Quickly, the service representative diagnosed that the car had a firmware issue and ordered a reprogramming.

The problem is that the PC that was reprogramming the firmware crashed in the middle of the operation and now the car is FUBAR. I was even unable to open the truck by pushing the corresponding button. We are now waiting for a technician to show up with a laptop and fix the car.

This shows how dependent we are on computers and software in so many unconscious ways. Here, we have a computer crashing in the shop, that in turn renders another computer, the on-board CPU, inoperable.

This is nothing original. I am sure that it is a common occurrence and the news stories on different Toyota models illustrates how software bugs can be life threatening in some instances.

Where will we be in ten years from now? What can we expect from our cars, or other common devices that have existed for decades before the birth of computers?

I am certainly a Luddite but I sometimes wonder about this love-hate relationship I have with computers. I cannot live without them and they like to remind me.

This also reminds me that I need to pay more attention to QA on my day job. :-)

Original photo by oskay.

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I also, and very importantly, realized that some individuals, even though I am rarely in contact with them, were taking care of me in ways I was not expecting. I am so grateful.

I am looking forward to 2010, to see what this new year has in store for all of us. I also hope that 2009 was great for you, and I wish you the best in the new year.

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For the Torte:
- 1/3 cup, plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup Almond Paste
- 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 eggs
- 1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

For Topping:
- 2 tablespoons apricot preserves
- 1 teaspoon water

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Generously grease a 10-inch cake or tart pan with butter and sprinkle on 1 Tablespoon of the sugar. Set aside.

Over medium-high heat, bring water, sugar, and lemon juice to boil in large saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add pears. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes or until the pears are very tender, stirring occasionally. Cool pears in syrup. (This can be prepared up to 2 days in advance. Cover and refrigerate.)

Mix the almond paste and 1/3 cup of the sugar. Add the butter and mix until completely incorporated.
Beat in the eggs. Add the flour, baking powder and salt, mixing until just combined.
Pour the batter into the pan, spreading evenly with a spatula.

Stem pears and cut each in half lengthwise; scoop out cores. Cut each half into thin slices. Arrange the pears, in a circular pattern covering the entire surface of the batter, slightly overlapping. Place smaller slices in the center.

Bake until the batter puffs up, the edges are golden brown and a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 30 - 35 minutes.

In a small saucepan combine the apricot preserves and water and heat until it becomes translucent and loose. Brush the apricot glaze over the entire top of the pear tart.

Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Adapted from Mixed Salad Annie recipe.

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1. Heritage Park
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Yesterday was exceptionnaly gorgeous and our star was kind enough to radiate its warmth all over the house. The cats are craving such attention and they were following the rays like well programmed phototropic robots.

By sunset, we went for a walk into Nose Hill park, which is one of the largest municipal parks in North America. To my surprise, you can find solitude there. The snow capped mountains block the western horizon  and downtown lays at its feet to the south.

In Calgary, Fall marks the beginning of the new season for many clubs and associations. It seems that we leave the outdoors to focus again on social activities and other human beings. For example, CAMUG and APLN local chapter seasons have begun. I was privileged to present my department work during CAMUG October session and I was pleased to share the result of our work with like-minded individuals. If you live in Calgary and are into software engineering and project management, I strongly encourage you to have a look at those two organizations.

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Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cup of flour (250g)
• 1/2 cup of butter for the crust (125g)
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 egg yolk
• some water
• 2/3 cup of butter for the caramel (150g)
• 3/4 cup of granulated sugar (170g)
• 8 to 10 apples (Gala apples are the best)

Instructions

1. Prepare the pie crust by mixing flour, butter, salt, yolk, and water. Mix with your hands until you get a nice ball. I don't recommend using a food processor. The pie crust taste better when made by hand. The processed dough is more chewy.
2. In a deep round cake pan, place the butter and sugar.
3. Place the pan on the stove.
4. With a wooden spatula, mix butter and sugar. Do not leave the stove unattended.
5. Make a brown caramel. Make sure that it does not get black as it would give a bitter taste to the pie.
6. Peel, core and cut apples into quarters.
7. Arrange the apple quarters on the cooled caramel.
8. If there are some remaining apples, cut into smaller pieces and arrange on top.
9. Cover the apples with the dough (1/8 inch or 4 mm thick), with a diameter slightly greater than the pan.
10. Fold the dough edges inside the pan.
11. Bake in hot oven (375F or 190C) until the crust is golden brown. The crust is almost done when you can see the caramel rising around it
12. After cooking, cover the pan with a larger dish and unmould the tarte tatin while it is still hot.

Bon appétit!

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I was really impressed by this country unknown to me even though it is only one hour away by car from where I grew up. I had to live in Canada before getting an opportunity to visit Madrid. Life is strange...

We drank a lot of Sangria and I had to find a recipe as soon as we landed back in Calgary.

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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - HOW TO ACHIEVE PERMANENT DELETION - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Go to this page:
http://www.facebook.com/help/contact.php?show_form=delete_account

Click "Submit" and follow the instructions.

Your account will be deactivated for two weeks, and if you don't log in during that period, your account is permanently deleted.

This method is official and should be complete, i.e. no need to delete individual photos, comments, messages or items from your profile or anywhere else on Facebook!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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This country is fabulous. The people, the food, the historical sites...

I am so grateful to have been given this opportunity.

I was given the chance to visit great places on the week end and I took a few photos for you to enjoy.

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Right now, I am writing from my hotel room in Beijing. I arrived here on Sunday after a 20 hours journey. This is my first trip to Asia.

I am here to visit my colleagues and for now, I have only commuted from the hotel room to the office (a whooping five minutes walk).

At this point, I don't know how much I am going to blog about this experience but I thought that I would celebrate my arrival by listing my first impressions.

I am due for a post anyway.

1. Nothing beats face to face time with colleagues on the other side of the world. You can get so much accomplished and you plan so much more effectively. Phones are really a poor substitute for real human contact.
2. The food is excellent and Chinese food has nothing to do with the stuff (I'd rather not use the word crap) that you usually find in North America or Europe. The lamb is exquisite and so is the duck. The beer is great. Of course, you also have dishes that North Americans consider more exotic such as pork lungs, pork stomach or donkey. This is not that unusual in Europe.
3. I am glad that I have started to practice using chop sticks eight months ago. It saved a lot of frustration.
4. It takes about one hour to negotiate for a new room with an Internet connection that actually work. As one of my colleague puts it, since the hotel is named E-House and is located in a Software Park north of downtown Beijing, you would expect a decent Internet connection.
5. Like anywhere else in the world, Windows Vista is frown upon.
6. The jet lag is not so bad once you realize that flying from Calgary to Beijing is similar to flying from Paris to Los Angeles.
7. It is fun to be ahead of Europe (time wise) for a change. Family, and friends don't usually expect a phone call from me in the morning (Europe time).
8. I need to polish my Mandarin. For some reasons, I have trouble communicating.
9. Thanks the FSM for Internet.
10. Having lived in Europe and North American means that I am not as surprised as my North American colleagues with the cultural differences.
11. You are not going to escape snow by flying around the world. At least here, the temperature is above freezing

I will be doing the touristy things on week-ends — I am here for three weeks — and I will post some photos.

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It's 6:30, I am half awake. The night was short. I am standing by a red truck with bright flashing lights.

I am adjusting my helmet strap, my air mask, my gloves. I take the nozzle and rush to the house on fire.

The front door is open but I can not see inside, there is black smoke from two feet above the floor up to the ceiling.

My team of three is waiting for the water to flow towards the nozzle. I can no longer see my hands which are in front of me, my flashlight is useless. It's pitch black inside while the sun is shining outside. I am scared.

I am told that the house has been evacuated, nobody is left inside, we can perform a fast attack. I hear cracking sounds from my right. Fire is blazing and is eating the structure.

Finally, 20 seconds after kneeling at the door, I flow the water. 200 gallons (760 liters) per minutes above us, in front of us, in the dark. We know that fire is everywhere around us but we can not see it.

Two minutes later, the smoke level is down, we can see a red glow in front of us, slightly on the left. Probably the origin of the fire.

My buddies are pulling the hose with me. We are at the bedroom door. Fire inside. Good, we can see now. Fire to the left, fire above, fire to the right. I am shooting water in those directions. The beast is dying.

We enter the bedroom, my buddies are pulling the ceiling and the walls down and I am putting the wet stuff on the red stuff.

I am hot, the air from my bottle is dry. If I was unprotected, one breath of the air from that room would kill me. My knees are burning. What is left of a ceiling fan motor is red hot.

Another team enters the room, the fire is in control. 7-1 this location. No more pumpers are needed.

My mask is vibrating, sure sign that I am running low on air. Time to get out and let a replacement team continue the job for us. I need a drink of water. We were in hell for approximately fifteen minutes.

The couple who was living in this apartment lost everything but the night clothes they are wearing and the car in the drive way. I am inviting them to climb in the fire engine cab to stay warm and out of the way. I am so sad.

This was a duplex, we saved the apartment next door. We did our job.

I am a non-paid volunteer firefighter, I write software for a living, this was my Saturday morning.

Have a nice day and stay safe.

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Today, was simply extraordinary and I am so grateful for this experience. At one point, the only sound we could hear was wood pickers working hard for their pittance.

We stopped for lunch and our friend remarked that we had not seen another human beiing for at least 30 minutes. The view was simply mind blowing and the pictures only give you a glimpse of what we experienced.

Cross country skiing can really be trouble though. My biggest problem is that I have trouble controlling my speed downhill and that I have a tendency to use my downhill skiing skills which are not applicable in those circumstances. Some of the falls were spectacular and it is not fun when you hear your skull resonate on impact. But on other occasions, I stayed face flat in the snow for a good minute, laughing so hard that I believe I must have woke up a couple of bears. This is the best stress therapy known to men.

I can't wait to go back.

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It is our new virtual child and I am proud to let you know that it came into the world late yesterday evening.  The daddy and the mommy are doing fine even though the one hundred hours labor took a toll on us.

Anyway, you can see this child at douxnid.com and I encourage you to give us some feedback in one form or another.

Please let us know if you like it or dislike it and, in any case, how do you think we can improve it. The child will grow and you can influence what it will become.

For those of you not so familiar with the language of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, “Doux Nid” means “Cozy Nest”.

Now let me go back to enjoy that Cuban cigare.

Cheers!

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Old and abandoned elevators are part of the landscape around Calgary and a group of volunteers, in the town of Nanton are working hard to save the elevators that sit by Highway 2 and goes through Alberta to Montana. Their goal is to create and develop a discovery center to preserve and promote the history and culture of farming, grain elevators and the associated rail roads.

I spent a full day with the board of that organization. As a humble member, I was invited to participate in a strategic planning session facilitated by a great pedagogue who enlighten me on what goes on in the board room of corporations.

I learned a lot, not only about strategic planning, but also about wildlife, rail roads, farming, snow, horses, Canadian constitution, the Crown, and many other topics too numerous to recall. This was a full fledged experience. that gave me more than an insight on the kindness, hospitality, generosity, of the people of Nanton. And of course, I ate too much...

If you are in the area, go check the town. The hotel downtown has live music most nights, the food is great and the people are fun. The antique shops are full of treasures while the landscape towards the foothills is magical...

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If you go there, I encourage you to stop by the bakery and taste a couple of sausage rolls. They were delicious and quite unique.

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• If you have a fresh layer of snow, and you are still at work, be prepared to walk because the bus service will be impacted. Forty minutes walk by -10C (14F) is not that bad even with snow.
• When driving downhill and braking using ABS, don't expect to stop without sliding for twenty yards or so.
• Plan for a meter clearance around your vehicle when manoeuvering at slow speed because your car is bound to slide even when you do a simple three points turn in a street. This make parallel parking more interesting and obstacle avoidance more fun.
• Don't forget to plug in your car so that the oil does not coalesce.
• If you have some single pane windows because you live in an older house, expect ice on the inside of the window.
• You may not be able to open your back door fully because of the snow.
• Be prepared to shovel snow for one hour to comply with city bylaws.
• Expect a lot of static electricity when petting your cat.
• Don't touch snow without gloves
• Enjoy the Subaru Outback, because it makes driving in cold weather and snow so much fun and safe.
• Calgarians start to consider -20C weather somewhat cold but explain to you that it will get colder.

Overall, I found those new experiences very enjoyable and the biggest drawback is the time you have to spend dressing up and down when you leave or enter the house. Once outside, you don't want to realize that you forgot something inside.

Right now, Houston and Calgary have the same temperature outside if you ignore the pesty minus sign.

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