Boxup is the source of all my mp3, I have been downloading mp3 from it for several years. Its service is excellent, with large songs collection, prompt updates and reasonable price. However, the good deal finally has come to an end. Boxup is closed forever after shutting down for almost a month. My remaining membership got transfered to a new service Coxoo. Instead of http based download, coxoo use p2p methods and I have to install a p2p cilent. Coxoo has been around for a few months, with links from the front page of boxup. I have been suspecting coxoo is the next evolution of boxup, and it seems my guess is right. It would be more efficient to provide p2p service with reliable seed than hosting all the mp3 in dedicated servers. When I installed coxoo last week, the program is so crappy that it is next to useless. Today I gave it a second try, download and install the lastest release. I found service of coxoo is comparable to boxup, maybe even more convinient. One of my major complain is the song library of coxoo is not as well organized as boxup, although they are fairly up-to-date with most of the new songs. I hope coxoo’s library interface will improve over time or simpily re-use boxup’s. I am wondering what are the links between boxup, coxoo and myttf. It is very obvious they have close ties, but how they are related is unknown to me. It seems problem of finding mp3 is solved temporarily, until I have to find a replacment for coxoo.

Year 2005 is over, welcome to year 2006. In the past, I havn’t made any new year resolution or new year wishes. Therefore, I don’t have any review for my last year’s resolution or wishes. This year, I would like to make a list of things I want to do in the next 265 days. This year, I will be turning 30 and officially become a middle-age man. I have to think about my career plan and the path I want to take in the future. There are a few options I am considering after having my master fully completed and get the P.Eng title. Switching jobs or moving back East is an option, going back to school to switch field is another option. I may considering staying in PMC for a few more years if I land on an interesting project with learning opportunities and prospect to get a promotion. I don’t want to feel like stucking in a dead end at work. If I am leaving PMC, I want to complete my toastmaster CTM certificate.

I have been keeping up well in writing articles and blogs, I will definitely continue this effort, I found it is very rewarding in term of consolidating my thoughts. I have spent too much time watching anime and movies, and end up writing too many reviews. I want to work on more serious articles on religion and social values. I want to read at least a book a month, and finished the books I have purchased but havn’t read. I’ll see whether I have time to pick up learning piano again, that would mean at least 30 minutes practice per day to make it meaningful.

I will keep my promise to Pat of going to church every week with her. In my opinion, I am already a very spiritual and faithful christian, although no one seems agree with me. I will also continue on the ball room dancing lessons, as I have already pre-paid the fee. Playing badminton every week gives me the excerise I need. I want to ski more often in Whistler and if Cypress’s condition is good, I would buy some day pass from Ian to take more ski lessons. I want to know whether I am good enough to take CSIA level 1 again.

I want to move closer to Pat, the perfect location would the rental apartments at Joyce station. I need to refresh my home to keep myself more energized. The only problem is I am not even start looking at places. I will start looking once I get the defense out of my way.

I want to get a new computer to replace my existing desktop machine, then flush it for linux to upgrade my web server. This time, I will document the steps I took to setup my server, probably with minor extra efforts and turning it into a tutorial. If I don’t writing things down, it will take me much longer to recall the memory, or basically I have to relearn the skill. My CRT monitors system is very out of date, I will upgrade to LCD displays. If the price of LCD price drop low enough, one 24″ with two 19″ is the best solution. I may consider buying my first laptop, but I will try to get one form work first. Leon had pointed out a very good point, I have to decide which kind I want. Since I am not using it as my desktop replacement, I will probably get a light and protable one. iPod video and flight sim controls would be nice to have items, but I don’t really see the need of them, so I will probably put them off until I can afford them money-wise and time-wise.

Looks like I want to accomplish too many things next year, probably some items in my list will overthrow to the year after. I only have to set the priority right and try to get as many things done as possible.

Lastly, Happy New Year to whom may read my blog. Thankyou for your patience in following my poorly throught out mubbling every day.

I just drove Andy and Leon to the airport and they are on their way back to Toronto. I realy enjoy spending the past few days with old friends. I found that if someone visit you and staying in your place, not only they are having a vacation, you are also having a vacation at the same time with them. My normal daily routine is changed, instead I have having being a tourist in my own city. It is surprising that there are many things I havn’t seen even I have been living here for 5 years. In this vacation, we went to Whislter two times, and mindlessly tour the city for the other two days. When old friends get together, it is natural to talk about the old days. Old memories tends to clash with each other, somehow my version of what had happened is quite different from others. Me and Leon spent lots of time arguing what really had happened back then, as well as almost every single issues ranging from which LCD monitor is better to renewable energy technology. Both of us enjoy arguing itself, regardless the topic involved nor the outcoming, since most of the time is inconclusive. Now, my life is getting back to normal until my next vacation.

Today I went to Whislter again with my friends from Toronto and Pat. I am not very tired today, since I stay with Pat all the time on the green runs. Pat has kept up with her snowboarding skill, she is doing pretty good on wide green runs, even blue runs. Her biggest problem is on narrow green runs which connect different parts of the mountain. She is scared to made turn on the narrow run, afraid she will fall off to the cliff. It is very tried and hard to control if not changing edge from time to time. I think Pat has the skills already, just she havn’t overcome her fear. The only way to work on this problem is by taking snowboarding lessons. I can’t convince her to try turning even I can demostrate it is safe to make turns on those narrow runs. There is some woman only snowboard clinic in Whislter in Febuary, maybe I should sign her up in one of those sessions. I need to take skiing lessons myself too, I have reached the plateau of just practising by myself. It is time for me to reconsider taking CSIA level 1 again, but I need some professional opinions from ski instructors on my chance of succeed first.

Today I showed my friends around the town by sky train, since I don’t want to drive between two days going to Whislter. One of them had visited Vancouver many years ago, he really missed the osyter in Lansdale Quay, so we went there for lunch. Fortunately the osyter shop is still around and he had a dozen of fresh osyters, almost clean all the osysters in the shop. Then we tried something I had never done before, took a bus going to Vancouver downtown thru the Lions gate bridge. Then, there is a standard vancouver download tour start with Mondo Gelato, then walk along the English Bay. The guy also missed the steam clock in gas town, so I have to take him there fore photos. I don’t really understand what’s so interesting about the steam clock, especially when it is broken at the moment. We had dinner at Guu, and I am surprise they never had izakaya in Toronto. After dinner, we ran out of things to do and end up going to Metrotown. Then we have to call it a day, since we all need a good rest preparing for the 2nd visit to Whistler tomorrow.