Well, I just sent Toys R Us an angry e-mail. Why?
Remember how I picked up the DSi last week for $179? Shopper's Drug Mart has DSi's on now for $159. So I figured I'd just go back to TrU and get my $20 back. Well, that was a lost cause.
They called the local Shopper's and they had DSi's in stock but not in White, so he wouldn't give me my money back. I was livid to say the least. If I was more of a person inclined to make a scene, I would have, but I restrained myself. It's not like I shop at TrU very often, but I definately won't now.
I would have been fine with them turning me down because none of the local stores had DSi units in stock but to turn me down because they didn't have the exact colour? Bugger that!
We'll see if anything comes of my grumpy e-mail.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
My Gift To You
We survived the trip to the Children's Museum in Kitchener today and took in the Our Body exhibit (which was like a slightly cheaper, less impressive version of Bodyworlds) and Kara got over her fear of elevators... at least for today.
We had a delicious steak dinner for supper but that was marred somewhat by Kara's bedtime meltdown. Sigh. She's had a very packed week and I think we've overloaded her brain. Hopefully a couple of quiet days will help get her back into a regular bedtime routine.
Anyway, here's a really cool tilt-shift video of New York City. I just love the way that tilt-shift video really bends your perception.
We had a delicious steak dinner for supper but that was marred somewhat by Kara's bedtime meltdown. Sigh. She's had a very packed week and I think we've overloaded her brain. Hopefully a couple of quiet days will help get her back into a regular bedtime routine.
Anyway, here's a really cool tilt-shift video of New York City. I just love the way that tilt-shift video really bends your perception.
The Sandpit from Sam O'Hare on Vimeo.
Thanks Mom & Dad!
I'd just like to say a big, "Thank You!" to my parents for giving the world the opportunity to meet me 34 years ago today.
Now to go play some Infinite Space and see if they'll give me a nice shiny spaceship for my birthday :)
Now to go play some Infinite Space and see if they'll give me a nice shiny spaceship for my birthday :)
It's NO Day!
Kara was in a fine mood today. The first half of the day was great. We all went out to Terra Cotta for the maple syrup fest and I even had a chickadee come and eat seeds out of my hand. St. Francis, eat your heart out :)
But man, this afternoon it was like a switch flipped. Kara had a major freak-out when Julie put her blankets in the laundry and that lasted a good 20 minutes or so. She eventually settled down but was pretty cranky for the rest of the day. This evening didn't go much better as she was just yelling "NO" to EVERYTHING for what felt like an hour but was probably 15 minutes or so.
We're just pooped. I think I got a bit of a sunburn from the morning tromp in the woods and from spending a couple of hours outside with Garrett as he played with our sitter's kid on the scooter she gave him yesterday. He'll sleep well if nothing else. Hopefully Kara gets whatever bug crawled up her butt out of her system so that we can have fun at the Children's Museum in Kitchener tomorrow.
I mean, it's not like she can be much grouchier!
But man, this afternoon it was like a switch flipped. Kara had a major freak-out when Julie put her blankets in the laundry and that lasted a good 20 minutes or so. She eventually settled down but was pretty cranky for the rest of the day. This evening didn't go much better as she was just yelling "NO" to EVERYTHING for what felt like an hour but was probably 15 minutes or so.
We're just pooped. I think I got a bit of a sunburn from the morning tromp in the woods and from spending a couple of hours outside with Garrett as he played with our sitter's kid on the scooter she gave him yesterday. He'll sleep well if nothing else. Hopefully Kara gets whatever bug crawled up her butt out of her system so that we can have fun at the Children's Museum in Kitchener tomorrow.
I mean, it's not like she can be much grouchier!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
So last week we got a call from Bell offering to upgrade us to the new Fibre Optic network that they've rolled out. We decided to bite because it will cost us about $3 more than what we're paying for our DSL connection with a huge boost to the speed we can pull in off of the net.
Today's the day they're flipping the switch so hopefully we'll notice a huge surge in speed later today. If I never update again, well, you'll know why :)
Today's the day they're flipping the switch so hopefully we'll notice a huge surge in speed later today. If I never update again, well, you'll know why :)
Listen To The Leprechaun!
Happy St. Patrick's Day! We're celebrating by getting a babysitter and going out for wings and (for me) a pint o' Guinness :)
Why Am *I* The Tired One?
We didn't do anything incredibly groundbreaking yesterday. The kids went to the Alliance church in Georgetown for a Music Maker activity morning and had a lot of fun making music videos, crafts and other goofy things. After that was done, we toodled over to EB to pick up God Of War 3 (woo) and then it was off to Dash Sports for Garrett for a couple hours.
Once that was finished, we hit the park and the kids ran around for a good hour or so, then came home and ran around with one of the local kids for another hour.
Yet Kara STILL stayed up until almost 9pm and I'm the one who feels like I was chasing everyone around. Sigh.
I had to chuckle in the afternoon though. I sent Kara out into the backyard to get fresh air and sunshine while I fired up God Of War. She kept coming in, complaining about bugs (there were a lot of flies). So I handed her the flyswatter and sent her back out. She had a lot more fun slaying the wee beasties once she was armed :)
We're not 100% sure what we're going to do today. I'm probably taking the kids out to the glow-in-the-dark mini-putt in Guelph in a little while. They're busy building Lego structures for the contest at the library as we speak.
Once that was finished, we hit the park and the kids ran around for a good hour or so, then came home and ran around with one of the local kids for another hour.
Yet Kara STILL stayed up until almost 9pm and I'm the one who feels like I was chasing everyone around. Sigh.
I had to chuckle in the afternoon though. I sent Kara out into the backyard to get fresh air and sunshine while I fired up God Of War. She kept coming in, complaining about bugs (there were a lot of flies). So I handed her the flyswatter and sent her back out. She had a lot more fun slaying the wee beasties once she was armed :)
We're not 100% sure what we're going to do today. I'm probably taking the kids out to the glow-in-the-dark mini-putt in Guelph in a little while. They're busy building Lego structures for the contest at the library as we speak.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Holding Mass For The Fallen Games
And Mass Effect 2 is finished. I think I did a very bad thing at the end of the game with one of the choices I made, but I think it was one of those decisions which will come back to haunt me in Mass Effect 3 regardless of which way I went with it. It's a definate damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't scenario.
I lost two squadmates during the final mission which made me a little disappointed. I'd really thought I had a plan which would have resulted in everyone surviving... oh well. The sad thing is that I was more concerned with the fate a few of the NPCs on my ship than about the squaddies that took one for the team.
Talk about good timing though. I've got God Of War 3 arriving tomorrow and Final Fantasy 13 still puttering away in the background. The nice thing is that GoW3 is the last game I'll be getting for some time. Heck, I went and bought a DSi yesterday so there went any inkling of extraneous gaming for some time.
I lost two squadmates during the final mission which made me a little disappointed. I'd really thought I had a plan which would have resulted in everyone surviving... oh well. The sad thing is that I was more concerned with the fate a few of the NPCs on my ship than about the squaddies that took one for the team.
Talk about good timing though. I've got God Of War 3 arriving tomorrow and Final Fantasy 13 still puttering away in the background. The nice thing is that GoW3 is the last game I'll be getting for some time. Heck, I went and bought a DSi yesterday so there went any inkling of extraneous gaming for some time.
A Fitting Birthday Present!
In case you haven't picked up my birthday present yet, feel free to order me an XL of this shirt!
I think it fits, literally and figuratively.
I think it fits, literally and figuratively.
Monday, March 15, 2010
A Busy Do-Nothing Day
This morning I woke up on the first day of March Break and had no clue what we were going to do. By 5pm, we'd done a lot more than I expected.
We started the day by going to the Guelph Children's Museum (which I was unware of even existing until this morning!) and had an hour or two of fun there.
Afterwards, we went to St. Jacobs and had lunch at the Stone Crock before heading over to the outlet mall.
We went to the Lego store/fun-land at the end of the day and saw some really cool things, like, say, LEGO BATMAN!
If you click on that, you can see some of the giant Lego mechs and such too. It was daunting... esp. when you go into the store and see how much they're charging for Lego!
We started the day by going to the Guelph Children's Museum (which I was unware of even existing until this morning!) and had an hour or two of fun there.
Afterwards, we went to St. Jacobs and had lunch at the Stone Crock before heading over to the outlet mall.
We went to the Lego store/fun-land at the end of the day and saw some really cool things, like, say, LEGO BATMAN!
If you click on that, you can see some of the giant Lego mechs and such too. It was daunting... esp. when you go into the store and see how much they're charging for Lego!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
More Like Tweedledum and Tweedledumber
I took Garrett to see Alice In Wonderland today and we both loved it. I was worried it would be too dry for him but my fears were allayed as soon as Alice fell down the rabbit hole. And I LOVE the design of the card soldiers. Great flick.
Alas, I ruined my good mood by swinging by my usual EB to see if I could gripe to the manager about the fiasco that was my Yakuza 3 pick-up the other day. She was there but on the phone and she vanished into the back room. When I gave up waiting and queried to the clerk about the possibility of there having been a pre-order bonus for Yakuza 3, I had to endure the same blank stares and incessant repetition of the name of the bloody game that I endured the other day, only this time I wasn't even going to be getting anything in return. I had to bite my tongue when the clerk told me that the girls working the counter on Wednesday night were pretty knowledgable because my experience was that both girls would have been hard pressed to be aware of the act of breathing, let alone esoteric Japanese brawler/RPG pre-order bonuses.
It's a shame, because that store has usually been the bastion of sanity that I use to counter most gripes about EB that I read on the interwebs. Alas, most of the old staff and managers have been sent to the 4 winds (some of them still work at some of the other local stores, but they're shuffled around like a deck of cards) and the new crew they have a) doesn't know me from a hole in the ground (my doing because I took a few months off of patronizing their store) and b) seems to consist entirely of teen girls who are more interested in caking on make-up than knowing ANYTHING about their products. I feel sad because I probably know more about the way their policies and procedures work than they do and I have never worked for EB for a day in my life! Sigh.
After GoW3 hits, I have nothing else on order at that store and I think I'll just patronize the other non-GS/EB store where I know the owner and don't want to strangle the staff. That, and Amazon. I'm only going to bother with EB if there's a good pre-order goodie that is worth the hassle... or if they rotate out the dead weight and get some people in there with a brain in their noggin. Sadly, the manager is good people, but her staff, aside from one person, is dumber than a sack of rocks.
Alas, I ruined my good mood by swinging by my usual EB to see if I could gripe to the manager about the fiasco that was my Yakuza 3 pick-up the other day. She was there but on the phone and she vanished into the back room. When I gave up waiting and queried to the clerk about the possibility of there having been a pre-order bonus for Yakuza 3, I had to endure the same blank stares and incessant repetition of the name of the bloody game that I endured the other day, only this time I wasn't even going to be getting anything in return. I had to bite my tongue when the clerk told me that the girls working the counter on Wednesday night were pretty knowledgable because my experience was that both girls would have been hard pressed to be aware of the act of breathing, let alone esoteric Japanese brawler/RPG pre-order bonuses.
It's a shame, because that store has usually been the bastion of sanity that I use to counter most gripes about EB that I read on the interwebs. Alas, most of the old staff and managers have been sent to the 4 winds (some of them still work at some of the other local stores, but they're shuffled around like a deck of cards) and the new crew they have a) doesn't know me from a hole in the ground (my doing because I took a few months off of patronizing their store) and b) seems to consist entirely of teen girls who are more interested in caking on make-up than knowing ANYTHING about their products. I feel sad because I probably know more about the way their policies and procedures work than they do and I have never worked for EB for a day in my life! Sigh.
After GoW3 hits, I have nothing else on order at that store and I think I'll just patronize the other non-GS/EB store where I know the owner and don't want to strangle the staff. That, and Amazon. I'm only going to bother with EB if there's a good pre-order goodie that is worth the hassle... or if they rotate out the dead weight and get some people in there with a brain in their noggin. Sadly, the manager is good people, but her staff, aside from one person, is dumber than a sack of rocks.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Is This You?
I had a couple of calls tonight, both on my cell and land-line, from a 416-645... number. I figured that they must have been trying to find me because they called both the house and my cell, but the number is unlisted and in Toronto. Strange...
I wonder if it's YOU!
I wonder if it's YOU!
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Finally...
Achievement Unlocked: Find a store willing to sell me a copy of FFXIII the day before it hits store shelves.
Now I have to wait until tomorrow to get it. Grr... But I can't wait! I've been chomping at the bit to get this game for months!
Bask in the Japanesey goodness!
Now I have to wait until tomorrow to get it. Grr... But I can't wait! I've been chomping at the bit to get this game for months!
Bask in the Japanesey goodness!
Saturday, March 06, 2010
That's Now How You Make A Drive-Through!
After finishing up a coffee run during the day today, we saw on of Halton Hills' finest taking pictures in the parking lot of the convenience store next door. We couldn't figure out what was going on until we pulled out around the cruiser and saw that a car had driven into the front of the convenience store.
I guess Rallis' Burger really wanted a drive-through :)
It didn't look like anyone was hurt, thankfully. But man, what a mess.
I guess Rallis' Burger really wanted a drive-through :)
It didn't look like anyone was hurt, thankfully. But man, what a mess.
Friday, March 05, 2010
The Best Fairy Ever
If Kara ever got her wish and became a fairy (instead of her other wish, which would to become a princess), I have a sneaky suspicion she'd be this kind of fairy.
Monday, March 01, 2010
Sharing Time With The Kids
The kids and I are up here in Thornbury with my parents, giving Julie a well deserved break. We're staying at the timeshare until tomorrow. Today was a very busy day indeed. We went snowshoeing over near Blue Mountain and the kids loved it. It was a little dicey when we went over the suspension bridge and it started to sway but the kids were troopers and didn't chicken out.
We had wings at Blue Mountain afterwards and went swimming this afternoon. Unfortunately, Garrett seems to have managed to get some water in his ear and has succumbed to the travails of the day and swimmer's ear and has been snoozing since 6ish. Hopefully a good night's sleep (and a dose of Tylenol) will make everything better by the morning.
Check my Twitter feed for some pictures from our day (including the museum pieces in the arcade here at the timeshare). I'll put more pictures and some videos tomorrow when we get home.
We had wings at Blue Mountain afterwards and went swimming this afternoon. Unfortunately, Garrett seems to have managed to get some water in his ear and has succumbed to the travails of the day and swimmer's ear and has been snoozing since 6ish. Hopefully a good night's sleep (and a dose of Tylenol) will make everything better by the morning.
Check my Twitter feed for some pictures from our day (including the museum pieces in the arcade here at the timeshare). I'll put more pictures and some videos tomorrow when we get home.
Friday, February 26, 2010
What A Wonderful World
I love the fact that we live on a planet that hosts as cute a lifeform as this guy.
Check out the link for a very cool page all about the Mariana Trench. Or is it the Marianas Trench? At least I know it's not called the Marinara Trench, which is what I called it for about, oh, 26 years :)
Check out the link for a very cool page all about the Mariana Trench. Or is it the Marianas Trench? At least I know it's not called the Marinara Trench, which is what I called it for about, oh, 26 years :)
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Dance-A-Thon!
Garrett's school is putting on a dance-a-thon in March and he needs sponsors! If you'd like to help his school raise a bit of money (and remember, they're still in recovery mode after that vandalism incident a few weeks back and could use all the help they can), feel free to click here and pledge away.
He's dancing on March 4th at Robert Little, he's in Senior Kindergarten and his name is Garrett Wager. Feel free to pledge whatever you'd like. We're trying to get at least $25 for the kid and the school is hoping to hit $6000 from the entire event.
Thanks!
He's dancing on March 4th at Robert Little, he's in Senior Kindergarten and his name is Garrett Wager. Feel free to pledge whatever you'd like. We're trying to get at least $25 for the kid and the school is hoping to hit $6000 from the entire event.
Thanks!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Mind, Prepare To Be Blown
I present to you: Rock Sugar aka Journitallica aka Mettourney. This thing shouldn't work, but it does!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Yeah, About Those Updates
Go figure. I make a post about keeping my blog updated regularly and then I don't post anything for 8 days. Work has been insane and what little time I have had hasn't been spent on blogging. Tweety type things, sure, but not full thoughts.
I will fix that! I'm also looking forward to some time off soon and March will see me with a lot of free time (I hope!) At the very least, I'm going to take the kids to the time share and I'm also going to have March Break off... I wonder where we'll end up this year!
I will fix that! I'm also looking forward to some time off soon and March will see me with a lot of free time (I hope!) At the very least, I'm going to take the kids to the time share and I'm also going to have March Break off... I wonder where we'll end up this year!
Curling! It's Popular!
Misery Loves Sherman is doing a story arc all about curling. I got a chuckle from the recruiting poster :)
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Comments? Questions? Updates?
So Haloscan is going the way of the dodo bird shortly and I'm likely going to just switch over to the bog-standard Google/Blogger comment system. I just have to figure out how to do that :)
I'd like to stay with whatever Haloscan is turning into but I refuse to pay for something as basic as comments on my blog. Thanks to everyone who has followed along over the years and I do truly value your input.
Speaking of the blog, I'm also hoping to get back in the habit of updating this bloody page a little more regularly. Work has been insanely busy over the past, what, 8 months or so and when I come home I would rather just play a game than write about my day. I've also been doing a lot more writing for other sites when I do get a chance to write, so that has kind of lowered the number of posts here on Not L33T. Well, things seem to be finally settling down enough at work that I'll be a little less womped when I get home. Plus my family is finally becoming interesting again :)
If nothing else, keep an eye on my twitter feed. Now that I have twitter on my phone, I can at least post a quick update wherever I am.
I'd like to stay with whatever Haloscan is turning into but I refuse to pay for something as basic as comments on my blog. Thanks to everyone who has followed along over the years and I do truly value your input.
Speaking of the blog, I'm also hoping to get back in the habit of updating this bloody page a little more regularly. Work has been insanely busy over the past, what, 8 months or so and when I come home I would rather just play a game than write about my day. I've also been doing a lot more writing for other sites when I do get a chance to write, so that has kind of lowered the number of posts here on Not L33T. Well, things seem to be finally settling down enough at work that I'll be a little less womped when I get home. Plus my family is finally becoming interesting again :)
If nothing else, keep an eye on my twitter feed. Now that I have twitter on my phone, I can at least post a quick update wherever I am.
More Stuff On The NEt
I found a few things whilst poking about on the internet this morning while waiting for Garrett to finish writing out his last 2 Valentine's cards. First a little something for the ladies.
And then there's Rainy Mood, which will be the perfect counterpoint for all the guys who get bottles of Old Spice from their ladies :)
Speaking of precipitation, boy, that Snowmageddon '010 sure didn't materialize, at least not out our way. I think we got all of a centimeter of snow. Zzzz...
And then there's Rainy Mood, which will be the perfect counterpoint for all the guys who get bottles of Old Spice from their ladies :)
Speaking of precipitation, boy, that Snowmageddon '010 sure didn't materialize, at least not out our way. I think we got all of a centimeter of snow. Zzzz...
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Miracle On Ice
Garrett went to his friend's birthday party which just so happened to be a skating party at the local arena. We were able to borrow some skates from a friend of his but we had to buy a helmet, which isn't cheap, esp. if we only use it once!
That said, he had a blast and was definately improving his skills over the course of the afternoon. Just take a look at the videos!
That said, he had a blast and was definately improving his skills over the course of the afternoon. Just take a look at the videos!
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| From 2010-02-06 February 2010 |
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| From 2010-02-06 February 2010 |
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Dawn Of A Glorious New Era
At the ripe old age of 33, I have finally signed up for my very first cellular phone. And to mark this momentous occasion, I didn't get just any phone. No no no... that would be too easy.
I gots me one of THESE!
It's so beautiful...
I gots me one of THESE!
It's so beautiful...
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
It's Like A Snow Day - With Grafitti
Well this sucks. Garrett's school was broken into last night and according to the school website and news blurb, 11 out of 19 classrooms AND the library were vandalized. Grr.
Garrett gets the day off school, which he's happy about, but now I've got to rejig our plans for the day and try to figure out what to do. Hopefully they get the mess cleaned up and the investigation completed before Thursday.
Who breaks into an elementary school anyway? Stupid kids...
[UPDATE] Looks like they caught the punks who did the dirty deed. They should be forced to clean up the mess and THEN go to jail for a while.
Garrett gets the day off school, which he's happy about, but now I've got to rejig our plans for the day and try to figure out what to do. Hopefully they get the mess cleaned up and the investigation completed before Thursday.
Who breaks into an elementary school anyway? Stupid kids...
[UPDATE] Looks like they caught the punks who did the dirty deed. They should be forced to clean up the mess and THEN go to jail for a while.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Get Her A Bucket!
Go over to Cryingwife.com and at the very least watch the Star Wars video. It totally brightened my day.
I'd hate to see that lady at the end of a movie that is actually sad!
I'd hate to see that lady at the end of a movie that is actually sad!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
First You Get The Sugar...
I've been able to stick to my one major New Year's Resolution (it's so important it's capitalized) and have not bought a Tim Horton's coffee, donut or anything else at 'the chapel' since Dec. 31st of 2009.
I've been tempted, to be sure, but so far I've resisted the many urges to go there and have enjoyed making my own coffee, though my attempt to clear out the remaining stock of instant coffee yesterday wasn't a good idea. I mean, I have a full jar of the stuff. What was I thinking?
Anyway, last night at work one of the guys was heading out to Tim's for the nightly coffee run and he mentioned that he owed me a coffee from before the new year. Since I technically wasn't buying it, I said it was fine if he picked up a cup o' joe for me. The thrust of the resolution wasn't to cut back on my caffeine intake as much as it was to help limit the stupid amount of money I was spending there.
I have to say, after being without the wonder drug for 3 weeks, I'm not sure I'm going to be in such a rush to go back. The first sip was wonderful, to be sure, but either their two scoops of sugar are much bigger than they used to be or I've gotten used to the lesser amount that I use at home in my own coffee. The stuff tasted like syrup last night and I could barely choke it down after the initial euphoria subsided.
So I'm back to drinking my own coffee again and I think I'll be happier this way. It was nice to kind of give in (without really giving in) last night because it made me appreciate my new take on the roasted bean brew.
Now let's see if my rice cracker and tuna lunch diet sticks. Someone at work did ask if I've been 'getting trim', if I recall their words correctly. Maybe I have...
I've been tempted, to be sure, but so far I've resisted the many urges to go there and have enjoyed making my own coffee, though my attempt to clear out the remaining stock of instant coffee yesterday wasn't a good idea. I mean, I have a full jar of the stuff. What was I thinking?
Anyway, last night at work one of the guys was heading out to Tim's for the nightly coffee run and he mentioned that he owed me a coffee from before the new year. Since I technically wasn't buying it, I said it was fine if he picked up a cup o' joe for me. The thrust of the resolution wasn't to cut back on my caffeine intake as much as it was to help limit the stupid amount of money I was spending there.
I have to say, after being without the wonder drug for 3 weeks, I'm not sure I'm going to be in such a rush to go back. The first sip was wonderful, to be sure, but either their two scoops of sugar are much bigger than they used to be or I've gotten used to the lesser amount that I use at home in my own coffee. The stuff tasted like syrup last night and I could barely choke it down after the initial euphoria subsided.
So I'm back to drinking my own coffee again and I think I'll be happier this way. It was nice to kind of give in (without really giving in) last night because it made me appreciate my new take on the roasted bean brew.
Now let's see if my rice cracker and tuna lunch diet sticks. Someone at work did ask if I've been 'getting trim', if I recall their words correctly. Maybe I have...
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Hot Fries Are Hot
So some girl had a seizure at the local KFC and did a face plant in her bowl of poutine. Now her dad is speaking out about the company to try to get them to say, "Sorry our hot fries, cheese and gravy are hot."
I'm not entirely sure what he wants from them. He went on record saying that he didn't want 10 million dollars (insert Dr. Evil picture here) and even felt sort of responsible for allowing his daughter to go there alone. Plus it sounds like everyone responded fast to help her. It's like he's sad they didn't set up a memorial to her burnt chin when he went back there in the afternoon. Heaven forbid a business goes back to normal a few hours after a relatively minor injury happens that they had nothing to do with.
Would he sue the makers of a bike if she had a seizure and fell off and hurt herself? Bah. Idiots and whiners. Feh. Let's just all eat a bunch of room temperature food with spoons so we don't hurt ourselves.
I'm just grumpy because I worked the overnight last night and haven't eaten all day and all this talk of poutine is making me hungry. Plus I'm not in the mood for whiners who want to legislate or sue common sense and the smidgen of personal responsibility that we have left to us out of existence.
I'm not entirely sure what he wants from them. He went on record saying that he didn't want 10 million dollars (insert Dr. Evil picture here) and even felt sort of responsible for allowing his daughter to go there alone. Plus it sounds like everyone responded fast to help her. It's like he's sad they didn't set up a memorial to her burnt chin when he went back there in the afternoon. Heaven forbid a business goes back to normal a few hours after a relatively minor injury happens that they had nothing to do with.
Would he sue the makers of a bike if she had a seizure and fell off and hurt herself? Bah. Idiots and whiners. Feh. Let's just all eat a bunch of room temperature food with spoons so we don't hurt ourselves.
I'm just grumpy because I worked the overnight last night and haven't eaten all day and all this talk of poutine is making me hungry. Plus I'm not in the mood for whiners who want to legislate or sue common sense and the smidgen of personal responsibility that we have left to us out of existence.
Monday, January 18, 2010
What A Relaxing Birthday
It's a good thing Julie's birthday only happens once a year. Forget about relaxing... it was fix/clean the house day today! At least we made it to Tucker's Marketplace for lunch.
Garrett and Kara both spent the afternoons cleaning their rooms (woo!) and Kara's room was emptied of all of the cartons of old clothes and actually looks like a real room instead of a warehouse. Garrett did a pretty good job of cleaning, though I now realize what a pain in the arse I was when my mom would send me to my room to clean. He spent more time playing with the long forgotten toys he'd unearth than actually cleaning.
Dear Ikea, please include screws for your wall-mounted items. Thanks!
I spent most of today either running back and forth to Home Hardware for screws for the leaf we bought for Kara to hang over her bed. The screws I found at first seemed to fit until I mounted it on the wall, at which point the thing slipped off. Then I bought the wrong type of screw (machined screws do not work well with drywall plugs) and then I had all sorts of problems with the drywall plugs afterwards. Right now, two of the four plugs are holding fast, one is completely loose in the wall and another is hanging on halfway. Of course, both of the loose plugs are at the top of the holder and the leaf is canted at a really odd angle. Ah well. Kara's happy and it doesn't look like it'll land on her head right away, so I'll fix it later this week.
And then we rearranged our kitchen this evening. It was nice to finally clear up a lot of the crap that has accumulated over the last several years and the new occasional table/counter thingy has probably increased our usable counter space by a good 150%! I look forward to being able to use it as a sideboard or prep counter.
Next year I'm going to do something simple, like installing a computer in the wall of the kitchen or the like.
Garrett and Kara both spent the afternoons cleaning their rooms (woo!) and Kara's room was emptied of all of the cartons of old clothes and actually looks like a real room instead of a warehouse. Garrett did a pretty good job of cleaning, though I now realize what a pain in the arse I was when my mom would send me to my room to clean. He spent more time playing with the long forgotten toys he'd unearth than actually cleaning.
Dear Ikea, please include screws for your wall-mounted items. Thanks!
I spent most of today either running back and forth to Home Hardware for screws for the leaf we bought for Kara to hang over her bed. The screws I found at first seemed to fit until I mounted it on the wall, at which point the thing slipped off. Then I bought the wrong type of screw (machined screws do not work well with drywall plugs) and then I had all sorts of problems with the drywall plugs afterwards. Right now, two of the four plugs are holding fast, one is completely loose in the wall and another is hanging on halfway. Of course, both of the loose plugs are at the top of the holder and the leaf is canted at a really odd angle. Ah well. Kara's happy and it doesn't look like it'll land on her head right away, so I'll fix it later this week.
And then we rearranged our kitchen this evening. It was nice to finally clear up a lot of the crap that has accumulated over the last several years and the new occasional table/counter thingy has probably increased our usable counter space by a good 150%! I look forward to being able to use it as a sideboard or prep counter.
Next year I'm going to do something simple, like installing a computer in the wall of the kitchen or the like.
Happy Birthday, Snugglebumpkinsmoochiepoo!
For the record, I've never called Julie a Snugglebumpkinsmoochiepoo and never will again. But it IS her birthday today. Woo! Hopefully we'll have a yummy lunch out with the kids and not have to deal with a sick Garrett (he was having either an earache or fever or both off and on during most of Sunday) or any more erroneous 5am wake-up calls...
Friday, January 15, 2010
A Sign Of Things To Come
I have a sneaky suspicion that I had a glimpse of Kara in about 20 years.
"OY! BARKEEP! MORE LAGER!"
"Yessh... That'sh more like it..."
"OY! BARKEEP! MORE LAGER!"
"Yessh... That'sh more like it..."
Thursday, January 14, 2010
8 More Weeks!
Only 8 weeks left! I can't wait. The timing is awesome too, as it's a mere 10 days before my birthday.
Good Timing, Puke Fairy!
Well, in case you haven't followed my Twitter feed (I don't blame you), I was striken yesterday with whatever Julie and the kids had last week. I felt fine until about midday when I went out for lunch with one of the guys from work. After eating my delicious ravioli at Boston Pizza, I started to feel off, but chalked it up to the sauce. Sadly, it didn't go away and I spent the last 6 hours of my shift feeling like I was being stabbed in the guy with a sword.
I was able to hold it together until about 8pm last night when my body decided that it needed to reenact the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Thankfully that was the only bout that I had to suffer, though my dinner of saltine crackers and water probably helped calm the roiling seas.
I did watch all of Season 2 of the I.T. Crowd last night, which isn't good to do when your stomach is killing you. I couldn't stop laughing and it hurt so much...
Anyway, I'm home today. I'm exhausted and have a nasty headache, but otherwise feeling pretty good. I'm going to try to eat something now. We'll see how that goes. Then I'll probably spend the afternoon watching History Channel documentaries or something equally fun.
At least I managed to get sick BEFORE Julie's birthday this year.
I was able to hold it together until about 8pm last night when my body decided that it needed to reenact the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Thankfully that was the only bout that I had to suffer, though my dinner of saltine crackers and water probably helped calm the roiling seas.
I did watch all of Season 2 of the I.T. Crowd last night, which isn't good to do when your stomach is killing you. I couldn't stop laughing and it hurt so much...
Anyway, I'm home today. I'm exhausted and have a nasty headache, but otherwise feeling pretty good. I'm going to try to eat something now. We'll see how that goes. Then I'll probably spend the afternoon watching History Channel documentaries or something equally fun.
At least I managed to get sick BEFORE Julie's birthday this year.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Blarf - The Sequel
In a very strange turn of events, everyone else in the house has been sick with the same bug BEFORE me.
We went out to Indigo this afternoon after I got home from work to pick up some books for the kids (thanks for the gift card, Grant & Suzie!) and after we got home, Julie started feeling sick. Well, shortly thereafter, she started BEING sick, which is a rarity for my special lady.
So she's upstairs now, resting and recuperating and quite amazingly, both Garrett AND Kara have gone to bed with minimal fighting and shenanigans. Now that three of the four of us have had this bug, I'm expecting a visit from the puke fairy sometime in the next few days. Who wants to take bets on when I'll catch the bug?
The worst part is that Julie spent the day making a really yummy pork roast and applesauce and had just finished the final preperations when she made a run for the nearest receptacle. And it was a VERY yummy pork roast.
We went out to Indigo this afternoon after I got home from work to pick up some books for the kids (thanks for the gift card, Grant & Suzie!) and after we got home, Julie started feeling sick. Well, shortly thereafter, she started BEING sick, which is a rarity for my special lady.
So she's upstairs now, resting and recuperating and quite amazingly, both Garrett AND Kara have gone to bed with minimal fighting and shenanigans. Now that three of the four of us have had this bug, I'm expecting a visit from the puke fairy sometime in the next few days. Who wants to take bets on when I'll catch the bug?
The worst part is that Julie spent the day making a really yummy pork roast and applesauce and had just finished the final preperations when she made a run for the nearest receptacle. And it was a VERY yummy pork roast.
Saturday, January 09, 2010
This About Sums Up The Week...
Sadly, I can relate to this far too well.
It's been a bit of a crazy week around these parts. We're getting back in the swing of things with going to work (not to mention that I had an insane schedule this past week) and to top things off, both Garrett and Kara have had 24-hour gastro-bugs that have left puke dripping off of things best left unpuked-upon.
Thankfully they both seem to be over the vomiting and are just a little sluggish. Julie and I have dodged whatever they've got (famous last words) and now our biggest problem is getting Kara to go to bed.
She was sleeping fine before we went to Corunna at Christmas and then her sleep schedule just went to pot. She's not napping, she is exhausted and not eating her supper but try to get her to go to sleep and you may as well be pulling down the sun. The worst part is that she'll have these feints where she goes to bed, says goodnight and seems to be heading off to dreamland, only to be destroying her room 10 minutes later. We don't want 10pm to be the new bedtime for her!
Hopefully she'll start to settle down soon. I even tried driving her around the last couple of nights and she does snooze but once we're home, she's right back in the swing of things. We don't want to be doing that every night either because it's just not feasible. Sigh.
Garrett is cooperating at least. We've been on a Lego kick of late and I just signed him up for the Lego Club magazine and we've built a few neat contraptions over the few afternoons I've been home. If nothing else, I've shown him how to build things that aren't in the instructions, which is where you have the most fun with Lego anyway. And we're trying to work more on Garrett's literacy skills. He's just being lazy and wants us to do the work of reading. I need to find a good carrot to dangle in front of him to help kick-start the reading bug.
Anyway, enjoy the comic from Wondermark. It made me smile.
Sunday, January 03, 2010
One New Year's Resolution I Can Keep!
I was thinking about my resolutions for 2010 a day or two ago for some odd reason and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that one of the biggest drains on my wallet over the past year or so isn't videogames, movies or shiny knick-nacks. Nope, I think that the recipient of most of my hard-earned cash was Tim Hortons.
I have a Tim's card that automatically refills itself to $20 when it drops below $5 and I could do this at least once a week if I wasn't careful. In order to shut off the flow of money directly into Timmies, I have resolved to make coffee at home (or at work) whenever possible and only buy coffee out if I am on the road away from town.
My usual excuse not to make coffee at home is that I'm the only coffee drinker in the house and I don't like drinking (or wasting) an entire pot, hence my runs to Timmies. Well, no more! To aid me in this venture, I picked up a new coffee maker today. It can make one or two travel mugs worth of coffee or an entire pot. Woo! And it was only $60!
I have a Tim's card that automatically refills itself to $20 when it drops below $5 and I could do this at least once a week if I wasn't careful. In order to shut off the flow of money directly into Timmies, I have resolved to make coffee at home (or at work) whenever possible and only buy coffee out if I am on the road away from town.
My usual excuse not to make coffee at home is that I'm the only coffee drinker in the house and I don't like drinking (or wasting) an entire pot, hence my runs to Timmies. Well, no more! To aid me in this venture, I picked up a new coffee maker today. It can make one or two travel mugs worth of coffee or an entire pot. Woo! And it was only $60!
Saturday, January 02, 2010
11 Wonderful Years!
It's that time of year again!
Happy anniversary, Jules! Have a safe drive home with the kids. I'm getting lonely here!
Happy anniversary, Jules! Have a safe drive home with the kids. I'm getting lonely here!
Friday, January 01, 2010
Hark! A New Decade Is Upon Us... I Think...
Happy new year everyone! I hope everyone had a good 2009 and will have an even better 2010. I've already managed to screw up writing the new date a few times this morning and it will be a while before I stop trying to put a zero in front of the year. I still haven't managed to wrap my head around the idea that the 'aughts' are over. I guess I'm one of those who didn't consider the millennium to have started until 2001, so I'm waiting until 2011 to declare the end of the first decade of the millennium.
ANYWAY, I rang in the new year a bit early with a visit from a few friends prior to heading out to work the overnight shift. We watched Star Trek on Blu-Ray and ate some yummy munchies until I had to head off to work.
At work we watched the ball drop in Times Square but it just made me sad (and kind of ill) to watch JLo prance around in that... thing... that she was wearing. Oh, and while I commend Dick Clark for hauling himself out for yet another rockin' eve, it seemed almost cruel to have him garble his way through the countdown this year.
Now to try to stay awake for the next, oh, 4 hours. I've got some more paperwork to catch up on and I might pop my head out in a bit to see if I can see that full moon we were supposed to have overnight. It was too cloudy around 1am to see anything.
ANYWAY, I rang in the new year a bit early with a visit from a few friends prior to heading out to work the overnight shift. We watched Star Trek on Blu-Ray and ate some yummy munchies until I had to head off to work.
At work we watched the ball drop in Times Square but it just made me sad (and kind of ill) to watch JLo prance around in that... thing... that she was wearing. Oh, and while I commend Dick Clark for hauling himself out for yet another rockin' eve, it seemed almost cruel to have him garble his way through the countdown this year.
Now to try to stay awake for the next, oh, 4 hours. I've got some more paperwork to catch up on and I might pop my head out in a bit to see if I can see that full moon we were supposed to have overnight. It was too cloudy around 1am to see anything.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Up In The Air... With Some Baggage
Julie & I went to see Up In The Air tonight and it was a very nice movie. Well worth the $4.75 per person we spent :)
The crowd at the theatre, on the other hand... ye gods. I've been spoiled by the nice theatres around Acton and the crowds therein.
We had a couple of people a few rows behind us who were incredulous that, yes, that IS George Clooney up there on the screen and amazingly, he's still George Clooney when he comes back on screen 4-5 minutes later. It's like they couldn't comprehend that the lead actor in a film didn't change spontaneously or something.
And then there were the rubes who read out ever location placard when it appeared on screen (which happens a LOT in this movie), much to the delight of the illiterate in the audience, but man, it just got on my nerves.
Thankfully all of these annoyances (and the awful sound, crappy seats and the booms coming from the showing of Avatar next door through 3/4s of the movie) didn't negate the fact that the movie is whip-smart, funny and endearing. I highly recommend it... just don't see it in Sarnia on cheap Tuesday.
The crowd at the theatre, on the other hand... ye gods. I've been spoiled by the nice theatres around Acton and the crowds therein.
We had a couple of people a few rows behind us who were incredulous that, yes, that IS George Clooney up there on the screen and amazingly, he's still George Clooney when he comes back on screen 4-5 minutes later. It's like they couldn't comprehend that the lead actor in a film didn't change spontaneously or something.
And then there were the rubes who read out ever location placard when it appeared on screen (which happens a LOT in this movie), much to the delight of the illiterate in the audience, but man, it just got on my nerves.
Thankfully all of these annoyances (and the awful sound, crappy seats and the booms coming from the showing of Avatar next door through 3/4s of the movie) didn't negate the fact that the movie is whip-smart, funny and endearing. I highly recommend it... just don't see it in Sarnia on cheap Tuesday.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Un-Boxing Day
So, did you get anything exciting on Boxing Day? I didn't. I wouldn't necessarily mind seeing how much a pair of nice noise-cancelling headphones would cost but I don't really need them, so I'll stay home today. Looking at the deals, there's nothing that we need and unless I was in the market for a new TV, which I'm not right now, there isn't anything that tempting.
Ode To Minions
This song needs to be sung a lot over this vacation. The kids and I are slaughtering far too many goombas and koopa troopas...
Friday, December 25, 2009
Merry Christmas!
I think Kara is finally asleep, which means that Santa can finally stop circling around the house and make his deliveries. I hope everyone has a great Christmas! We'll be spending Christmas with the Grace/Jameson and then having the Wager Christmas on Sunday when my brother makes it down to my parents' place.
Hopefully we'll get a chance to play some Pictionary Man with the folks tomorrow and finally take a break from the usual Skip-bo/Phase 10 fests that tend to erupt.
Hopefully we'll get a chance to play some Pictionary Man with the folks tomorrow and finally take a break from the usual Skip-bo/Phase 10 fests that tend to erupt.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Far Too Cold, Far Too Early
Hey, it's the Olympic torch! Grab it!
Yoink! Take that, eternal flame of peace and hope!
We were up and out of the house shortly after 7am today to see the Olympic torch as it went through Acton. We had a pretty good spot near the end of the run through town but it was sooooo cold!
At least Garrett and Kara had fun and will probably be in a few of the local papers.
Yoink! Take that, eternal flame of peace and hope!
We were up and out of the house shortly after 7am today to see the Olympic torch as it went through Acton. We had a pretty good spot near the end of the run through town but it was sooooo cold!
At least Garrett and Kara had fun and will probably be in a few of the local papers.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
He's Like An Onion
Garrett has been obsessed with layering on his clothes of late. I think he wore 3 t-shirts and a sweat-shirt to school this morning.
If I'm not mistaken, he's trying to become this guy.
If I'm not mistaken, he's trying to become this guy.
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Gingerbread Wishes and Gummie Bear Dreams
Since the kids were (relatively) well behaved today, we spent a chunk of the afternoon building a gingerbread house. Kara didn't really want much to do with the actual construction/decoration phase of the house building... she just wanted a bowl full of candy toppings. Garrett really got into it... Maybe a bit too much...
Here's the house.
Here's the house.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Never Too Old For Santa!
We were at Yorkdale Mall tonight to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday and while we were waiting for our reservation to come up at Casey's, we decided to put the kids in line for Santa.
Garrett & Mason were spooling each other up the whole time we were at the mall and waiting in line for Santa didn't help matters. They actually had Santa's "elves" come over and tell them to stop being so disruptive because they were going to end up destroying one of the decorations if they didn't stop.
Then something truly odd happened.
An older woman outside of the cordoned-off line started yelling, "Sam! You're too old! You're too old to see Santa. Come back!"
We didn't pay much attention but she kept saying this over and over. Then we looked back and saw the line starting to part. A HUGE guy was basically pushing his way through the line of parents and kids while lugging this oversized piece of luggage behind him. He kept saying, "No! I'm going to see Santa! I'm going to see Santa!"
I moved the kids out of his path so they wouldn't get squished (seriously, this guy was BIG) and couldn't help but shake my head and smile as the lady continued to try to get his attention and stop his trip to Santa's lap.
The family in front of me let him past (like they were going to stop him) but the dad started to grumble. I just shot him a look and shook my head and watched to see what would happen when the guy got to Santa. I have to say that I was impressed by how well Santa and his 'elves' handled the situation. Santa said a few things to the dude, shook his hand and gave him a candy cane and sent him on his way with a wink and a nod and never broke character.
Crisis averted. That said, the lady (who might have been his mother or a support staff) should have probably tried to do something a little more effective than stand outside the rope and shout at the guy. While he wasn't doing anything that bad (at least from where I was standing) he was a HUGE guy and all it would have taken was one overly offended parent to pop his top and things could have gotten ugly.
Ah well.
Garrett & Mason were spooling each other up the whole time we were at the mall and waiting in line for Santa didn't help matters. They actually had Santa's "elves" come over and tell them to stop being so disruptive because they were going to end up destroying one of the decorations if they didn't stop.
Then something truly odd happened.
An older woman outside of the cordoned-off line started yelling, "Sam! You're too old! You're too old to see Santa. Come back!"
We didn't pay much attention but she kept saying this over and over. Then we looked back and saw the line starting to part. A HUGE guy was basically pushing his way through the line of parents and kids while lugging this oversized piece of luggage behind him. He kept saying, "No! I'm going to see Santa! I'm going to see Santa!"
I moved the kids out of his path so they wouldn't get squished (seriously, this guy was BIG) and couldn't help but shake my head and smile as the lady continued to try to get his attention and stop his trip to Santa's lap.
The family in front of me let him past (like they were going to stop him) but the dad started to grumble. I just shot him a look and shook my head and watched to see what would happen when the guy got to Santa. I have to say that I was impressed by how well Santa and his 'elves' handled the situation. Santa said a few things to the dude, shook his hand and gave him a candy cane and sent him on his way with a wink and a nod and never broke character.
Crisis averted. That said, the lady (who might have been his mother or a support staff) should have probably tried to do something a little more effective than stand outside the rope and shout at the guy. While he wasn't doing anything that bad (at least from where I was standing) he was a HUGE guy and all it would have taken was one overly offended parent to pop his top and things could have gotten ugly.
Ah well.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Why We Play
This is an interesting article about why people play certain types of games.
I'm definately squarely in the mastery challenge camp, though I do like to dabble with the performance oriented stuff every so often.
It turns out there are two different ways people respond to challenges. Some people see them as opportunities to perform - to demonstrate their talent or intellect. Others see them as opportunities to master - to improve their skill or knowledge.
Say you take a person with a performance orientation ("Paul") and a person with a mastery orientation ("Matt"). Give them each an easy puzzle, and they will both do well. Paul will complete it quickly and smile proudly at how well he performed. Matt will complete it quickly and be satisfied that he has mastered the skill involved.
Now give them each a difficult puzzle. Paul will jump in gamely, but it will soon become clear he cannot overcome it as impressively as he did the last one. The opportunity to show off has disappeared, and Paul will lose interest and give up. Matt, on the other hand, when stymied, will push harder. His early failure means there's still something to be learned here, and he will persevere until he does so and solves the puzzle.
I'm definately squarely in the mastery challenge camp, though I do like to dabble with the performance oriented stuff every so often.
Where's Daniel When You Need Him?
We've been working through the book of Daniel at church over the past few weeks and I had a dream the other night that I'd like him to interpret.
We were in the maternity ward at the hospital and Julie just finished giving birth to twins. Only they were part Roadrunner (from the cartoon). I mean, they looked like human babies but they had blue feathers on them and for whatever reason, I KNEW they were part Roadrunner. I don't think they said, "Beep beep" or anything, but dads can tell these kind of things.
What on earth does that dream mean? I think it means that I'm working too much and not getting enough sleep. Or that Julie is having an affair with a cartoon character.
We were in the maternity ward at the hospital and Julie just finished giving birth to twins. Only they were part Roadrunner (from the cartoon). I mean, they looked like human babies but they had blue feathers on them and for whatever reason, I KNEW they were part Roadrunner. I don't think they said, "Beep beep" or anything, but dads can tell these kind of things.
What on earth does that dream mean? I think it means that I'm working too much and not getting enough sleep. Or that Julie is having an affair with a cartoon character.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Thanks For The Heads-Up
That's what we got from our sitter in Georgetown tonight. As of today, she can't look after our kids anymore. Sigh.
Thankfully we have a sitter who looks after Garrett on school days and she's been angling to look after Kara for some time now, so it was mainly just a matter of time before we switched. It seems that the other kids who were being looked after by our Georgetown sitter aren't being looked after by her any more and with only Garret & Kara as sources of income, well, it's not what one would call a steady income.
Oh well. As Julie said, this basically forced the decision for us. Garrett wasn't enjoying going to her house anymore as he was the only kid his age there and was bored stiff. And this means we don't have to drive 20 minutes out of the way to pick up the kids anymore. Woo!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Better Late Than Never!
Here are a few of the pictures I promised from the past few weeks. Enjoy!
Garrett is Dash Incredible and Kara is Agent D, the secret agent dolphin.
Boogity Boogity BOO!
She's up to mischief. I know she is...
We got Kara to sleep in her big girl bed last Saturday and she's been crib-free ever since. Woo!
Garrett is Dash Incredible and Kara is Agent D, the secret agent dolphin.
Boogity Boogity BOO!
She's up to mischief. I know she is...
We got Kara to sleep in her big girl bed last Saturday and she's been crib-free ever since. Woo!
This Pisseth Me Off
I don't know what else to say. And people say I waste my time and energy blathering on about videogames...
Friday, November 13, 2009
It's The Army Life For Me
Ultra-Realistic Modern Warfare Game Features Awaiting Orders, Repairing Trucks
Had to share that. I actually HAVEN'T picked Modern Warfare 2 up and will probably just rent the PS3 version and play the single-player mode. I have no urge to play the Multiplayer component...
Auntie Faith To The Rescue!
I just wanted to say
to Faith for coming to my rescue today. I was informed late last night that my presence was more or less expected at a meeting this morning and that if I didn't make it, well, let's just say it was better that I attended :)
Faith came through and was able to keep the kids from destroying her house for a couple of hours this morning. You rock!
to Faith for coming to my rescue today. I was informed late last night that my presence was more or less expected at a meeting this morning and that if I didn't make it, well, let's just say it was better that I attended :)
Faith came through and was able to keep the kids from destroying her house for a couple of hours this morning. You rock!
Very Tech Supportive!
Sorry for the lack of updates this week. I've been absolutely swamped at work and when I've had some free time, I've been glued to my new computer. It's sooooo nice :)
I was able to fix the issues with my audio jacks. All it took was uninstalling the Realtek audio drivers and reinstalling everything and lo and behold, I have audio jacks that don't kill the computer when I plug things into them!
Huzzah!
Now that I know I'll be able to use my computer without dragging it back to the store, I'll start pulling pictures off the camera and sharing them with the world.
I was able to fix the issues with my audio jacks. All it took was uninstalling the Realtek audio drivers and reinstalling everything and lo and behold, I have audio jacks that don't kill the computer when I plug things into them!
Huzzah!
Now that I know I'll be able to use my computer without dragging it back to the store, I'll start pulling pictures off the camera and sharing them with the world.
Saturday, November 07, 2009
It's Mostly The Fireballs
Well, isn't THIS a timely comic from our good friends over at Nedroid.com.
Busy Night
Last night was a bit of a whirlwind. Garrett went over to his friend Tommy's house for his very first sleepover and seems to have survived it intact. We took the opportunity to have Kara sleep in her big girl bed (aka the toddler bed) and that went more or less splendidly. I'm not saying she stayed in bed the whole night or anything, but we're one step closer to getting her out of the crib.
I was able to finish off Brutal Legend on the Xbox 360 last night. I loved the worldcraft and storytelling that went into the game and it has made me at least appreciate what good heavy metal music sounds like (to the point that I can't get Dragonforce's Through The Fire And The Flames out of my head) but it really could have done without the real-time-strategyesque stage battle missions, though I'm not sure how they could have pulled those battles off otherwise. Good game that was definately worth the $10 I spent to rent it but I might have been miffed if I dropped $70 on it.
And I got my new computer last night too. It's still in the box and awaiting a thorough decontamination of the PC enclosure under the desk (and a bit of wire detangling) but I plan to spend at least the morning or early afternoon working on getting it set up so I can spend this evening in its thrall. They had the unit in the store open yesterday and it was a thing of beauty to look at its innards.
I was able to finish off Brutal Legend on the Xbox 360 last night. I loved the worldcraft and storytelling that went into the game and it has made me at least appreciate what good heavy metal music sounds like (to the point that I can't get Dragonforce's Through The Fire And The Flames out of my head) but it really could have done without the real-time-strategyesque stage battle missions, though I'm not sure how they could have pulled those battles off otherwise. Good game that was definately worth the $10 I spent to rent it but I might have been miffed if I dropped $70 on it.
And I got my new computer last night too. It's still in the box and awaiting a thorough decontamination of the PC enclosure under the desk (and a bit of wire detangling) but I plan to spend at least the morning or early afternoon working on getting it set up so I can spend this evening in its thrall. They had the unit in the store open yesterday and it was a thing of beauty to look at its innards.
Castoreum. YUM!
Good Saturday Morning to ye! I figured today would be a great time to share this list of ingredients that may or may not be in your favourite food. I'm definately keeping an eye out for castoreum from now on... it's beaver anal gland.
I'm perfectly fine with the bug parts in my candy, but not beaver butts. And who knew that sand was a main ingredient of Wendy's chili... well, you do now!
I'm perfectly fine with the bug parts in my candy, but not beaver butts. And who knew that sand was a main ingredient of Wendy's chili... well, you do now!
Sunday, November 01, 2009
T-t-t-trick Or T-t-t-treat
Last night was probably the coldest Hallowe'en we've had since the kids started trick-or-treating. Garrett and Kara did the parking lot in front of our house before Garrett wussed out and went home to hand out candy with Julie for most of the rest of the evening. He seemed to be much more excited to be the guy checking out costumes and doling out candy than actually receiving any.
Kara, on the other hand, was a real trooper and the cutest little dolphin around. We did all of the houses in the townhouse complex and a few across the road before her resolve faltered. By that point, she had two full bags of candy to Garrett's 8 pieces of candy, so I dragged him back out into the blustery night air in order to avoid a catastrophe later on when they started comparing hauls.
There was a guy dressed as a Thriller-era Michael Jackson at one house and Kara was petrified of him. I think that was the only part of the evening that scared her. Everyone loved her dolphin costume and she was quite the polite little lady with all of her "Tick or teats" and "Tank yoooou"s. Garrett, on the other hand, didn't wear the mask I picked up for him downtown, which really churned my butter. But he had a good time and ate lots of candy so that's all that really matters.
I'll post some pictures tonight when I get home. We're still suffering from a distinct lack of desktop computer at the moment and that's hampered some of my usual image dumps. But fear not, for spooky pictures shall abound this evening!
Kara, on the other hand, was a real trooper and the cutest little dolphin around. We did all of the houses in the townhouse complex and a few across the road before her resolve faltered. By that point, she had two full bags of candy to Garrett's 8 pieces of candy, so I dragged him back out into the blustery night air in order to avoid a catastrophe later on when they started comparing hauls.
There was a guy dressed as a Thriller-era Michael Jackson at one house and Kara was petrified of him. I think that was the only part of the evening that scared her. Everyone loved her dolphin costume and she was quite the polite little lady with all of her "Tick or teats" and "Tank yoooou"s. Garrett, on the other hand, didn't wear the mask I picked up for him downtown, which really churned my butter. But he had a good time and ate lots of candy so that's all that really matters.
I'll post some pictures tonight when I get home. We're still suffering from a distinct lack of desktop computer at the moment and that's hampered some of my usual image dumps. But fear not, for spooky pictures shall abound this evening!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Crappy Computer!
Well, I was going to upload some more pictures and show off Garrett's trip to the Museum last week and the costumes from last weekend, but just before I got Garrett out the door for school this morning, my desktop PC decided to go spazzy and stop working.
I'm not sure exactly what is going on with it, but it's pulling the ol' "There's No Keyboard Attached" trick that it did a few months ago, which is incredibly infuriating when you have no less than 2 USB keyboards hooked up to it at a time and it acknowledges neither of them.
I'm going to have to snag one of the surplus PS/2 port keyboards from work again and see if it can rectify the situation and get me back into Windows, which seemed to fix things last time it went screwy. If not, well, I'll just grab the drive and start hitting the stores and see if I can find myself a nice new rig. I was hoping to wait until the spring before I upgraded but at least Windows 7 is out now. Stupid computers.
And I was already a bit grumpy BEFORE this happened. Grrr.....
I'm not sure exactly what is going on with it, but it's pulling the ol' "There's No Keyboard Attached" trick that it did a few months ago, which is incredibly infuriating when you have no less than 2 USB keyboards hooked up to it at a time and it acknowledges neither of them.
I'm going to have to snag one of the surplus PS/2 port keyboards from work again and see if it can rectify the situation and get me back into Windows, which seemed to fix things last time it went screwy. If not, well, I'll just grab the drive and start hitting the stores and see if I can find myself a nice new rig. I was hoping to wait until the spring before I upgraded but at least Windows 7 is out now. Stupid computers.
And I was already a bit grumpy BEFORE this happened. Grrr.....
Monday, October 26, 2009
Sick Of My Vacation
As usual, I finally get to take vacation and I've been 'blessed' with the honour of being the last person on my house to come down with this stupid flu/cold thingy that is going around. It wasn't the 'DEATH COLD' or anything, but I've been pretty sapped of energy since late Friday/early Saturday and putting my shed together yesterday (with a lot of help from Codeboy) drained me.
That said, I was able to lounge around in bed over the past few evenings and watched Wolverine: Origins (which wasn't as bad as I imagined but that's not saying much) and finished both Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story and Uncharted 2. Now I can start playing some Demon's Souls or Borderlands or GTA: Chinatown Wars... if I can stay awake after Garrett goes to bed.
Of course, I know I'll be feeling just peachy by the time I go back to work on Wednesday. Sigh.
That said, I was able to lounge around in bed over the past few evenings and watched Wolverine: Origins (which wasn't as bad as I imagined but that's not saying much) and finished both Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story and Uncharted 2. Now I can start playing some Demon's Souls or Borderlands or GTA: Chinatown Wars... if I can stay awake after Garrett goes to bed.
Of course, I know I'll be feeling just peachy by the time I go back to work on Wednesday. Sigh.
It's Not Rocket Science
But it is brain surgery. My dad had some work done on his noggin last Friday and should be home from the hospital as I type this. He was undergoing a procedure to reduce and/or eliminate the seizures he has been experiencing for upwards of 15 years (and which were getting progressively worse).
According to my mom, there haven't been any seizures since the procedure, which is awesome news. As long as he doesn't do anything silly over the next few weeks and just relaxes for a bit, he'll hopefully be right as rain.
Thanks for all of the prayers and well wishes from everyone who saw my tweets last week. They were much appreciated.
According to my mom, there haven't been any seizures since the procedure, which is awesome news. As long as he doesn't do anything silly over the next few weeks and just relaxes for a bit, he'll hopefully be right as rain.
Thanks for all of the prayers and well wishes from everyone who saw my tweets last week. They were much appreciated.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Return To The Old Stomping Grounds
I took Garrett downtown today to visit the ROM and had a grand old time. I'll post a bunch of the pictures shortly, but that's beside the point.
WHAT HAPPENED TO YONGE AND BLOOR?!?!
We wandered over to my old place of business (ie. the place that cost me my education) to see if GEM was still around and lo and behold, there was naught but a giant crater where that whole block of businesses was. Yeesh.
And when did Yonge Street (at least between Bloor and Wellesley) become Little Japan/Korea? Every 2 feet was yet another sushi bar, korean grill or combination thereof. Not that I'm complaining. I was just wishing that I'd had this kind of selection 10 years ago and that I could have convinced my 5 year old son that sashimi is a good thing. Alas, he didn't want to go for it, though he did try some bubble tea.
Speaking of bubble tea, we went to one called 'Real Fruit' bubble tea where Garrett asked for a chocolate tea and got a pink, strawberry tea. He liked the tapioca bubbles and now I owe him a proper, non-pink, chocolate bubble tea!
We also found a mask for his Incredibles costume at a theatrical store, so it wasn't a wasted trip down the ol' street. But boy, did I ever start to feel old.
WHAT HAPPENED TO YONGE AND BLOOR?!?!
We wandered over to my old place of business (ie. the place that cost me my education) to see if GEM was still around and lo and behold, there was naught but a giant crater where that whole block of businesses was. Yeesh.
And when did Yonge Street (at least between Bloor and Wellesley) become Little Japan/Korea? Every 2 feet was yet another sushi bar, korean grill or combination thereof. Not that I'm complaining. I was just wishing that I'd had this kind of selection 10 years ago and that I could have convinced my 5 year old son that sashimi is a good thing. Alas, he didn't want to go for it, though he did try some bubble tea.
Speaking of bubble tea, we went to one called 'Real Fruit' bubble tea where Garrett asked for a chocolate tea and got a pink, strawberry tea. He liked the tapioca bubbles and now I owe him a proper, non-pink, chocolate bubble tea!
We also found a mask for his Incredibles costume at a theatrical store, so it wasn't a wasted trip down the ol' street. But boy, did I ever start to feel old.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Don't Call Me!
I'm on vacation for a week and a half. A glorious week and a half where I don't have to think about work. I hope. Now to see if the house can manage without my wisdom and guidance until the 28th...
I'm taking Garrett to the ROM on Wednesday and we're going to have a whole day in downtown TO to soak in the ambiance. He's excited to go on his first subway ride and to see the mummies and dinosaurs at the museum.
Other than the trip to Toronto and a condo board meeting tomorrow, I'm essentially committment free. I plan to beat Uncharted 2 and sink some time into a few other games and read a bunch of comics and novels and maybe, just maybe, catch up on my Maclean's backissues. I'm still reading issues from June!
The only thing I'm NOT looking forward to is putting up the shed, but it has to get done or else I'll be building it in the snow!
I just have to hope that the aches and snurfles I've had off and on today aren't an indication that I'm coming down with the flu that Garrett, Kara and Julie have had over the last week or so. I did manage to dodge Kara's puke at the park yesterday when she threw up while I was under the playground (that was fun), so maybe I'll get lucky and not manifest THE SICKNESS...
I'm taking Garrett to the ROM on Wednesday and we're going to have a whole day in downtown TO to soak in the ambiance. He's excited to go on his first subway ride and to see the mummies and dinosaurs at the museum.
Other than the trip to Toronto and a condo board meeting tomorrow, I'm essentially committment free. I plan to beat Uncharted 2 and sink some time into a few other games and read a bunch of comics and novels and maybe, just maybe, catch up on my Maclean's backissues. I'm still reading issues from June!
The only thing I'm NOT looking forward to is putting up the shed, but it has to get done or else I'll be building it in the snow!
I just have to hope that the aches and snurfles I've had off and on today aren't an indication that I'm coming down with the flu that Garrett, Kara and Julie have had over the last week or so. I did manage to dodge Kara's puke at the park yesterday when she threw up while I was under the playground (that was fun), so maybe I'll get lucky and not manifest THE SICKNESS...
N.I.T.
Today marks the day Garrett finally became a N.I.T. aka Nerd In Training. He's done well over the past week despite fighting a cold and I gave him the choice of Monsters or Space for his reward for getting enough tokens on his responsibility chart.
He chose Monsters (duh) and so he got this book:
It's essentially a Monster Manual for kids and it's actually quite well made. We went through it tonight at bedtime and he was able to figure out which monsters eat people and which are harmless. This is the kind of info that will serve him well later in life, when the Purple Worms attack!
He chose Monsters (duh) and so he got this book:
It's essentially a Monster Manual for kids and it's actually quite well made. We went through it tonight at bedtime and he was able to figure out which monsters eat people and which are harmless. This is the kind of info that will serve him well later in life, when the Purple Worms attack!
Friday, October 16, 2009
That's One Incredible Costume!
We went out to get things for Halloe'en costumes today and found a great one for a pittance. I was going to make some kind of costume for Garrett and Kara (I was thinking of dressing one as a zombie and one as a flower and going for a Plants Vs. Zombies theme) but I stumbled across this find at the Value Village in Guelph.
Total cost: $7. The costume was tucked into a bookshelf but fit Garrett perfectly. The gloves were only a couple dollars too and now I'm just going to make him a little eye mask and we'll have our own little Mr. Incredible :)
Total cost: $7. The costume was tucked into a bookshelf but fit Garrett perfectly. The gloves were only a couple dollars too and now I'm just going to make him a little eye mask and we'll have our own little Mr. Incredible :)
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Dear Sony...
It's Uncharted 2 day today! Woo!
Gotta love this commercial. Where was the 'Sony rep' guy back when the PS3 launched? He's awesome.
Time to go explore the Himalayas before work.
Gotta love this commercial. Where was the 'Sony rep' guy back when the PS3 launched? He's awesome.
Time to go explore the Himalayas before work.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
The Energizer Kara
Kara has been up to her old tricks this weekend. She won't go to sleep down here at the Grace's and takes forever to go to bed. Last night she woke up around 11:30pm and threw up, then refused to go to bed until sometime past 2am.
One upside is that she has basically lost her voice, which means she's not able to wake other people up when she gets cranky and yells. At least Garrett seems to have gotten over his 24-hour flu or whatever was bugging him.
What a great Thanksgiving this has been :P
One upside is that she has basically lost her voice, which means she's not able to wake other people up when she gets cranky and yells. At least Garrett seems to have gotten over his 24-hour flu or whatever was bugging him.
What a great Thanksgiving this has been :P
Thursday, October 08, 2009
The Thinker
The following is essentially a word-for-word transcript of my conversation with Garrett on the way home from the hardware store this evening.
G:"What do cobras eat?"
B:"All sorts of stuff."
G:"Do they eat bananas?"
B:"No, I think they only eat animals."
G:"Would they eat a fish?"
B:"They might, but I doubt they'd find many fish in the desert."
G:"I'm going to take a dead fish out into the middle of the desert and throw it at the cobra to see if it will eat it."
B:"I think they like their animals alive when they eat them."
G:"Hmm."
G:"What do cobras eat?"
B:"All sorts of stuff."
G:"Do they eat bananas?"
B:"No, I think they only eat animals."
G:"Would they eat a fish?"
B:"They might, but I doubt they'd find many fish in the desert."
G:"I'm going to take a dead fish out into the middle of the desert and throw it at the cobra to see if it will eat it."
B:"I think they like their animals alive when they eat them."
G:"Hmm."
Got Some Pretty Big Stones
Well, this day off isn't going as swimmingly as I hoped.
I took today off because, well, I seem to have worked almost every hour humanly possible in September. I managed to clock up 10 hours of overtime last week alone. So I took today off in the hopes of getting the kids off to school and the sitter, curling up on the couch and playing a bunch of Demon's Souls or Muramasa until dinner time.
But in order to feel somewhat productive, I swung by the Home Hardware in Georgetown to pick up some paving stones to put as the base for our new shed (which will be constructed as soon as it stops raining for longer than a day).
Julie had instructed me to pick up 6 2'x2' paving stones to accommodate the larger shed we're going to build back there. No problem. I get to the store, find a helpful guy who gives me an order for the stones in the lumber yard. I pay for them, go out back and take a look at the gigantic paving stones that will never fit in my car, no way, no how. I saw the 18"x18" stones next to the 2'x2' stones and thought that they looked much more like the stones we have in our backyard.
So back into the store I go. I wait in line for a bit, ask for a change in the stones and get a bit of money back. Everything is hunky dory. I load up the car, drive the 20 minutes or so back to my house, unload the stones into the backyard... and realize that they are too small.
It turns out that Julie wasn't on crack and that I did indeed need 2'x2' paving stones after all. Sigh. I am most likely going to take them back this evening when the big car gets home, but I'm feeling a little too sheepish to drive back and return these stones at the moment after going through all of that rigamarole. That, and my precious day off is dwindling to almost nothing!
I could probably jury-rig some kind of spacing with the stones we have and the 18" ones, but I'm sure that no matter what I do it'll end up in tears if I try to cut corners. Oh well.
I took today off because, well, I seem to have worked almost every hour humanly possible in September. I managed to clock up 10 hours of overtime last week alone. So I took today off in the hopes of getting the kids off to school and the sitter, curling up on the couch and playing a bunch of Demon's Souls or Muramasa until dinner time.
But in order to feel somewhat productive, I swung by the Home Hardware in Georgetown to pick up some paving stones to put as the base for our new shed (which will be constructed as soon as it stops raining for longer than a day).
Julie had instructed me to pick up 6 2'x2' paving stones to accommodate the larger shed we're going to build back there. No problem. I get to the store, find a helpful guy who gives me an order for the stones in the lumber yard. I pay for them, go out back and take a look at the gigantic paving stones that will never fit in my car, no way, no how. I saw the 18"x18" stones next to the 2'x2' stones and thought that they looked much more like the stones we have in our backyard.
So back into the store I go. I wait in line for a bit, ask for a change in the stones and get a bit of money back. Everything is hunky dory. I load up the car, drive the 20 minutes or so back to my house, unload the stones into the backyard... and realize that they are too small.
It turns out that Julie wasn't on crack and that I did indeed need 2'x2' paving stones after all. Sigh. I am most likely going to take them back this evening when the big car gets home, but I'm feeling a little too sheepish to drive back and return these stones at the moment after going through all of that rigamarole. That, and my precious day off is dwindling to almost nothing!
I could probably jury-rig some kind of spacing with the stones we have and the 18" ones, but I'm sure that no matter what I do it'll end up in tears if I try to cut corners. Oh well.
Monday, October 05, 2009
OH COME ON!
So I finally took some initiative today and decided that rather than thinking about maybe, sometime, you know, hopefully kinda getting around to cleaning the toxic waste dump that is the fish tank, I'd actually do the deed and get that mess cleaned up.
I just spent an hour or so up to my elbows in year old fish poop and god knows what else only to discover that sometime during the cleaning process I'd managed to crack the tank. Grr!
We're only talking about a 5 gallon tank and I think I might have found it at the curb a few years ago, but I was still hoping to get the tank set up and running in the basement where this time, I mean it, I was going to take care of it and maintain it like it needed to be maintained instead of letting it turn into algae central.
Now to decide what to do next. I'm going to get a proper filter, heater and light system for the next tank I get but I'm not sure whether to stay small or go to a 10 gallon. Of course, Garrett wants me to put an Angler Fish in whatever tank I end up getting, so we'll see. I could go salt water, though those are pretty expensive...
I just spent an hour or so up to my elbows in year old fish poop and god knows what else only to discover that sometime during the cleaning process I'd managed to crack the tank. Grr!
We're only talking about a 5 gallon tank and I think I might have found it at the curb a few years ago, but I was still hoping to get the tank set up and running in the basement where this time, I mean it, I was going to take care of it and maintain it like it needed to be maintained instead of letting it turn into algae central.
Now to decide what to do next. I'm going to get a proper filter, heater and light system for the next tank I get but I'm not sure whether to stay small or go to a 10 gallon. Of course, Garrett wants me to put an Angler Fish in whatever tank I end up getting, so we'll see. I could go salt water, though those are pretty expensive...
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Start The Show!
I arrived back at my humble abode from a day at work to find my living room completely rearranged and both of my kids in uncharacteristically boisterous moods. Garrett spent the next hour putting on his 'show'... I'm still not 100% sure what the show was, but he was pretty enthusiastic about it. He even had seating for his three audience members and a curtain made from a blanket.
It was quite heart-warming to see Kara acting like the usher for the theatre and cheer on her brother's efforts.
It was quite heart-warming to see Kara acting like the usher for the theatre and cheer on her brother's efforts.
Cloudy With A Chance Of Awesome
Go see Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs as soon as you can. We took the kids there yesterday and we all had a great time at the movie. Unlike, say, Monsters Vs. Aliens, CWACOM does an almost Pixar-like balance of humour for adults and kids. It's especially funny if you're at all geeky.
And Mr. T is awesome.
And Mr. T is awesome.
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Isn't THIS A Shocker...
Remember all of my gripes, complaints and folderol about my dealings with Getgames.ca from a few months ago?
Well, look at what I just found in my inbox.
Surprise, surprise. I wonder if they finally realized that they lost their last customer (me) and couldn't run things any longer.
At least this makes my possible options for game rentals a lot simpler. Zip.ca, hurry up and rent games!
Well, look at what I just found in my inbox.
"Greetings Gamers,
We have had a great run here at GetGames.ca, providing you with the latest and greatest games. Unfortunately, we don't have the manpower or capacity to keep the doors open anymore. As of October 1, 2009, we are starting the slow process of closing our doors.
...
We hope you've enjoyed our service as much as we enjoyed helping get gaming to Canadians."
Surprise, surprise. I wonder if they finally realized that they lost their last customer (me) and couldn't run things any longer.
At least this makes my possible options for game rentals a lot simpler. Zip.ca, hurry up and rent games!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Going In The Banned Song List
So due to some SNAFU regarding packaging laws and such, I ended up with a goodly amount of store credit at EB after having canceled my Persona PSP preorder (I picked up the US version instead rather than wait an extra who-knows-how-long).
What did I do with this credit? I put it towards Beatles: Rock Band. The kids have been loving it, though I'm really, REEEEEEAALLLY getting tired of Yellow Submarine. I should never have shown it to them because all they want to do is sing it over and over and over and over... you get the picture. It's a shame, because it has some of the cooler background animations going on during the song.
What did I do with this credit? I put it towards Beatles: Rock Band. The kids have been loving it, though I'm really, REEEEEEAALLLY getting tired of Yellow Submarine. I should never have shown it to them because all they want to do is sing it over and over and over and over... you get the picture. It's a shame, because it has some of the cooler background animations going on during the song.
No Rest For The Wicked
How did I somehow manage to put in an overnight shift and 4+ hours yesterday afternoon when this is supposed to be my weekend off? I'd take a day off this week to make up for it except that there just isn't any day this week where I can do that!
Sigh.
Sigh.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
The Great Decastination!
Today was the day! Kara was a trooper and sat through the buzzing of the Stryker saw with nary a flinch. She's having some issues standing on her leg and it's a little tender, but she'll probably be on her feet and running around in a day or two. Amazingly, she didn't have anything nasty jammed down the cast but boy, was it ever hairy.
Now to give her a bath. I bet the water will turn black when she sits in it!
BEFORE
AFTER
Now to give her a bath. I bet the water will turn black when she sits in it!
AFTER
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Beware The Barktopus
Garrett is now convinced that there are Barktopuses (Barktopi?) roving the shorelines of Manitoulin Island. I'm evil...
Monday, September 21, 2009
Kind Of Off This Week
Hey, what's this? After a solid month or more of being run off my feet, coming home at least a half hour or more late and generally adding liberally to my collection of gray hairs, I'm getting something slightly resembling a break from work this week. I'm off today and tomorrow anyway and Wednesday is Decastination Day (we hope). Then I'm heading off to the balmy climes of... Guelph... for a two-day conference.
That means I'm not going to have to be at work until, well, Saturday, but that's just for a couple hours and can almost be concidered fun. Yay!
Now, what should I read to relax?
Choice #1: Arkham Asylum: A Serious Place On A Serious Earth by the great Grant Morrison and Dave McKean
OR
Choice #2: The Operation Of Small Drinking-Water Systems correspondence course guidebook by the always entertaining Ministry Of The Environment? Decisions, decisions.
That means I'm not going to have to be at work until, well, Saturday, but that's just for a couple hours and can almost be concidered fun. Yay!
Now, what should I read to relax?
Choice #1: Arkham Asylum: A Serious Place On A Serious Earth by the great Grant Morrison and Dave McKean
OR
Choice #2: The Operation Of Small Drinking-Water Systems correspondence course guidebook by the always entertaining Ministry Of The Environment? Decisions, decisions.
Dr. Horrible Kills TV!
I didn't watch the Emmys, but knowing that Dr. Horrible was going to be on them made it mighty tempting. Stupid TV. Die already!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Manitoulin Madness!
I told you I'd get you pictures from Manitoulin. The falls were the Bridal Veil Falls in Kagawong, the overlook pictures are from 10-Mile Point on Highway 6 and also from the Gore Bay overlook. We went riding at Kicking Mule Ranch and saw the Mississagi Lighthouse out near Meldrum Bay.
I think that's about it. The tepee is also near the 10-Mile Lookout and I took the night shot the final evening we were there. Good times, good times...
All Hail The Rooster Hat!
Remember that Scribblenauts game I was talking about the other day? Well, I got the promo item the other day that came with the game and have had quite a difficult time getting Garrett to stop wearing it. He wore it all day today while we were out running errands. I'm trying to convince him that it's a thinking cap that he needs to wear when we play the game before bed :)
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Signs Signs Signs!
I was perusing the latest Dark Roasted Blend photo gallery today and came across this sign. I had to do a double-take because I used to attend St. Giles Presbyterian church, but in Sarnia, not Ottawa.
Clever sign though :)
Clever sign though :)
Monday, September 14, 2009
Scribblenauts aka Spelling Is Fun!
I managed to get my hands on a copy of Scribblenauts today (a day early) and Garrett and I sat down before I went out to donate blood to try it out.
If nothing else gets Garrett learning to spell, THIS game will. In a nutshell, it's a puzzle game on the DS that has you trying to solve little problems and puzzles using objects that you conjure out of thin air by spelling them out. There are something like 22000 different words in the game, so if you can think of something, there's a better than average chance that it's in the game.
For example, in the first puzzle, you have a policeman, fireman, chef and doctor. The puzzle wants you to put two objects that they might use into their hands. So the cop got a gun and the chef got a pot. Solved!
Well, you can go back and try to solve it 3 more times to truly master it. This is where it gets fun. We tried all sorts of different objects and things were going well until Garrett asked me to give the doctor a zombie.
The zombie went nuts and turned everyone else into a zombie. From this point on, Garrett's go-to solution for every puzzle was to drop a zombie in. Or a shark. Or a zombie shark (which, sadly, is NOT in the game). According to Julie, while I was off donating blood, Garrett was grilling her on the how-to methods of turning people into zombies.
That translates into another nomination for me for Father Of The Year, I suspect.
I've been having a lot of fun with the game so far and the fact that you can mess around with it and just drop all sorts of different things into the screen to see what they'll do is a hoot. I had God fight Cthulhu and God won. Then I had a polar bear fight the Egyptian sun god Ra and amazingly, the polar bear won. I'm planning on having a battle royale and pitting that polar bear against every deity I can think of until one of them takes him down.
Then the game will REALLY get interesting :)
If nothing else gets Garrett learning to spell, THIS game will. In a nutshell, it's a puzzle game on the DS that has you trying to solve little problems and puzzles using objects that you conjure out of thin air by spelling them out. There are something like 22000 different words in the game, so if you can think of something, there's a better than average chance that it's in the game.
For example, in the first puzzle, you have a policeman, fireman, chef and doctor. The puzzle wants you to put two objects that they might use into their hands. So the cop got a gun and the chef got a pot. Solved!
Well, you can go back and try to solve it 3 more times to truly master it. This is where it gets fun. We tried all sorts of different objects and things were going well until Garrett asked me to give the doctor a zombie.
The zombie went nuts and turned everyone else into a zombie. From this point on, Garrett's go-to solution for every puzzle was to drop a zombie in. Or a shark. Or a zombie shark (which, sadly, is NOT in the game). According to Julie, while I was off donating blood, Garrett was grilling her on the how-to methods of turning people into zombies.
That translates into another nomination for me for Father Of The Year, I suspect.
I've been having a lot of fun with the game so far and the fact that you can mess around with it and just drop all sorts of different things into the screen to see what they'll do is a hoot. I had God fight Cthulhu and God won. Then I had a polar bear fight the Egyptian sun god Ra and amazingly, the polar bear won. I'm planning on having a battle royale and pitting that polar bear against every deity I can think of until one of them takes him down.
Then the game will REALLY get interesting :)
Misplaced Priorities
I came across this tidbit of information via one of my friends' twitter posts and it made me livid. If I read it correctly, all of the libraries (or at least, the free libraries, which I just figured was a redundant term when talking about public book repositories) in Philidelphia are going to be closing as of October 1 of this year. That's not only insane, it's downright criminal.
I can put up with a lot of atrocities and heartache in the world and won't bat an eye if many businesses and industries go belly up but so help the poor bugger who tries to shut down MY local library. If that nonsense migrates up here, I'll... I'll have to start buying more books again!
I can put up with a lot of atrocities and heartache in the world and won't bat an eye if many businesses and industries go belly up but so help the poor bugger who tries to shut down MY local library. If that nonsense migrates up here, I'll... I'll have to start buying more books again!
Back To Civilization!
I'm back from my Manitoulin trip! Yay! I actually arrived last night, but between the 75 or so Gmail messages, updates on the boards, another 70+ or so 'real' e-mails, saying hi to the family and dishing out souvenirs, I haven't really had much time to have 'fun' on the computer yet.
By the way, Garrett needs to learn what a souvenir is. I made the mistake of bringing him home a Star Wars Happy Meal toy last year so once I'd finished giving him the plush snow owl and the Manitoulin hoodie I picked up this time around, he started looking around and asking where the souvenirs were. Sigh.
It's always scary to come home to the kids after a week away. Garrett seems about a foot taller each time and Kara... Kara's turned into a Stalin-esque dictator of the living room with a vocabulary that is at least 3 times larger than it was when I left. I just need to give her a riding crop and a giant mustache and she'll be marshaling the troops before we know it.
Well, I'll put my pics from the trip up tomorrow. I just gave blood tonight and am a little oogy still and don't want to break the internet with my photos.
By the way, Garrett needs to learn what a souvenir is. I made the mistake of bringing him home a Star Wars Happy Meal toy last year so once I'd finished giving him the plush snow owl and the Manitoulin hoodie I picked up this time around, he started looking around and asking where the souvenirs were. Sigh.
It's always scary to come home to the kids after a week away. Garrett seems about a foot taller each time and Kara... Kara's turned into a Stalin-esque dictator of the living room with a vocabulary that is at least 3 times larger than it was when I left. I just need to give her a riding crop and a giant mustache and she'll be marshaling the troops before we know it.
Well, I'll put my pics from the trip up tomorrow. I just gave blood tonight and am a little oogy still and don't want to break the internet with my photos.
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Manitoulin HO!
Well, my ride to work should be here momentarily, so if you don't hear from me for the next week, that's probably a good thing as the place we're going has no net access, aside from the fishing kind!
Have a great week, everyone! I'll try not to have too much fun on the way too and from the island. I'm just happy that the lighthouse at Meldrum Bay is open this year.
Have a great week, everyone! I'll try not to have too much fun on the way too and from the island. I'm just happy that the lighthouse at Meldrum Bay is open this year.
Friday, September 04, 2009
Earning Their Keep
I put the kids to work making supper this morning. Garrett is becoming a dab hand with a blade and Kara is in training for middle management as we speak.
Kara: The Leggening
We've got more pictures of Kara's leg after she stood still too long in a bad neighbourhood and let the gangs tag her cast. She's also got a blindingly bright new pink shell on her leg and received a Kara Package (thanks mom!) from her Grandma Wager yesterday. Woo!
Check out the slideshow!
Check out the slideshow!
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Happy Birthday Dave!
My widdle bwutha is 31 today! Go get your birthday kicks in now before it's too late!
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