALL Orientation which will be only about 2 minutes long and less than a dozen slides! Okay, that was hard to do, to keep it THAT short, but I will still keep some Star Trek  and Easter Egg elements in there … the usual for this Bog Blog! For a quick sneak peek, but only the working/BETA version, you can download it here in PDF format, or watch it at YouTube in video format! I even kept it shorter than the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds trailer ! But it will still probably change and be even better than it is right now! YAY!

Thanks for all the support and reading all my fun Bog Blog posts and pages at UVic! More to come in September! WOOT!

Everyone stay safe and healthy today, tomorrow and for the rest of the year!

Not to worry . . .

Back on August 28th to prep for
. . . Septem . . . PURR !!!!

I will bring Empire Donuts when I return to UVic!

~~Bogman~~


 

Pandemic

 

ON VACATION! Back on AUGUST 29!!

I AM NOW ON VACATION!

FINALLY August is here!

And I am going to go absolutely nowhere! Well, maybe Cobble Hill for coffee and ratatouille in the forest! Or walks on the beach! Or a longshot is Tofino or Alberta! But anywhere I do go, will be very random and very spur of the moment!

I did scale back my OAC posts this past year (September ’21 to July ’22) but still managed some fun posts and pages, as well as some updates and brand new random posts – you know the kind- COVID kind of interfered with daily updates as we had TWO years of students coming back to UVIC! The regular ‘1st Years’ and the ‘then’ the current ‘2nd Years’ … who never did set foot on campus during COVID! September 2021 was THE busiest I have ever seen on campus! Who knows how busy September 2022 will be but .. it WILL be busy!

Jeopardy XI Greg's Playlist
                               Jeopardy XI Greg’s Playlist

BONUS – we were able to do IN  PERSON TRAINING FOR OUR NEW CHD STAFF FOR THE FIRST TIME in almost 3 years!! You can always check out all my CHD Jeopardy training files here including my most recent Jeopardy Greg’s Playlist!

CHD Jeopardy Greg's Playlist II
           CHD Jeopardy Greg’s Playlist II

AND ANNOUNCING THAT I HAVE FINISHED 99.99% of the NEWEST CHD JEOARDY – GREG’S PLAYLIST II in September and for all our new and returning COOPS! Good luck! And even MORE prizes (Chocolate!) to win and new TYPES of questions too!

And I will also have a new shorter version of my CALL Orientation which will be only about 2 minutes long and less than a dozen slides! Okay, that was hard to do, to keep it THAT short, but I will still keep some Star Trek  and Easter Egg elements in there … the usual for this Bog Blog! For a quick sneak peek, but only the working/BETA version, you can download it here in PDF format, or watch it at YouTube in video format! I even kept it shorter than the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds trailer ! But it will still probably change and be even better than it is right now! YAY!

Thanks for all the support and reading all my fun Bog Blog posts and pages at UVic! More to come in September! WOOT!

Everyone stay safe and healthy today, tomorrow and for the rest of the year!

Not to worry . . .

Back on August 29th to prep for
. . . Septem . . . PURR !!!!

I will bring Empire Donuts when I return to UVic!

~~Bogman~~


 

Pandemic

 

My Favourite ‘Favourites’ at OAC!

! MY Favourite ‘Favourites’!
! AT OAC !

It occurs to me that …  I really like blogging here at OAC! I published a daily blog in the initial months of remote computing and all of a sudden, I had published almost 230 Posts! And a handful of Pages too. What is the difference between a ‘BogPost‘ and a ‘BogPage‘, welPages and Postsl, I wrote a Post about that called “Pages and Posts … What Gives?“

And of course, that led me to think about which ones were my … favourites amongst them all! Yeah, not fair, but … I make the rules here! So I will now attempt to list, in no particular order, my “Top 10 Favourite Posts”

I will  have one ‘filter’ though … the Post had to have the word “favourite” in  it somewhere – preferably the title! So that will sub sort it quite a bit! So,  HERE GOES!

TOP 10 FAVOURITE POSTS
AT MY ‘BOG BLOG‘

  1. “Think Different or . . . Apple Commercials Through the Years” would be a favourite at anytime, simply because of the sheer imagination of Apple Commercials. A long ago summer project was to learn how to create a DVD and what better source than … Apple commercials! And I think my favourite Apple commercial is for an iPad … “Your Verse Apple iPad Commercial – What Will Your Verse Be?” Watch it and try to disagree with me!
  2. “I’m Sorry Dave or . . . My Favourite Computer AI Voices in Movies and TV” easily makes my Top 10. A gimme if ever  there was one as we reference many phrases and moments almost DAILY at CHD! In other  words, Make it So,  Bogman!
  3. “1, 2, 3, . . . . or My Favourite Language Lesson of All Time!” and to this day, it is STILL my favourite language lesson of ALL TIME! My first ever TEACHING job was in Calgary,  teaching  basic computing  skills. Including BASIC as a programming language! Beginner’s All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code! Literally … BASIC!
  4. “Open Book Exams . . . . or . . . . My Favourite Textbooks“. How can anyone LIKE a textbook much less make it a Favourite? Well, I did! I have kept many of my favourite textbooks throughout the years! Why not! They helped me get through many a tough course and … that I enjoyed them was a side bonus!
  5. “CART2D2 – There is no try! Do or Do Not Young Skywalker!” THIS is a favourite because CART2D2 is a favourite! We are still playing around with this to find some great uses and the next big use will be at our first IN PERSON  CHD TRAINING SESSION on May 28th! YAY! There is no try … Do or Do Not!
  6. “Comparing Apples and Oranges but not actually ….. Oranges!” Recycling is HUGE at UVic and I try to recycle as much as I possibly can. And when CHD had quite literally a MOUNTAIN OF TECH show up last summer, CALL was used as a staging area for so much tech! And with so much PACKING AND CARDBOARD TOO! So any chance I get to promote recycling, I take it! And we are in the beginning  stages of a new refresh so … warm up your Blue Bins, UVic!
  7. “Throwback Thursday . . . or . . . Language Quotes! (and a bit of nostalgia!)” Who doesn’t enjoy a quick quote as a comeback or as a poster in their office! I probably only have a few stored in my long term PRAM that could be ZAPPED at any moment! So quotes about computers, life and especially Languages, is right up my alley in CALL!
  8. “Bold Italics Comic Sans . . . or Word Processors Through the Years” One of my first ever Computer  Science assignments, on punched cards no less, was to write a program to replace 3 words (that my Instructor had set in a paragraph (read from a mainframe!) with 3 other words. THAT WAS VERY HARD! But now, Gmail docs, Office, Pages … all have keyboard SHORTCUTS for Find and Replace! And none of them use punched cards as source code! Only shows that I correctly guessed that my future career … was NOT to be a Programmer!
  9. “I Excel at PowerPoint . . . or Computer Puns and Jokes” What would any Top 10 List be without including a post about my favourite jokes and puns! I never let an opportunity to ‘pun’ go unpunished! And I am usually RESTRAINING myself too!
  10. “CALL CHD JEOPARDY OPUS“. How could I create a Top 10 and NOT include Jeopardy! Okay, a bit of a cheat here as this is actually a PAGE that can be accessed anytime from any of my Posts. AND is always updated to the most recent version of JEOPARDY! In fact, the first IN PERSON CHD Training will be on Saturday, May 28th and I will have a brand new Jeopardy – Greg’s Playlist! And it will have new elements such as Fill-in-the-Blanks, Multiple Choice and even some Scavenger Hunts for prizes!

So many Posts/Pages … so little time! I am not writing at the same pace, but reserve my Posts/Pages for my remote day, unless something comes up.

It might take awhile, here’s to my next 230+ Posts and Pages and Randomness at UVic! YAY!

TTFN!

New CHD Staff Training
Coming UP
… and a new Jeopardy too!

ON VACATION! Back on AUGUST 30!!

I AM NOW ON VACATION!

What an exhausting and long year since last August – my last full vacation!

And exhausting … for ALL OF  US! I am so fortunate to have been able to  work with such amazing and incredible colleagues at The Computer Help Desk over the past … 500+ DAYS! Yes, it has been that long since we started working remotely, late in March of 2020!

Without ALL of their support, humour, leadership, imagination, guidance  and every single possible ‘intangible‘ that each and every single one of them, ALL BRING to our Teams meetings, emails, texts, GIFs, Emojis, Jeopardy, Quote Contests, it would have been impossible to accomplish a fraction of what WE ALL DID AS A TEAM!

THANK YOU ALL!

A few key UVic and BC websites for returning to campus in September for everyone!

  1. Return-to-Campus Guidelines now available
  2. Return to campus info for students
  3. Communicable Disease Plan now available
  4. UVic News
  5. Update on getting your COVID-19 vaccine
  6. Remote work arrangements announced for the fall
  7. Working remotely
  8. Post-secondary studies during COVID-19
  9. NEW COMPUTERS IN CALL! YAY!
  10. NEW FURNITURE IN CALL! YAY!

Not to worry . . .

August 30th to prep for
. . . Septem . . . PURR !!!!

 

Pandemic


I will bring Empire Donuts when I return to UVic!

~~Bogman~~

 

Throwback Thursday … A Stroll Down RAM-ory Lane

Throwback Thursday
A Stroll Down
RAM-ory Lane

How about some computer cartoons and other media today! Maybe some old ones that make us chuckle from where we have come from! And a busy day today too! LOL!

To start, my favourite scene from Captain Marvel! Many of us from The Computer Help Desk went together to see this movie together (Thanks again Marcela!) and this scene was THE funniest for me!

Remember, it takes place in the 1980’s and Captain Marvel is from an incredibly technologically advanced planet! And even today … I often get to use the classic phrase … ‘It’s loading“! LOL!

The single greatest comic in the history of HISTORY is Calvin & Hobbes. And that is an understatement! So many years ago and still relevant and still … Calvin & Hobbes! The official Calvin & Hobbes site is here.

And what would a Bog Blog Post be without some Homer Simpson memes!

     

   

And some Classic Bloom County from WAY BACK WHEN that many of you probably will never have heard of! My first car was a Black Subaru that I named … OPUS!

And Foxtrot always had a befuddled Dad playing around with their newest iFruit computer! The usual assortment of familh members, all with varying degrees of computer expertise from genius to … less than genius!

Enjoy!

  1. XKCD
  2. 38 of the best xkcd comics about the internet, computers and programming
  3. The Definitive Collection of XKCD Comics for Programmers
  4. Computer Comics – Pinterest
  5. IT Comics – Pinterest
  6. 7 tech comics that will put a big smile on your face
  7. Dilbert – yes, mentioned here but WORTHY OF A BOG BLOG POST DEDICATED JUST TO DILBERT!!!!

As long as there are words out there, there will be a site that Google finds!! 

    ENJOY!
            
   TTFN!

And then some random-ish comics that are currently located on … The World Wide Web! LOL!

“Then the hard drive says to the floppy, 110010001110011…”
“It’s a fantastic computer! It’s so old that none of today’s hackers know how to hack it!”

Computer Sale.

 

Terrific Tuesday and and BONUS Cartoons and Posters

Terrific Tuesday
and BONUS
Posters and Cartoons!

Back from a few days off! Lot to catch up on and rejoin Teams! Tuesdays will have a ‘Terrific’ Theme of just about anything … TERRIFIC!!

I have been planning a retro look at all the Apple/Mac operating systems since the first Mac, but might do that later on this week, or just … later! For now, some computer cartoons, language posters and other random chuckles!

But will include a bit of a preview with one YouTube video about the history of Mac Operating Systems!

As long as there are words out there, there will be interesting topics! 

    ENJOY!
            
   TTFN!

Evolution of Mac OS
(Mac OS 1.0 – Mac OS X 10.11)

 

Throwback Thursday and Even MORE Favourite Posters and Cartoons

Throwback Thursday
and Even MORE Favourite
Posters and Cartoons!

So many websites! So much information! So many ideas! If you aren’t a bit overwhelmed each time you GOOGLE, then you aren’t searching enough!

Some new cartoons, posters and stuff to quickly peruse today! Nothing earth shattering and sometimes you just go where Google takes you!

And just some random favourite sites that I use or like! A totally random post, and since there is no such thing as truly random …. I have NO idea why! 

Some future posts will be about ‘The Greatest Computer Ever Built‘, ‘Old Computer Textbooks‘, ‘CALL Hall of Fame Software‘, ‘A Brief History of Time and Space … and The CALL Facility‘, ‘Legacy Photos of The CALL Facility‘, ‘More Puns‘, ‘More English Words‘, ‘CALL Haiku of The Day‘, ‘Cartoon of the Day‘, ‘Poster of the Day‘, ‘TED Talks about Languages‘, ‘Training Links‘, ‘Best Language Quotes‘, ‘Language Podcasts‘, ‘Throwback Thursdays Encore‘, ‘Terrific Tuesdays Encore‘, ‘Weird Word Facts‘ and …. that is just what I thought of this morning!

Sometimes I make up a topic the morning of my post and just go with the flow! I have always like Einstein’s quote:

 

Imagination
is more important than knowledge.
Imagination
is the language of the soul.

 

 

And on a far more philosophical note, my favourite quote of ALL TIME is atributed to Robert Brault:

Enjoy the little things,
for one day you may look back
and realise
they were the big things.

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy!

  1. Einstein Quotes from Good Reads
  2. Itchy Feet – The Travel and Language Comic
  3. Doctor Who – BBC
  4. Comics Kingdom
  5. History of Computers
  6. The 100 Most Beautiful Words in English
  7. Dilbert
  8. XKCD
  9. Dictionary and Thesaurus (I use almost every single day!)
  10. Top 10 Monty Python’s Flying Circus Moments


As long as there are words out there, there will be a site that Google finds!! 

    ENJOY!
            
   TTFN!