big ass superstar

Two sites I forgot to mention

2010-07-29T14:59:00.000-03:00

Somehow, I left two sites off the growing list of Big Ass web sites littering the infernets:

www.scottandamanda.ca : our Wedding Window site
www.lonelywearshop.com : a failed experiment at running an online store catering to clothing for people who've just given up

I'm not planning to renew either of these domains when they expire this fall. They'll go dark, so enjoy them while they last!

Yet another new web site in the Cygnals/Big Ass family

2010-07-28T16:41:00.001-03:00

I'm using blogger to launch yet another web site.

www.YourSlideShow.ca

That's where I'm showcasing my slideshow work and hustling for new clients. I still don't have a price structure up, because I don't feel like being the kind of guy who nickels and dimes people. Even so, I don't want to sell myself short, either.

So, under the umbrella of Big Ass web sites and loosely-linked affiliates:

cygnals.com : the venerable old Cygnals Multimedia site, dumping ground for old, old information like my previous life as pro wrestling star Doctor Love, and remnants of the old Cygnals magazine
bigasssuperstar.com : where you are now, obviously
cubisaband.com : a fan site dedicated to now-defunct Vancouver punky-pop band Cub
yourslideshow.ca : slideshows and video montages made in Halifax for weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, memorials and farewells
yousuckatkijiji.com and www.yousuckatebay.com : hilarious mocking of listings on free classifieds sites Kijiji and eBay Classifieds. I can't disclose what links I may have with these sites, if there's any at all
mylittlepatchoftheplanet.com : my buddy Sandra's blog. I don't run it, but I registered the name for her birthday. You should check it out. She's interesting.

Big Ass Pic in national magazine

2010-07-26T09:00:00.001-03:00

Well, here's a treat.

PrintAction, Canada's Graphic Communication Magazine, contacted me a while back about using one of my flickr photos in an upcoming issue. They used it, and sent along the magazine. For all I can remember, Amanda may have shot this one. Or it could've been me, just shooting around Citadel Hill as we waited for the Canada Day parade.

Here's the original from flickr:

And here's how it turned out in the magazine, turned into a backdrop for a calendar of events:

Very cool. Thanks, PrintAction magazine!

Andrew Krystal leaves Halifax, returns to The Great Satan, Toronto

2010-07-24T14:52:00.001-03:00

Andrew Krystal leaves Halifax for Fan590 from Scott Simpson on Vimeo.

(Click fullscreen for the full experience.)

One of the first people I got to know when I moved to Halifax almost five years ago is returning to the city that spawned him. Andrew Krystal, host of Maritime Morning on News95.7, News88.9 and News91.9 since the launch in 2005, is taking a job at Toronto sports station The Fan 590.

Andrew and I each had somewhat tumultuous adjustments to changing jobs and locations in the beginning -- his more public than mine. But in the end, we each ended up married, happier and more stable.

Andrew's wife Michelle asked me to put together a little slide show for his departure. It ended up not being shown at his farewell gathering last night at Brussels Restaurant in the Halifax Historic Properties, due to technical reasons. So, I promised Michelle that it'd find an audience on the interwebs.

Andrew: you're an interesting dude, and I'm glad I was a positive force in the dramatic journey you've made from the past to the present. I hope your future is more rewarding and less....interesting.

The wedding I don't remember

2010-07-19T16:11:00.000-03:00

Spotted this photo on wedinator.com today:

Even though I know that's not me in the middle, kissing the bride, I've had to study the photo carefully to convince myself that it's not me!

Why am I Mr. Sparkle?

Lazy, man, lazy

2010-07-16T18:36:00.000-03:00

Just went through my flickr looking for an acceptable picture of myself, and had to go back two years to the NYC trip. Wha?

Yeah, I've hardly been posting lately, either here or on flickr. I have had some new Youtube videos up.

But yes, friends, fans, haters and creepy bear-loving creepersons, I've been slack in my devotion to over-exposition of my life. I attribute that, in part, to learning more humility and discretion in the exposition of my life. But that's no excuse for being so utterly silent.

So, here's my promise to you: nothing. I'm not going to make promises I can't keep, so I won't promise to be a prolific poster of ...stuff. But I'll try, 'k? Soon?

Y'all come back now, y'hear?

Awfully quiet around here

2010-06-14T13:43:00.000-03:00

Hola, amigos. I know it's been a long time since I rapped at ya, but life's been kinda lifey.

Not to say I've been really really busy or anything, but I haven't been blogging here much.

Why not? Well, I wanted to tell you about some new additions to the household, but kinda wanted to wait a while for a bit of stability with 'em before breaking the news. More on that soon, perhaps.

Also, I've been busy with some other blog projects.

Fans of the 1990s Vancouver girl-pop-punk band cub will be delighted to discover cub is a band, which incorporates content from my old Cygnals Cub Homepage with a bunch more stuff collected from the net and beyond.

I've been trying to drum up a little bit of business for Halifax Custom Slideshows, hoping to make some side income from the skills I honed leading up to last fall's wedding. I've set up a demo page with ... well, demos of some of my work. Obviously my video skills far surpass my web-design skills.

For a laugh or two, I recommend checking out You Suck at Kijiji and its still-tiny sister site, You Suck at eBay.

This site was also down recently -- dad tipped me off on Friday that it was down. Looks like the hosts have fixed it, though I'm not sure how.

Anyway, I hope to have more interesting stuff for you soon!

More sign fun at work

2010-05-07T15:47:00.001-03:00

More sign fun at work, originally uploaded by BigAssSuperBlog.

So, the multilingual 'wet paint' sign got taken down.

Building staff put up a new english/spanish one again.

Someone -- not me, but someone clever -- put up "Danger: Rapidly eroding cliff edge."

I followed up with the Spanish cat puke sign and Stop! Hammer time!

More sign fun at work [Flickr]

2010-05-07T11:43:02-07:00

BigAssSuperBlog posted a photo:

Space Invaders Post-It pixel art: Processed

2010-05-07T14:32:00.001-03:00

Space Invaders Post-It pixel art: Processed, originally uploaded by BigAssSuperBlog.

A bit of processing on the photo to make it more spooky and ominous.

I bought some Post-It pads with the intention of doing some pixel art on the windows at work. Here's project #1: Space Invaders. I want this as a tattoo.

Space Invaders Post-It pixel art

2010-05-07T14:31:00.001-03:00

Space Invaders Post-It pixel art, originally uploaded by BigAssSuperBlog.

I bought some Post-It pads with the intention of doing some pixel art on the windows at work. Here's project #1: Space Invaders. I want this as a tattoo.

Space Invaders Post-It pixel art: Processed [Flickr]

2010-05-07T10:30:46-07:00

BigAssSuperBlog posted a photo:

I bought some Post-It pads with the intention of doing some pixel art on the windows at work. Here's project #1: Space Invaders. I want this as a tattoo.

Original photo by Cassie Williams.

Multiculturalism win: Wet Paint and then some

2010-05-07T14:21:00.001-03:00

Multiculturalism win: Wet Paint and then some, originally uploaded by BigAssSuperBlog.

This 'wet paint' sign was posted on a doorway in the hall, with english and spanish. Well, this is Canada, so I added the french translation.

Persons of assorted ethnicity work on this floor, so one by one, they added their own translations. It's a thing of beauty!

Multiculturalism win: Wet Paint and then some [Flickr]

2010-05-07T10:16:25-07:00

BigAssSuperBlog posted a photo:

Space Invaders Post-It pixel art [Flickr]

2010-05-07T10:16:24-07:00

BigAssSuperBlog posted a photo:

I bought some Post-It pads with the intention of doing some pixel art on the windows at work. Here's project #1: Space Invaders. I want this as a tattoo.

Original photo by Cassie Williams.

Wrestling in Louisdale NS [Flickr]

2010-05-05T11:16:57-07:00

BigAssSuperBlog posted a photo:

A road trip to Cape Breton to see our friend Greg take part in an angle. East Coast Pro Wrestling at the Richmond Arena in Louisdale, Nova Scotia. April 24 2010.

Just a few days ago...

2010-04-21T22:07:00.001-03:00

Just a few days ago...
Originally uploaded by BigAssSuperBlog

We had some gorgeous weather before spring even arrived. Some gorgeous weather after spring arrived. Then, a few days ago, on April 18 -- it snowed all day.

Property assessment is in, and up!

2010-02-01T15:38:00.000-04:00

I'm no expert on property taxes, but we received the latest municipal property assessment recently, and I suppose it's a mixed blessing. It's nice, in theory, that the value of our property is up: if we ever sell, that'll be good.

On the other hand, who likes to pay more tax?

So, I plugged the numbers from the latest assessment into the interweb and came up with the following graph. I don't find it especially informative, but it's nice to look at.

Of course, we could appeal the assessment, but that could backfire. I doubt the assessment assessors assessed our assessment based on a genuine inspection of our particular property. We've made some serious improvements to the property, including replacing the roof, replacing the heat recovery ventilator, landscaping, and extensive cosmetic improvements.

We suspect summoning the assessment re-assessment assessors to our home could reveal an even higher property value. That's the kind of news that'd be nice to hear from a real estate agent when it's time to sell, but not when it comes to setting how much municipal tax we'd pay.

Any experienced homeowners with thoughts on the take-home message from all this?

How To Report The News

2010-01-29T12:36:00.001-04:00

A strikingly accurate template for doing a BBC-style (slightly more sophisticated than North American-style) news story.

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

2010-01-28T14:56:00.001-04:00

Big ass doesn't mean big heart disease risk

2010-01-12T12:33:00.002-04:00

From the BBC:

Jenifer Lopez and Beyonce may not need to worry about heart disease.

Researchers at Oxford University found carrying extra weight on your hips, bum and thighs protects against heart problems.

That junk in the trunk contains an anti-inflammatory agent that stops arteries from clogging.

Previous studies have found carrying excess fat around the stomach raises the risk of diabetes and heart disease

Windows 7 invades Casa de Big Ass, and how to uninstall Windows 7

2010-01-02T12:42:00.002-04:00

In the week before Christmas, I spotted a good deal at Newegg: three Windows Home Premium upgrades for $199, free shipping. Sounded fabulous, so I grabbed it. Paid for it by selling two old Power Rangers toys, still in original boxes, on Kijiji for $200. Made some guy very happy.

So, let's see how it went!

Job #1: The Stallion. This is the home studio PC, which is an aging amalgamation of computers from years gone by. Asus motherboard, some kind of Athlon CPU, ATI AIW 9800 Pro graphics, and other bibs and bobs. I went the extreme route with the upgrade and formatted C: when I installed it.

Upgrade went smoothly! Windows found most of my drivers by itself. Win7 does not support the TV tuner part of the graphics card, so the AIW is just a 9800 Pro now. No biggie, 'cuz I only ever used the input part of it a few times. My webcam doesn't work -- no biggie either, 'cuz I don't use it.

The Stallion upgrade gets, well, I'll say an 'A'.

More after the break...

Job #2: Bigass-Mobile. This is my Asus 1000HE netbook. I heard good things about Windows 7 on the 1000HE, so I thought this'd be a snap. And it was! Popped the install disc in an external drive and loaded 'er up. Easy breezy. Downloaded extra drivers and whatnot from the ASUS web site, but didn't seem to need them right away, as Windows Update took care of most of it.

Only grr I have so far is user-grr. When I use the netbook at work, I 'steal' internet from an unsecured router somewhere in the building. The signal is weak and sporadic. Under XP, I'd just right-click the network icon and hit Repair, and it'd cycle through and come back with a good connection. Under 7, damned if I can find it. And when I'm at work on battery, the trackpad seems to respond laggily -- the cursor doesn't track my fingers as nimbly. Unsure if the two are connected.

Bigass-Mobile Asus 1000HE Windows 7 upgrade gets an A.

Job #3: Denny, the home theatre PC.

This one kicked me in the balls. Amanda wanted to spend this day of our holidays watching TV all day. I thought it'd be no big deal to run the Win7 upgrade on this IBM Thinkcentre P4. After all, the rest seemed so easy.

Well, the upgrade was technically easy, but the big pain came when the graphics card was not acting properly. I have a EVGA GeForce FX 5200 AGP -- under Windows 7, it's supported, but not entirely. The XP drivers I had included an extra section for hooking up to a television, and I got a great picture. Under 7, no such interface, and the display flickered like hell and the text was largely unreadable. That made diagnosing and tweaking the sumbitch an ordeal.

A multi-hour ordeal, as I tried to coordinate driver experiments, checks with video playback, figuring out how to get an old Soundblaster Live!24 card to work with digital output, make the Firefly remote control show up, etc.

After more than a week of hassle, and with our first HDTV on the way, last night I rolled back to XP. Details on that at the end of the post.

Windows 7 on Denny: I give it a D, for a lousy experience overall.

All in all, Windows 7 is pretty. I've yet to take a full tour of all the new features, but I'm liking most of it so far. Most of my computers are either older or new and low-power, but Windows 7 is playing along nicely.

Now ... about going back to XP. I don't know if I've used up my third Win7 upgrade license by upgrading and rolling back, but I hope not. There's still a chance I may use it on a future computer.

I did some searching online and found instructions for going back to XP after installing 7. The bad English should've tipped me off, but the instructions were slightly wrong. And I ended up shouting at the computer at one point when I rebooted, and Windows XP came up, but there were no users accounts. I fought back to a command prompt in safe mode and used 80s-era geek DOS commands to dig myself out of the freshly-dug hole. Now I have the old XP back, programs and all. Yay!

So for anyone happening upon this post with a wish to downgrade from Windows 7 to XP after an upgrade, here's how.

First, when you installed Windows 7, you better have used the method that backs up your old installation to a "Windows.old" directory. The way I did it on the Stallion wouldn't have worked -- if you format during the install, you're Fd in the A. You need that Windows.old directory.

The rest, courtesy of Microsoft, inventors of the Microsoft Sausage Wizard:

Put the Windows 7 installation disc in the DVD drive, and then restart the computer.
Press a key when you are prompted to restart from the disc.
In the Install Windows window, select a language, a time, a currency, a keyboard input method or other input method, and then click Next.
In the Install Windows window, click Repair your computer.
In the System Recovery Options window, click the version of the Windows 7 operating system that you want to repair, and then click Next.
In the System Recovery Options window, click Command Prompt.

The Command Prompt window opens, and it displays the command prompt. The command prompt is where you will type the commands that are described in the following steps.

Step 3: Move the Windows 7 folders to a new Win7 folder

Note When you type one or more of the commands at the command prompt in the following steps and press ENTER, you may receive the following message:

The system cannot find the file specified.

If you receive this message, go to the next step in this section, and then type the command in that next step.

Type the following commands and press ENTER after each command:

C:

Md Win7

Move Windows Win7\Windows

Move "Program Files" "Win7\Program Files"

Move Users Win7\Users

Attrib –h –s –r ProgramData

Move ProgramData Win7\ProgramData

Rd "Documents and Settings"

Step 4: Copy the contents or move the contents of the Windows.old folder

Note When you type one or more of the commands at the command prompt in the following steps and press ENTER, you may receive the following message:

The system cannot find the file specified.

If you receive this message, go to the next step in this section, and then type the command in the next step.

Type the following commands and press ENTER after each command:

move /y c:\Windows.old\Windows c:\

move /y "c:\Windows.old\Program Files" c:\

move /y c:\Windows.old\ProgramData c:\

move /y c:\Windows.old\Users c:\

move /y "c:\Windows.old\Documents and Settings" c:\

Step 5: Restore the boot sector for the previous Windows installation

Type one of the following commands at the command prompt, as appropriate for your situation.

Note In the following commands, D: represents the DVD drive. If the DVD drive on the computer is represented by a different letter, such as E:, use that letter in the command.

When the previous Windows installation was Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, or Microsoft Windows 2000

Type the following command, and then press ENTER:

D:\boot\bootsect /nt52 c:
When the previous Windows installation was Windows Vista

Type the following command, and then press ENTER:

D:\boot\bootsect /nt60 c:

Step 6: Restore the Boot.ini file for the previous Windows installation of Windows XP or of Windows 2000

Note Follow these steps only when the previous installation is Windows XP or Windows 2000.

Type the following commands and press ENTER after each command:

Attrib –h –s –r boot.ini.saved

Copy boot.ini.saved boot.ini

Step 7: Close the Command Prompt window, and then click Restart

Type the following command at the command prompt, and then press ENTER:

exit
Click Restart to restart your computer.

Greetings to Budgets Are Sexy readers!

2009-12-31T11:51:00.000-04:00

Many thanks to J. Money at Budgets Are Sexy for the shout-out!

I interviewed Mr. Money recently for a Christmastime feature about preparing for the boxing day shopping deals. I've been reading and enjoying Budgets Are Sexy for a good long time, and appreciate his style of financial advice.

Amanda & I took some of his advice and incorporated our own, and researched the hell out of some Boxing Day specials. We settled on two choices at Future Shop, and I got in the electronic checkout line along with thousands of other shoppers at 9pm Atlantic time, just as the online sale got under way.

After some web site f-ups, we came away with the Sony LCD TV we were hoping for. It'll be delivered Saturday, and if all goes well, there'll be no buyer's remorse -- aside from the credit card bill. This was a virtually giftless Christmas, so this is our only significant expenditure from the holidays.

Happy New Year's Eve to all! See you in 2010 if I don't post again before then!

Christmastime, let's go to New York City!

2009-12-19T21:15:00.000-04:00

Family and friends have negotiated a giftless Christmas with us. That doesn't mean everyone's incommunicado, though. We've sent packages out to Ontario today, with delivery definitely expected before Christmas.

The 'big' gift this year is the wedding DVD! Lots of video including some stuff that's never been seen. It's also the on-disc premiere of the latest cut of my video for my as-yet-still-howcome-it's-unfinished cover of Cub's "New York City".

But if you just can't wait, here it is. I apologize for the singing. I still don't have the music done to my satisfaction, but the video is 99% satisfactory, aside from two or three frames in the middle where something went bloop and two clips didn't butt up properly. You probably won't see it.

Enjoy! And, as always, go to YouTube and rate the video, comment and subscribe. I get nothing out of it, but it makes me feel like someone's watching.

Man Drinking Fat. NYC Health Anti-Soda Ad. Are You Pouring on the Pounds?

2009-12-15T12:29:00.002-04:00

My latest attempt at weight charting shows I've only gained a few pounds in the past year, and the math suggests I only have a caloric surplus of something like 65 calories per day. This ad illustrates, disgustingly, that just a little more every day can add up to many pounds over a year. Add that up over the years and it's not hard to see how we get fatter without trying.

Big Butt head tattoo -- or haircut?

2009-12-13T13:51:00.000-04:00

Spotted at People Of Wal-Mart:

Gotta love the tags, too: tagged as barber, big butt, bro, brother, butt, buttocks, funny jokes, gift card, haircut, hoe, hoes, holidays, hooker, lose weight, shaved head, shoppers, shopping, turkey dinner, wal-mart.

Ratings share up, company shares down

2009-12-11T15:37:00.005-04:00

Thanks to the Industry Minister's decision to override the federal telecom regulator's decision to keep a foreign-owned cell-phone company out of the market, my company's stock has fallen today. So far it's down nearly 7%.

Ouch. This backs up my rationale in a recent post about getting out of company stock and getting into some more diversified investments.

And I had the share withdrawal forms all filled out and ready to go, since the stock was climbing all week. Booo.

Oh well. Them's the breaks.

In other news, ratings were up huge for my show. If I'm going to second-guess the ratings system when the numbers are less than stellar, I want to be consistent in my skepticism. Even though the latest survey suggests year-to-year growth that should blow my mind and make me super-happy, I'm going to temper my enthusiasm and just say I'm glad people are listening.

Getting to the bottom of butt obsession

2009-12-07T12:38:00.001-04:00

Globe and Mail columnist Leah McLaren was recently complimented on her healthy butt, and seems utterly surprised that such a thing could happen. In fact, she's astonished that the stranger didn't notice her breasts. Really, she figures, don't boobs trump ass in terms of attractiveness? What is up with men and booty?

In an article today, she notes that bottoms are the new tops:

While women certainly worry about their breasts, the dilemma is simple – you either have cleavage or you don't. And if you want some, you know where the buy it. Bums, on the other hand, are rather more complicated. There is no “Perfect C” cup size to aspire to, and one woman's ideal butt is another's banana split disaster. There is something difficult to quantify about the female rear, which is why I've always studiously ignored my own.

But the park incident got me thinking – could “real” buns like my own be making a comeback? I asked a single male friend if he liked an ample behind (such as Beyoncé's, for instance) and he looked at me like I was nuts. “Men like small bums,” he said, “and anyone who tells you differently is lying.” This friend did not go so far as confessing to admire grown women with “12-year-old boy butts” as I have heard other ostensibly heterosexual men do, but I still found his answer somewhat alarming.

Men like small bums? Anyone who says differently is lying? I think Ms. McLaren needs new friends.

Big Ass Video: Baby Got Back

2009-12-07T10:21:00.000-04:00

Anyone who's been to karaoke with me has probably heard me do this song. I've been performing it for more than a decade. I even performed it at the wedding, but didn't get it on tape. I thought it deserved to be on the DVD, so I got Producer Bill to follow me through the halls with a camcorder, and did the rest in post.

We did two takes. I think it turned out well.

Double-click on the video window to go right to YouTube and check out the HQ version - looks and sounds twice as good for some reason! Please rate, comment, subscribe, all that.

They Might Be TMBG: New York City

2009-12-05T13:23:00.002-04:00

I'm home alone this weekend, working on video and music. I hope to re-do my New York City song and video ... looks like I won't be the only one on YouTube doing so!