The Quotable Garrett

This morning, Garrett hands me back this book about submarines that he was reading and says, "Daddy, I don't like this book. It's too underwatery."

Then we were talking about lunch.

"What do you want on your sandwich kiddo?
"Ham and salami and butter. And ketchup too. But no mustard and NO jam."

Clean Your Ceiling

I'm glad that we didn't find this in our house. Garrett is convinced it's a picture from his friend Tommy's house though :)



Thankfully it's from somewhere in Extralife land.

Second Puberty

I found this ad/website today and it is hilarious. Sure, it's just an ad, but it's just made of pure win wrapped in bacon and awesome.

At least, I think that's the way the kids would describe it.

The pamphlet was particularly funny. Poor unicorn...

Nerd Speed Record Set

Wow.

I received a free copy of Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law in the mail today from one of my friends. I'm so happy I didn't spend $50 on it. It arrived at around 2-3pm and I just finished it.



Yes, you heard me right. I beat a game less than 10 hours after it arrived in the house. I think it might have taken me about, oh, 4 hours of total playtime, if that.

Now, it's a funny game and it plays somewhat in the same vein of the Phoenix Wright games but it's far too short and it holds your hand to the extent that there's no way to choose the wrong evidence or response. It would have been nice if, after you finished a case, you could play the cartoon clips together without the gameplay elements as there really isn't anything in the gameplay sections that is necessary to tell the story of each case.

The best part of playing the game is that it shows how cool a console version of a Phoenix Wright game could be, especially if it had good voice acting. I just feel really sorry for anyone who actually spent money on the game.

Are You Smarter Than A 6th Grader?

I'm sure you've seen these before, but this is a really funny link.

6th grade answers to a history test:

2. The Bible is full of interesting caricatures. In the first book of the Bible, Guinessis, Adam and Eve were created from an apple tree. One of their children, Cain, asked, "Am I my brother's son?"

17. It was an age of great inventions and discoveries. Gutenberg invented removable type and the Bible. Another important invention was the circulation of blood. Sir Walter Raleigh is a historical figure because he invented cigarettes and started smoking. And Sir Francis Drake circumcised the world with a 100-foot clipper.

30. The sun never set on the British Empire because the British Empire is in the East and the sun sets in the West. Queen Victoria was the longest queen. She sat on a thorn for 63 years. She was a moral woman who practiced virtue. Her death was the final event which ended her reign.

Prayer Request

I don't do this very often (ever) but if everyone out there could keep our friends' daughter (she's only 3 years old) in their prayers for the next couple days, that'd be great.

The platform at church fell on her today while it was getting put away and she got a pretty bad cut on her nose and her parents have to monitor her for the next 24 hours to ensure that there's no other head injury, though they are home from the hospital, so that's good. We're just happy that she didn't get hurt worse than she did!

Hooray For Guarantees!

Turns out that my alternator is fine. My battery, on the other hand, was basically toast.

Thankfully I'd just had it replaced a year and a half ago and it was still under the guarantee so I just had to pay the cost of the diagnostic. Woo!

Of course, my luck couldn't have held out. While I was killing time at Canadian Tire, I picked up some swim goggles for myself and Garrett. When I got home and was about to head out to the pool with Garrett, I found out that my goggles were not new goggles at all.

THEY WERE USED! Or at least opened.

There were fingerprints on the lenses and the strap was broken. So after we swam, we went BACK down to Milton and visited Canadian Tire for the 3rd time today. Sigh. I got some funky new goggles that have holographic eyes on the lenses... what can I say? They were the only kind that were the same price as the broken ones.

At least now everything seems to be working fine with my car and I don't have to spend tomorrow walking around town with Kara!

There Goes My Deathtrap...

It's a little known fact, but we've had a built in defibrillator here at Casa Del Wager for the last 5 years. Thanks to the handyman special lighting apparatus that the previous owner rigged up in the basement, there was one light near the laundry that would give you a shock if you ever tried to turn it on by pulling on the metal chain.

We had jury-rigged a solution by using a plastic zip-strip to use as a pull but every so often I'd accidentally pull the chain and get a nice little zap for my efforts.

Well, no more!

I called the plumber the other day to do some work in the basement and it turned out that he also does electrical so as of today, we no longer have a killer light in the basement. When I had a look at the inside of the old fixture, the part with the chain was all cracked and scary looking, so it's a good thing we had him replace it when he did.

When he got the new fixture up there, I was reaching to pull the new chain and it was a battle of wills not to flinch when I touched the chain. It was like I was Pavlov's dog, only instead of a treat when the bell rang, I'd get a shock when the light came on. Sigh.

There She Goes... There She Goes Again

Julie fell down the stairs this morning. It was just the bottom step or two and I think her foot must have slipped on the carpet, but she's had a sore bum for the whole day :)

Of course, Garrett was right there when it happened so he was able to rush in and make sure she didn't have any boo-boos.

I'd Kick In The Sides But They're Made Of Indestructible Plastic

Hey! Guess what!

My car is in the crapper again. Not even a week after getting that brake switch finally fixed (which solved the annoying sticky shifter problem) and suddenly I'm dealing with what I assume is a dying alternator. I drove the car over to Shopper's Drug Mart today to pick up something and when I got back in and started to back out of my spot, suddenly the engine cut out and the engine lights started flashing and what-not.

I started the car again and was able to get a few more feet before it died again. A quick restart of the engine and I got it into a parking spot and just let it run for a few minutes. I was able to finish my errands but I noticed that the lights on the dash would dim whenever I had the brakes on and the signal light on. Sigh.

I called Canadian Tire (I know, but they're the only place open) and after describing my issues, it sounds like it's the alternator. I just got the battery replaced less than a year ago, so the alternator seems to be the most likely culprit.

I just hope I can get it down to Milton tomorrow (and fixed) so that I don't have to spend yet another Monday with my car in the shop. Sigh.

Why can't my car ever decide to die on a weekday?

And The Darwin Award Goes To...

You Wouldn't Like Her When She's Angry

I tell ya, you turn your back for one minute to write one e-mail and this is what happens.



Here's a close-up of the decorative artwork. If I'm not mistaken, it's some kind of kanji or katakana, though I don't know what it means.



I'm actually very surprised that Kara let Garrett doodle on her that much with nary a peep. At least it was washable marker.

There Were No Fields Of Clover In That Movie!

I just got home from seeing Cloverfield and loved it. Probably the best giant monster movie I've seen, hands down. I didn't have a problem with the way it was filmed and going into it cold meant that I was going along for the ride with the characters and it rocked because of it. I didn't see any of the viral campaign and basically went into it knowing there was a giant monster attacking New York and that it was shown from the point of view of people on the ground.

If you go see it, make sure you sit about halfway towards the back or further though, as I could see how being closer to the screen could induce motion sickness.

There were some real idiots at the theater though. As soon as the credits rolled, the morons in front of me started yelling at the screen.

"What the hell was that? They didn't explain anything!" they said.

I was like, "Dude! You just lived through a first person account of a monster invasion of New York City. What more do you want?" At least, that's what I was thinking...

I'll bet that the monster in Cloverfield is the same monster from the island on Lost, only it gets bigger, meaner and then destroys New York City.

Expendable: The Movie

Remember that recruitment ad for super-villain henchmen the other week? Well, the full movie, Expendable, is now up for your viewing pleasure. I haven't had a chance to watch much of it yet, but what little I've seen is pretty amusing.

Also, Kara's getting fangs.

I Love Surprise Music

I can't stop listening to this song. It's just so peaceful. It's the main theme for that Endless Ocean game but it's just such a fantastic song on its own. I'm going to have to check out some other stuff by this lady.

Swimming On The Wii

I traded in some games today while I was picking up Burnout: Paradise and grabbed Endless Ocean for the Wii today.

It's a very different game... heck, it's barely a game. It's a scuba simulator and it's a very relaxing experience. Nothing beats the blizzard conditions of January in Canada like a tropical swim.

Garrett really wants to try the game out. Kara loved just watching the fishies swim around.

Oh, and it has some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard. Go to the site and just listen to the music in the background... I could listen to that all day.

What Do They Do In The Tundra For Fundra, I Wondra...

Well, talk about an exhausting day today.

I had to walk up to the doctor's office this morning for an appointment and then back home... while carrying Kara and trying to keep her from freezing solid.

Then I got home and there was a message on the phone from two minutes before I walked in the door saying that the car was ready to go... and I'd just walked past the shop on the way to and from the doctor's office! ARG!

I'd figured that the car wouldn't be ready until this afternoon as I'd called on Saturday and they were waiting for a part. Sigh.

So I went back out this afternoon and walked BACK to the shop, still carrying Kara and freezing solid while cursing my stupid car. Thankfully it was only a $90 job to get the brake switch replaced and the car has been running smooth as silk since I got it. Woo!

Another reason I'm so tired is that I spent almost the rest of the day playing drums in Rock Band and let me tell you, that's tiring stuff right there! Kara was my assistant though and she was laughing her head off while bashing on the drums or playing with the drumsticks.

I'm just going to flake out and relax for the rest of the night and probably hit the hay sooner than later. zzzz...

Juno What We Saw?

As part of the extended birthday celebrations today, Julie & I were able to snag a babysitter (first time we've done that since Garrett was born) and went down to see Juno.

It's an absolutely fantastic movie. I don't think I've laughed as much during a movie in ages. Ellen Page is fantastic, as always, and the rest of the cast does a great job too. I personally loved J.K. Simmons as Juno's dad.

Run, don't walk, to see Juno. It's definately worth seeing in the theatre, even if it doesn't have any giant monsters or explosions. It's just full of heart and awesome writing.

We had a trio of 70+ year old ladies sitting in front of us during the movie too and it was funny to hear their reactions to the jokes.

Happy Birthday Julie!

It's Julie's birthday today! Party! Celebrate!

I just hope she didn't get my cold/flu/ebola outbreak. I know that it's been a rule around here that I'm sick on her birthday but I don't really think she wants to be sick!

She'll Trip Over That Thing