My grandparents, who have been here on an extended visit since January, flew back to South Africa yesterday evening. The nice guy that at I am — humble too apparently — I took the films from their cameras to be processed before they left.

This wasn’t something that warranted a pro lab, so I just dropped by the nearest place I could fine. It turned out to be a Black’s photo centre about 10 min from our house. It turns out that they don’t open until 10am on weekdays. Even then it wasn’t until a few minutes after ten than someone unlocked the entrance door — in which time I got to share grunts about the late opening time with another would-be customer.

Once inside I learnt that they would only be able to process one of the two films, the other would need to be sent away and that would be a week. The assistant didn’t seem to understand when I said that just wouldn’t do and in which case I would only be having the first film processed, as she continued to prepare the second film to be shipped out, so I had to explain the situation to her again.

When I returned two hours later to pick up the prints, there were two other customers being served. I waited. And waited. And waited. And waited! Both computer sales terminals were on the fritz, so the other customers could not complete their transactions. I just wanted to pick up a single set of prints, and was ready to pay cash, but that didn’t seem to be on their list of options as both assistants stared blankly at their computers and wondering out loud just what the problem could be.

In the 20 minutes that it took to get things sorted out, I counted the blessings of being a digital user. The flexibility of being able to get things done anytime, anywhere stood out foremost. That is, until I actually paid the $11.35 for the 24 4x6 glossies. At that price, anyone remotely competent at post-processing their own digital images would surely be mad to consider film-photography.

How could the first-round NHL playoffs between the Calgary Flames and the Vancouver Canucks really have been any closer than the triple overtime of game 6? Try a heart-stopping Vancouver equalizer with 5.7 seconds left on the clock in the 3rd period of Game 7!!

It was a hard-fought, closely-matched series. The Canucks, third seed, pit size and experience against the playoff-starved and injury-ridden Calgary team. In the end, it took a Game 7 OT powerplay goal to decide it. Dogged hunger prevailed. The sixth-seeded Flames advance to the second round for the first time in 15 years — when they won the Stanley Cup against Montreal. They now face the first-seeded Detroit Redwings. Go Flames!

If you are seeking to expand your musical horizons, I point you toward Steven Garrity’s ongoing acts of volition radio and Pinder’s ‘mixes’. I have discovered several new and talented artists thanks to these two. Garrity’s personal commentaries add context to the music he presents, the interesting details and anecdotes complement it nicely. Now who besides Pinder is going to offer you a great mix that you can throw onto a CD for the car, and have your friends wowing over ‘your’ newfound taste in music?! Thanks guys.