We've got a nice looking day out here

clear skies on a windy day. So at least my commute into work should be without any complications, weather wise that is. Of course there's that old saying around here that goes something like: "If you don't like the weather here in Edmonton, wait ten minutes, it could change." Quit often in June (since its our rainy season) we get a lot of "Sun showers." That's when the Sun is out in one location but a cell rolls over and rains for a few minutes. I like a good late night Thunder storm, while Anne and I are sitting on the balcony with a couple of coolers watching the show. Good times.

The term "virtual reality" (vr) has been out for awhile now, but these vr devices or headsets have not been so readily available in the commercial market place. We've all seen the clunky head sets and for the most part they look pretension and monolithic. Its like they're saying this is where the future could possibly take us, like cell phones were in the early 1980's. Lately these vr headsets have been entering into the commercial market place. Last night on the news they had a story of a roller coaster with vr sets. The roller coaster acted like a prop to "simulate" zero gravity and the vr head sets put the viewer in a type of cockpit engaging the viewer in a combat roll of some kind. These headsets are not of the standard clunky type we've seen before. There's a twist. The viewing screen is actually a smart phone aimed at the eyes of the viewer attached to the vr set. For the most part vr is about playing games. Google wants to get involved in vr in a big way and has or will be releasing vr sets of their own as in this article last month. Its hard to say where this technology will go but vr as we know it today won't be anything like Star Trek's holodeck. Vr would be great for sporting events or learning how to drive a car or even as a tool for medicine. I can also see a "darker" side to vr in this fashion. When vr headsets become as easy to wear as sun glasses, then I'll get excited but it is interesting to see where this technology will go. Virtual reality (in this instance) is about to emerge out of the Victorian era. So is vr a fad or an application here to stay? Or is it the next big thing?      

Today I'm out of here at my usual 3pm time. I'm sure there will be some kind of a 4pm briefing about hours cut from Saturday etc. I'm wondering if it was just me or others have had hours cut on this project? I have a theory but I'll hold off on that for now. On the other project (focus group) staff have had their hours reduced as well. This might be addressed in a briefing this afternoon. I hate living like this but its only temporary. One of my main reasons why I can't wait for pension but I've got just over a year left to go before I get there. If something like this happens (if I'm still alive) while on pension I would just laugh it off. This job would be perfect as it would be for pocket money anyway. "Oh I have a few days off? Great I can sleep in watch hockey." But until then every hour is important. I'll be applying for full pension at the end of August, then wait out the year. However today, I hope I get a full shift in. Anyway, that's all for now.