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Site MapAgain, this is something that I've been wanting to do for some time and I believe that a site map is necessary to help those people out that have a hard time figuring out what is what on our site. I'd like to think that our menu system is easy and will work, but some people just require a site map to figure it out. So ... here you go ... a site map. :)
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about usThis is where visitors can find out about Randsco and the Kimler family. Who are we? How did we come to be? What motivates us on our adventures. It's kinda like the old "meet scott and rachel" section on our PCT WebPage, but this "about us" section will be a stand-alone page.
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Kimler Adventure Pages: Journal Entries
MyHomeHardware - We saved money by cross-border shopping in the United States for 96 hinges and 48 cabinet pulls, when we recently gave our kitchen a face lift. Total cost: a little over $100 CAD. Savings by not buying from Home Depot Canada? $500!! Outrageous.
Cabinet Hardware:
A U.S./Canada Cross-border Shopping Tale
We've been in our "new" (24-year-old), Vancouver Island home for a year and a bit. The galley style kitchen is a traffic jam, drives us nuts and needs a complete renovation. Unfortunately, we have neither the funds - nor the time - to embark on such an expensive and extensive project, at the moment. So, instead, we've satisfied ourselves by painting the (dark forest green) cabinet doors, using a lighter earth-tone melamine paint ("Cozy Cottage") and replacing the old cabinet hardware with something more modern and brighter.
Having a major kitchen renovation under my belt (I completely gutted and re-built the kitchen in my 1940's California bungalow-style craftsman home), I had some idea of the costs associated with cabinets and cabinet hardware. After we counted the number of pull/hinge sets we'd need - forty eight - we took a trip down to the local Home Depot hardware store to purchase some simple, brushed chrome wire pulls and matching hinges. That's when the project stalled, because after a rough tally, we were looking at about a $400 bill and Scott said, "No way! That's outrageous!"
This is the tale of how we bought our pulls and hinges from an eBay company in the United States, for a fraction of the cost that Home Depot wanted for similar items. Chock up another success for cross-border shopping. It's thumbs down for Home Depot Canada for not being competitive and a big thumbs up for MyHomeHardware for their accurate product description, prompt shipping, reasonable shipping costs, product prices and customer service!
Randsco News
It takes time to create blog entries and not everything that happens, merits an entry. So, we've created this 'news' section, to keep readers up-to-date with our misadventures and accomplishments. Read about it here FIRST, before it makes it into a blog entry.
NewsBrief: [Garter Snake Eats Tree Frog] A nature show played out - literally - at my feet, while sanding a coat a wooden checker-board table, the latest "Oop Project".
Garter Snake Devours Tree Frog
Hutton House Patio - As a small kid, I used to watch "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom", which was a staple of the airwaves from 1963 till sometime in the early 1970's. Marlin Perkins was the host and I remember that it used to come on at 7 to 7:30 PM on Sundays, right before "Walt Disney". (Disney was the show we used to watch, but more times than not, we caught "Wild Kingdom", either in part or whole).
Nostalgia welled up today, as I was out in the bright sunshine - the nicest spring day we've had thus far on Vancouver Island - sanding an IKEA table for the Oop. (I've made a checker-board top on the table and will share the details in an upcoming article).
The project requires a fair number of coats of polyurethane and I was busy sanding the latest coat, trying to smooth the surface and preparing for another coat (the 5th so far).
As I was sanding, I happened to look up and noticed a garter snake on the concrete driveway pad. He acted as though he was looking for something and since he was only a matter of a few feet from me, I stopped what I was doing to watch him.
He headed toward the small herb garden and I thought he'd be glad to get off the exposed, hard concrete and expected him to disappear into the bush. He didn't. He came back onto the concrete and went behind me.
Turning around, I saw him lift his entire head off the concrete by a good few inches. "He's looking for something," I thought.
Sure enough ... a small tree frog, also on the concrete pad, began hopping away, heading for the herb garden. The snake lit out after the frog very quickly, but not before the frog hopped into a bush. The snake stopped, after reaching the same bush and remained very still. It was fascinating to watch the snake hunt.
Neither the snake nor the frog moved for the better part of a minute. Then, the frog hopped out from its hiding place and bounded across the concrete, heading straight for me. The snake followed and about 12 inches from my shoe, the snake caught the frog!
The garter snake wasted no time about consuming the frog - whole of course - and in less than a minute, it was a lump in the snake's throat. The garter snake wiped his face on the concrete, using it like a napkin and then began twisting its body to "push" the frog further down it's gullet. Soon after devouring the frog, the snake began moving in my direction and actually crossed my foot!
I wasn't sure if the snake had plans to find a spot up my pant leg, so I tapped my foot, which startled the snake and it headed straight for the herb garden, having gone from predator to prey in a second flat. Once in the herb garden, the snake turned back and eyed me, as I went back to my sanding. Eventually, he disappeared into the forest duff, beyond the garden.
At the Hutton House, it's not just 'sanding a project', but rather 'a nature show', quite literally, at your feet!
Twin Kayaks! We're now the proud parent of two 9-foot, 6-inch kayaks that weigh in at 40-something pounds each. The amount of plastic in our lives continues to climb! ( On the plus side ... they'll be loads of fun for visitors at the Barkley Sound floating cabin .... "Topanga?" 
)
"Blue Yonder" Gives Birth to Twins!
Little did we know when we bought her, but "Blue Yonder
For those that don't know, "Blue Yonder" is our new-to-us 19-foot Bayliner Classic Cuddy boat that we acquired as means of getting to the floating cabin.
Click for more about the floating cabin & boat
" was pregnant! (No wonder we got her at such a good deal)!
Early this morning, when we went outside to fetch the morning eggs, we noticed that there were two brand new baby kayaks, sitting in the yard. Apparently, they had just been born and were resting, after their birth, the night before.
We didn't know that boats could even get pregnant, but we're pleased with the new arrivals and will care for them as if they were our own.
Mum appears to be doing just fine, but she's tuckered out from her labor and is resting under a waterproof tarp. The twins appear healthy and fine. They each measure 9-foot, 6-inches and weigh in at respectable 42 pounds (can you say "ouch"?)! They're healthy baby kayaks, for sure. There is some question about their lineage, however. (Mum has classic yachting lines and a white fiberglass hull, with blue canvas on top. The twins are both beige and made of plastic.) Hmmm ... it leaves us wondering who the father might be?!
Mum is mum on the matter. (Mum is mum? Of course, who else would she be? The English language, eh? 
) We're concerned that she's been slumming it on the wrong side of the yacht club, had a late night rendezvous with a certain tugboat, or maybe a wild fling with a schooner? *GASP* Perhaps liaison with a *hold-your-breath* working skiff?! Who knows,eh?
Regardless of their heritage, we're now the proud surrogate parents of two brown baby kayaks! (Some people "invest" in trampolines for their back garden, we get a pair of his'n-hers matching kayaks!) Go figure.
For more about the new new twins, read on.
Getting Off the Sunset Train
April 30th, 2008 · stkToday, because of the Intuit "Sunset Policy", Quicken Deluxe 2005 will lose certain functionality. It's a blatant money grab by Intuit, confident I've grown used to the functionality and will purchase a new version ($89). Sorry guys, I'm getting off the Sunset Train. Read how I'll regain the lost functionality (and actually improve upon it)
Shame on Intuit's Sunset Policy, which disables certain software features after three years, effectively forcing customers to purchase an "updated" version (containing few substantive improvements).
I've been using Quicken since 1990 (18 years). I'd say that makes me a long-time customer. I used to upgrade every year and drool over the new features like a kid looking through a confectioner's window. As the product matured, I noticed that the new, must-have features became fewer and farther between. The software also became more expensive and so, I stopped purchasing yearly upgrades.
Apparently, I wasn't alone. When Intuit noticed this shift in consumer behavior they countered it with a planned obsolescence of their products, in the form of a Sunset Policy. By disabling certain features every three years, they could generate revenue by forcing users, dependent on those features, to upgrade.
This first happened to me in 2005, with my Quicken 2002 version. At the time, I didn't object too loudly, because I found a way to upgrade for free! Fast forward to 2008 and now it's Quicken 2005 that that is being crippled - today. Intuit says, "Buy Quicken 2008 Premier or lose certain online features."
Well, this time Intuit, I'm getting off the Sunset train. I've found a simple work-a-round for downloading multiple, daily stock and mutual fund quotes, which is the only feature I use that's going to be disabled today. And thanks to my mate, I now have mQuote, which is actually superior to the historical quote retrieval "service" that I'm losing inside Quicken!
For more about why the Intuit sunset policy sucks and my stock quoting work-a-round, read on.
NewsBrief: [Upgrade Halted] It was reported yesterday that Randsco would be upgrading to b2evolution v2.4.2 (code name "Palms"). Reporters learned today that the upgrades have been suddenly halted. Find out why. · [Reporter Let Go] An experienced reporter, covering Randsco news, was sacked yesterday, for unrelated reasons.
Future of Randsco Undecided
Randsco Headquarters - Only a day after calling a press conference, Randsco executives were inviting reporters back for another press conference.
"As quickly as the upgrade to b2evolution v2.4.2 - code name "Palms" - began, it ended," reported the editor-in-chief, "We've given all the employees the rest of the day to unwind, as they are very disappointed from this turn of events."
When questioned further, Randsco executives indicated dismay at the discovery that, with all the custom coding done over the years at Randsco, there is no straight forward way to port the current skin into a v2.x world.
"We reported on our dismay when we upgraded last time, a little over a year ago," said Scott Kimler, Randsco founder and chief-editor, "We were hoping that b2evolution developers would hear our cry - 'Updating b2evolution skins should be a far less painful task!'"
"Sadly, it appears they have not," said Scott, "In fact, moving customized skins from v1.x to v2.x has become a nearly impossible task."
He went on to explain that the after the existing database was copied and upgraded, and the new software downloaded, unzipped and installed, it was painfully obvious that b2evolution skins had been substantially modified.
"We quickly realized that there was no straight-forward way of porting the old skin, with all of it's proprietary tools, code and features, into the new version," Scott said.
"Sadly, we're faced with two choices," Scott explained, "either a complete re-work of our old skin, shoe-horning it into the new system - which may make upgrading more difficult in the future - or start over from scratch."
"We just can't justify the time or man-power for either task," said Scott, "All of our departments are working excess hours as it is and even if we did take the time to upgrade, the bottom line - the benefit to Randsco visitors - would be negligible."
Randsco is currently involved in the complete design or re-design of five websites. This is in addition to staff volunteering at the local Fire Department, day-care for Alexandra, ongoing maintenance operations on the 5-acre Randsco campus, refitting of the new corporate yacht "Blue Yonder" and trying to keep up with publishing at the Randsco Rag.
"We're saddened by this turn of events," concluded Scott, "and we have begun exploring other options. For now, we'll just continue on with what we have, but the future of Randsco is presently looking very uncertain."
When asked whether the other options involved switching to another content management system, Scott declined comment. He only said, "At this point, we are considering many options and trying not to close the door to any viable alternatives."
It was a somber mood, as reporters exited the campus with many of the Randsco employees. Though questioned, the employees had all been asked not to go into further detail.
This is Graham Smith, with breaking news, from the Randsco campus. Stay tuned for updates.
Dirk Smedley Sacked
Nanaimo - Long-time friends, family and Randsco staff were shocked to learn that Dirk Smedley has been fired as the senior reporter, one of several covering breaking Randsco news.
Details are unclear, but it is believed that Dirk may have been leading a double life.
Dirk was not available for comment, holding his jacket over his head and carrying a box across the parking lot of his former employer. Dirk got into his Mustang convertible and sped off, as reporters pressed him about his abrupt dismissal.
Company representatives only said, "It has come to our attention that Dirk may have been involved in dubious film-related activities. We are a conservative organization. We have ties to the church, the community and espouse family values. In keeping with our practices and standards, we have no choice but to let Dirk Smedley go."
An anonymous source had hinted that Dirk played starring roles in a variety of pornographic movies. Further investigations reveal that Dirk starred in "Birk does San Francisco", "Barrister Birk - Master Debater", and "Birk's not heavy, he's my lover".
Dirk Smedley's wife, in a phone interview, had this to say. "I knew it. That dirty rat! You can bet I'm getting a divorce!"
News of Dirk's dismissal, came on the heels of the Randsco upgrade fiasco, but is completely unrelated.