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Friday, March 30, 2007

Terrorist driver

I saw something odd the other morning, while driving my wife to work. A cab was pulled over at a bus stop, and the back door facing the sidewalk was open. The passenger in the back seat was hanging out the door, with his finger jammed down his throat, obviously trying to make himself throw up. That's not something you see every day.

I got my driver's licence renewal card in the mail yesterday. This year I have to get a new photo taken too, so that means I'll have to take a trip to one of the MOT Centres to get it done. I don't mind too much, since I really hate my current photo. I look like some kind of terrorist in the picture. My hair is much longer, and I don't have the goatee that I have now. I'm off on a Friday in April, so I'll probably get it done that day.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Kickin' butt

As the say goes, Kids say the darndest things. This one is funny, and cute.


What Are you Gonna Do To The Monster - Click Here for more great videos and pictures!

Monday, March 26, 2007

Mouse catching

We arrived home from work this evening, hoping that the little mouse was in the live trap.

I carefully untaped the cupboard doors and removed the trap.

Nope. No mouse.

I shone a light beside the basket and there he was. Still sitting in the corner of the cupboard.

We decided to try and catch him with a glass. A friend at work said he had done that twice and it was pretty easy. He said the mice never even tried to run away. Our plan was to get him under a glass, and then slide it along the shelf to the front, and slide him into a small cardboard box.

So I blocked off the other half of the cupboard to minimize the area he could run in, and started to pull the basket away.

He didn't like that, and quickly scurried in behind it.

By now, my sister inlaw and her daughter dropped by to watch.

My wife placed a large plastic recycling bin on the kitchen counter, beneath the cupboard, just in case he hopped out of the cardboard. He would then land inside the plastic bin.

I was standing on a step stool, and I was nervous as hell that this little critter would get away. So my hand was shaking. That was kinda funny.

I removed the basket. The mouse didn't like that, and ran back and forth at the back of the cupboard. He stopped in his corner. I reached in slowly with the glass... he scurried around again. At one point he even ran toward me. He settled down again in the corner and I tried again. After three or four more attempts, I had mouse under glass.

Sliding the glass wasn't as easy because his little tail kept getting caught. He even squeaked at one point. Eventually I got it at the edge of the shelf.

My sister inlaw decided to help out. She was going to help close one flap on the box, while I closed the other, and my wife held the box up for us.

On a count of three, I pulled the glass off the edge and into the box he dropped.

We closed it up and I went out for a much needed smoke. :)

My kids and I walked up to the woods up near the school to release him.

Could that mouse ever move! AND jump! A second or two after the box was tipped over, he bolted out, hopped into the woods and continued hopping a foot at a time, and I swear he jumped about a foot in the air for a distance of two feet just before he was out of sight.

THAT'S what I was afraid he'd do from the cupboard.

By the time we got back, my wife had cleaned and disinfected the cupboard. I had a can of expanding spray foam, and I sprayed it into the small hole that we suspect was the route to the top of the cupboards.

Hopefully he was the one and only mouse we had. And hopefully we don't see anymore.

"Phys Ed"

I must be getting old.

While my kids were getting ready for school, my wife reminded them to not forget their gym clothes for school. My 11 year-old son replied, "I don't need them. I have Health, remember?" Then he went downstairs.

I walked into the bedroom and looked at my wife.

"Health?", I asked.

"Yeh," she replied, "Phys Ed."

Now, when I was in school, Phys Ed was "gym". Running around. Sports. Stuff like that.

So I said, "Hmm.. wouldn't it make more sense to teach them about Phys Ed before they the physical part?"

She smiled at me and said, "No... 'PHYS ED'."

Then it hit me.

Sex Ed.

Why the hell do they call it HEALTH or PHYS ED? We called that SEX ED when I was in school. because that's what it was about. Sex.

Then it hit me again.

He's only 11 years-old!

Good god. Is it THAT time already?

I'm not ready for this shit.

Tiny visitor

The first thing this morning, after I got dressed and came downstairs, my wife said to me, "Can you look in the cupboard on the top shelf? I found mouse droppings."

So I got the step stool, opened the cupboard and looked on the top shelf.

Sure enough, there were mouse droppings. Five or six of them, from what I could see.

No mouse in the trap though.

So I took out the trap and there were more droppings behind it. I decided to re-bait the trap with some fresh peanut butter and some crumbled nut bar, and I put it back on the shelf.

Then my wife asked me if I could take everything else off the shelf.

Okee dokee. I started removing things, one by one, handing them to her. More droppings.

And more droppings.

And even more droppings.

"This was one busy little mouse", I thought.

The last thing on the shelf was a plastic basket. In the basket, my wife keeps a bag of chocolate chips, bag of coconut, and other assorted stuff like that.

I grabbed the basket and pulled it out.

Ever have that weird feeling when you're doing something, where you know that there's a chance something else will happen, but in the back of your mind you're telling yourself that it won't happen, and then it does?

That's what it was like with the basket. I was fairly sure that I wouldn't find anything, other than more mouse poop, but when I got that basket out... there he was. Sitting in the corner of the cupboard, looking back at me.

What else could I do? I put the basket back in the cupboard and closed the door.

My wife freaked out. Which is strange, because she loves domestic rats. My sister in-law has two and she has no problem holding them.

My wife said that we have to get the mouse out. I asked her what I was supposed to do? Reach in and pick it up? What if it ran out and fell to the floor, then took off?

I told her it was best to keep it in the cupboard and hope that it goes into the live trap sometime today.

I took a picture of him before we taped the cupboard doors closed, and taped over the openings. Yeh, he could chew through the tape, but I'm hoping he'll get into the trap so we can release him outside in the forest somewhere.

I don't know what we'll do of he doesn't.

Or worse, if we get home and find that he did chew through the tape.

Or even worse... DIDN'T chew through the tape covering the small opening on top of the cupboards that he used to get into the house. That would mean he'd still be somewhere else in the house. :)

We have a cat, but she doesn't seem to be aware of the mouse's existence. If she is aware of it, she's not showing it by hanging around in the kitchen.

At the last place we lived, we caught a few mice. We had another cat then, and he would walk on the counters and stare up at the cupboards.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Peyton Manning SNL Skit - *UPDATED*

I was watching SNL last night and this skit came on. SNL hasn't had anything this funny in a long time.



NEW LINK -- quick before YouTube pulls it down!

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Senators 7 - Lightning 2

With tonight's 7-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Ottawa Senators have officially clinched a playoff spot. I'm going to have to dig out all of my Senators signs and start posting them on the windows, like I do every year for the playoffs. :)

My brother inlaw got us a pair of tickets for the first home playoff game too. Since the standings aren't yet finished, we still don't know exactly when that will be, or who we'll be playing. So far, it looks like it'll be the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Phone Number Math

This is kinda neat.

  1. Grab a calculator. (you won’t be able to do this one in your head)
  2. Key in the first three digits of your phone number (NOT the area code)
  3. Multiply by 80
  4. Add 1
  5. Multiply by 250
  6. Add the last 4 digits of your phone number
  7. Add the last 4 digits of your phone number again.
  8. Subtract 250
  9. Divide number by 2

Look at your answer.

Neato, eh?

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Clark, The Canadian Hockey Goalie

This is some pretty funny shit. Perhaps more so if you're Canadian. I dunno.

Welcome back Spring!

Depending on your source, either today or tomorrow is the first day of spring. Spring apparently arrives at some time today. Either way, tomorrow is the first FULL day of spring.

This winter has certainly been the mildest I've ever been through. We didn't really get any significant snow until some time in January. Unfortunately for me, that meant that I wasn't able to use my new snow shoes very often.

Now we await what spring and summer will bring us. I'm really hoping that the mild winter doesn't mean we're in for a cool and wet summer. We had one of those a few years ago and it made for some terrible camping.

On the other hand, I wouldn't want a very hot and humid summer either. I don't mind the heat so much, just spare me the humidity.

Quincy Video

It took YouTube a while to publish it, but it is now up. Here's the video I made. Despite the corny sound track, I still love watching it. :)

Monday, March 19, 2007

Quincy

I'm feeling a little freaked out right now.

I was messing around with YouTube, uploading a small video of our cat, Sam, meowing. (Yeh, I was bored) Since I was digging around in my videos folder, I decided to play a video I made in 2003 as a tribute to our other cat, Quincy, who passed away that year.

Then it dawned on me that it was March of that year that he passed away.

It gets even freakier.

I checked my calendar and it was actually March 19th -- THIS VERY DAY -- back in 2003.

Spooky.

Quincy, also known as "Buddy", "Rug", and "Quin" was a Maine Coone variety of cat. When we got him 1993, along with his "sister" Sam. He was so tiny. He could sleep in my hand.

Sam was the same age, but about twice his size. Quincy grew up fast, outgrowing Sam and became the dominant one. He grew into a BIG cat. And he had a temper, when he didn't get his way.

Yet, he never attempted to hurt our kids. He would hiss occasionally, but that was it. He was so tolerant of them picking him up like a rag doll later in life.

I remember when our son was about a year old. He was lying on the carpet, on a blanket playing with his toys. I was typing away at the computer. I leaned over to check on him.

I nearly freaked.

There he was, on his stomach, face-to-face with Quincy. He had both fists firmly grasping the fur on each side of Quincy's face, pulling Quincy's face close to his own.

Quincy had a look of panic on his face, but didn't even try to pull away or defend himself. Poor cat. I rescued him and off he went.

It was pretty funny after the fact.

Quincy had two incidents of FUS (Feline Urinary Syndrome) in his life. The first time was caught early when he was around 4 years old, purely by chance while I was in the basement at the same time he was using the litter box. I noticed that he seemed to be having some discomfort as he went about his business. I checked the litter when he was done and found a small pool of bloody urine. That cost us a couple of hundred dollars in Vet bills, but he recovered fairly quickly.

The second incident was a couple of years later. Again, we caught it early, but not early enough. $600 later, he was home. We changed cat food this time, switching to Science Diet.

Years passed without any further incidents. Both Sam and Quincy appeared to be aging well.

In March of 2003, I noticed that Quincy was looking a little scruffy. Not his usual self. Not as active. I feared that it was FUS again.

I checked the litter box. I dabbed some paper towel on any wet spots on the litter and it left a pinkish wet mark on the paper towel. Must have been blood.

After some initial tests at the Animal Hospital, we had a brief moment of hope that it wasn't FUS, but quite possibly something else and easily treatable. An hour or so later, our hopes were gone. They confirmed that it was FUS. And fairly advanced. He was completely blocked.

We made a difficult decision that day, and chose to put an end to the misery that kept coming back.

I have to admit that I whimped out. My wife took Quincy to the Animal Hospital that night. I pretty much knew what was coming and couldn't go through that. About 7 years earlier, I brought my family's dog, Peanut, there for the same thing. She was very old and sick. But I stayed right to the end.

I couldn't bear the thought of going through that again with Quincy. When I think back on it now, that's something I regret. I should have been there. I owed that to him.

Anyway, that's the story of Quincy. Once the video gets published on YouTube, I'll post a link.

RIP Buddy. We still miss you.

Reasonable shipping rates?

I was browsing around ThinkGeek.com and found something that I wanted. It was $6.99 USD. I filled out the "Country" for the estimated shipping to Canada... $20.48?!?!

And that was the cheapest option, using DHL Express Intl. The other option was UPS Express at $23.73.

Their "Shipping Info" page states:
"We have chosen DHL and UPS as the carriers for our International orders. They both offer reasonable shipping rates (compared to other express carriers) and fast delivery times. We do not use the Post Office for International orders because they do not offer a suitable package tracking system."
$20 shipping on a $7 item is reasonable?

I recently ordered a canvas messenger bag from Amazon.com that cost me $16 for the bag, and the S&H was $15. Not a great deal less, but $31 overall for a bag that I couldn't find locally didn't bother me. Plus, the weight of this package was far greater than this $7 item.

I realize that they don't set their own shipping rates, but surely they could find a cheaper shipping alternative for smaller "International orders" so we don't get screwed?

Speaking of getting screwed... UPS has a history of screwing us with their "brokerage fees" as well. For that very reason, I won't buy anything from any company in he U.S. that uses UPS as the only shipping option.

You have to wonder how many sales, like mine, are lost due to the outrageous shipping charges. And ThinkGeek.com isn't the only business that has lost my sale because of it.

Sentors 3 - Penguins 4 (OT)

If the officiating in the playoffs is anything like it was for last night's Sens vs. Penguins game, the Senators are doomed.

Talk about inconsistency. Yes, there were a few things that should have been called against the Senatorss, but there were more than should have been called against the Penguins. (i.e. Crosby's dive, Roberts' cross-checking Corvo from behind into the glass during the overtime period) Then there were things that shouldn't have been called (i.e. Volchenkov's push into Flury, resulting in an interference penalty, and a goal for the Pens)

It's frustrating as hell to watch.

I understand that the game looks different down on the ice, but you would think that it would balance itself out. It didn't.

I hate the Leafs and I love nothing more than to watch them lose, but I've seen similar officiating go against them in games as well.

I know the Senators can beat the Penguins, but the playing ground has to be balanced for that to happen. None of these BS calls and non-calls.

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Pet Food Recall

This is pretty scary stuff, if you're a pet owner. The recall is a "precautionary measure".
TORONTO (CP) - One of North America's largest pet-food suppliers said Friday it would recall some of the premium dog and cat food it sells through stores such as Wal-Mart and Safeway at a cost of up to $40 million after several animal deaths in the United States.
One dog and a "small number" of cats in the U.S. are reported to have died from kidney failure after eating the food, Henderson said. There had been no complaints from Canadian pet owners.
The lists for Cat and Dog food are now posted on Menu Foods Income Fund's web site. They're are a lot longer than I expected. It looks like they sell under quite a few different names.

Make sure you download the list for the brand that you buy. It'll be an Excel spreadsheet containing the product code, description and other information. Most, if not all of them, seem to be "cuts'n'gravy" style. If you don't have Excel or a spreadsheet program capable of opening the file, you can download a free one here from Microsoft.

Cache me if you can

Here's an interesting article about Geocaching in Stanford Magazine. I really like this quote from the article,
“[Caching] makes you more observant of your surroundings,” she says. “It brings me the joy of appreciating what’s around me.”
That's a big part of why I enjoy Geocaching.

Friday, March 16, 2007

Day off for me

Being the last day of "March break" for the kids, I decided to book today off. We haven't decided what we're going to do... yet.

My headache from yesterday hung around the entire night. A lingering, nagging kind of pain. I felt much better this morning, but I can still feel the effects from yesterday.

The Sens beat the Islanders last night. It was a fun game to watch, but not as much fun as other wins because I couldn't cheer from the couch. Yelling and screaming would make my head hurt. (Yes, my wife and I yell and scream at the TV when we're watching hockey) :)

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Changing weather... allergies... pain... migraines

I've never, to the best of my knowledge, been tested for any allergies. One of these days, I should.

I woke up this morning feeling fairly good. On the drive to work, I sensed an aural migraine beginning. Fortunately for me, I rarely get a full-blown migraine headache. 95% of the time it's just the visual disturbances.

I seem to recall feeling this same way last spring, but perhaps a little worse. With cold like symptoms.

After I got to work, I had a bit of a headache. More of a burning pain at the back of my head. I think it's due to the change in weather. It's been warmer lately. The spring aromas are beginning. Maybe I'm allergic to something?

I don't know... but the daily visual disturbances are annoying as hell.

Luckily I work with a few women on my team. Women are like mobile pharmacies. All three of them had different pain medications, and all offered me something. I accepted some kind of green liquid capsule thing (Advil, perhaps?) and was told to drink lots of water with it, or it would give me heartburn.

I still feel a bit of a headache, but that definitely took the edge off the pain. I can deal with this. She offered me another one if I needed it. I thanked her, but passed on it.

I'd better not get any more symptoms of allergies.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Common Sense Obituary

A friend sent this to me, so I don't really know its origin. I like most of it.
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, life isn't always fair, and maybe it was my fault. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-year- old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job they themselves failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer Panadol, sun lotion or a Band Aid to a student - but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, churches became businesses, and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar can sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.

He is survived by three stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, Someone Else is to Blame, and I'm A Victim. Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Rideau Falls, Ottawa, Ontario

I stopped by Rideau Falls today to check out the ice. They had crews there monitoring the ice flowing into the Ottawa River. My guess is that they just opened the dam. There must have been 20-30 people there all watching. It was pretty cool.

I took some photos and posted them online.

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Suitable for all audiences

While watching the Sens vs Leafs game tonight on TV a Kia commercial came on.

At first it looked like the controversial one, where the lady cop is making out with a young guy in his car. This one...



Various police forces didn't like it because they claimed it was degrading. I thought it was funny. And I don't think any less of female police offers because of it. Anyway, the police got their way and KIA backed down and pulled it.

I was surprised when it came back on. I started to say to my wife, "Hey, I thought they pulled that..." and then around 5 seconds into it, just before they pan back to show the cop car, it cut to a message on the screen that said:

And now a new ending that
is suitable for all audiences.

The next thing you know, we're looking at a goat standing in a field, happily eating grass and wagging its tail. Too funny. :) I couldn't find a clip of the new commercial, but I did find this story about it.

Anyone who has seen the original commercial knows that the woman in the front seat with the guy is a cop.

It'll be interesting to see if the police forces complain about it again.

Daylight Savings Time @ 2am, Sunday, March 11

Don't forget to set your clocks and other time devices forward by 1 hour at 2:00am Sunday, March 11th! Of course, this only applies if you live in Canada or the United States.

For the last day or two I've been trying to figure out what devices we own, other than the computers, that automatically adjust themselves for DST. My GPSr does. I was checking out its DST settings last night, and it allows you to set "custom" change dates, but unfortunately I can't find a way to set it for the second Sunday in March. It has First and Last. Ugh.

Cycling and Geocaching

The team I'm cycling with for the RONA MS Bike Tour in August met last night at one of the members' apartments. We met to toss around fund raising ideas and to... well.. meet each other, since some of us had never met before. We had a great time.

We're all linked by our hobby -- Geocaching.

After the meeting, we all went looking for a micro geocache hidden about 500m away. It was pretty cold out too. Some of the members had already found it in the past and got a good laugh out of the rest of us searching this small traffic island for a tiny cache.

Friday, March 9, 2007

MADD - drunk driving petition

I just received an email from a friend. It was a petition for MADD, entitled "Somebody Should Have Taught Him" and contained a poem about drunk driving. A quick visit to Snopes.com proved it to be an urban legend.

According to Snopes...
Unfortunately, no matter how well-intentioned, this petition is actually having a negative impact because people who don't know what to do with it are bombarding MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) with it, clogging their e-mail and taking up the time of staff members who now have to spend time responding to it rather than helping drunk driving victims. People who truly want to help should visit MADD's Activism page instead. For those who seek a legislative solution to this problem, contacting one's congressional representative(s) directly, by U.S. mail, telephone, fax, or e-mail is likely a more productive action than signing an e-petition.
Although it was sent with good intentions, I really wish people would take a minute and do a little research on any email petitions they plan on forwarding to find out if they're real or not. 90% of the time, you'll find it on Snopes.

My visit to the Dentist

My dental appointment went a little better than I expected.

First of all, I no longer have the same hygienist. It seems that she no longer works there. :(

The one who cleaned my teeth today appears to be a temporary one, picking up the other ones appointments. She said that they're in the process of hiring a new hygienist, so she said she doesn't know who I'll get in September when I go back.

I told her about my sensitive gums near one of my molars. She had a look at it and said it did look a little inflamed. She took an x-ray of it and showed it to me on the computer in the room. The tooth itself looks good, and so does the root. But the gumline around it is lower than the gum line around neighbouring teeth. She called it "bone loss". I guess my jaw bone is wearing away? I dunno.

After the cleaning, the dentist came in to have a look at my teeth and said the same thing. I didn't think at the time, but I should have asked if the occasional pain I have with my gums around the will clear up on its own. It's more of a nuisance if I'm not careful when I eat.

I will have to go back in two weeks though. The dentist also noticed that the filling on the tooth beside was chipped or cracked. Greeeeaaaaaaaat. :(

Thursday, March 8, 2007

Senators 5 - Leafs 1

The Ottawa Senators played a great game tonight, breaking their 3-game losing streak and NOT losing a lead in the third period for the fourth time in a row. *phew*

Ray Emery played a great game, making more than a few really nice saves.

Of course, the victory is that much more sweeter by the fact that it was the Leafs that we beat. :)

GO SENS GO!

Root canal? I hope not.

I have a dental appointment tomorrow morning. It's for my regularly scheduled 6-month cleaning.

Up until about a week ago, I thought it would be just another typical cleaning with my cute hygienist. Now I'm not so sure.

A week ago, my lower right gums started to be sensitive. They hurt a little. Almost like they got scratched by sharp toast or something. Know what I mean?

It started to feel like it might be getting better, but I just noticed that it's not. In fact, if I put my finger in my mouth and press hard on that area, it hurts quite a bit. More than it has up to now.

I'm no dentist, but I suspect that there's an infection lurking somewhere under the nearby tooth. I'm dreading that something is going to show up on an x-ray, and that the dentist will tell me that I need a root canal.

I've had at least two root canals in the past. They weren't too bad, but they're so freakin' expensive and my insurance plan doesn't cover the entire cost.

Ugh.

Meow?

Our cat, Sam, was acting really strange last night.

She usually keeps to herself, unless I'm sitting on the couch watching TV. Then she'll hop onto the arm of the couch and lie down. Last night I was at the computer and she wouldn't stop coming into the den and meowing. Or standing on her hind legs and rubbing her face against the arm of my chair.

I checked to see if she had food. She did. I emptied the bowl and gave her some fresh food and water. That occupied her for about 5 minutes before she returned.

I went looking for her toys in the living room, found 3 of them, and tossed them out into the middle of the room for her to play with. She walked over to them, batted one around for a few seconds and then followed me back into the den.

She eventually hopped onto my lap and draped herself over one of my arms and purred away contentedly. After 10 minutes of that, she hopped down and left.

I'm guessing that she just wanted some attention, but it's not very often that she acts that way. It was rather strange.

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

40 Things You'd Love to Say Out Loud at Work

I didn't make this list. Someone sent it to me. I could have used a couple of these today. :)
  1. I can see your point, but I still think you're full of it.
  2. I don't know what your problem is, but I'll bet it's hard to pronounce.
  3. How about never? Is never good for you?
  4. I see you've set aside this special time to publicly humiliate yourself.
  5. I'm really easy to get along with once you people learn to see it my way.
  6. Who lit your fuse.
  7. I'm out of my mind at the moment, but feel free to leave a message.
  8. I don't work here - I'm a consultant.
  9. It sounds like English, but I don't understand a damn word you're saying.
  10. Ahhh. I see the screw-up fairy has visited us again.
  11. I like you. You remind me of myself when I was young and stupid.
  12. You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.
  13. I have plenty of talent and vision - I just don't give a damn.
  14. I'm already visualizing the duct tape over your mouth.
  15. I will always cherish the initial misconceptions I had about you.
  16. Thank you. We're all refreshed and challenged by your unique point of view.
  17. The fact that no one understands you doesn't mean you're an artist.
  18. Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental.
  19. What am I? Flypaper for freaks?
  20. I'm not being rude. You're just insignificant.
  21. It's a thankless job, but I've got a lot of karma to burn
  22. Yes, I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.
  23. And your cry-baby whiny butt opinion would be?
  24. Do I look like a fucking people person to you?
  25. This isn't an office. It's Hell with fluorescent lighting.
  26. I started out with nothing and I still have most of it left
  27. Sarcasm is just one more service we offer.
  28. If I throw a stick, will you leave?
  29. Errors have been made. Others will be blamed.
  30. Whatever kind of look you were going for, you missed.
  31. Oh, I get it. Like humor. Only different.
  32. A cubicle is just a padded cell without the door.
  33. Can I trade this job for what's behind door number 1?
  34. Too many freaks, not enough circuses.
  35. Nice perfume, but must you marinate in it?
  36. Chaos, panic and disorder - my work here is finally done.
  37. How do I set a laser printer to k!ll.
  38. I thought I wanted a career; turns out I just wanted a salary
  39. I'll try being nicer if you try being smarter.
  40. Wait a minute - I'm just trying to imagine you with a personality

Bugatti Veyron @ Top Speed

This is insane. 407 km/h.

Imagine having an accident at that speed? I doubt there'd be much left of the driver or the car.

Here's one that crashed at 160 km/h.

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Korean Sushi

I'm not too keen on the thought of ever trying sushi. Up to now, I thought that sushi was always dead. If I were to try sushi, it would have to be dead.

It seems that I was wrong.

No Mouse

We checked the trap this morning and it was empty, except for the small piece of paper with the peanut butter on it. I'm not sure what I would have done if we had found a mouse in it. It's damn cold outside today. I would have felt guilty releasing it.

Monday, March 5, 2007

There's a mouse in the house!

Maybe.

My wife found a plastic basket had been chewed on. The small chewed pieces of plastic were inside the basket. Nothing else in that cupboard was chewed though. We don't know how long it's been like that either. No signs of mouse droppings.

At the last house we lived in, we had two mice over the years that we were there. We caught them both. Unfortunately, one of them died in the trap. We use live traps, but I had baited the trap for weeks, and checked it daily with no sign. I forgot about it for a few days and when I went back, it had a dead mouse in it.

The first one we caught about a year before was still alive. It was a much larger trap too. Click on the picture to see the little trapped critter.

I baited the trap with peanut butter and left it in the cupboard where the plastic basket was. These little critters amaze me how they manage to climb up into the cupboards, and navigate from one to another without any obvious access.

If there is in fact a mouse in the house, I hope we catch it soon.

Moderated Comments

I had to enable comment moderation due to some spam disguised as a comment.

The Britney Spears entry I posted earlier today attracted some porn spam. At first glance, it seemed rather harmless. The anonymous comment made reference to Spears' going commando and how it's a cry for help. Her name hotlinked back to some porn site. They then referenced the porn site directly, where we could find many more photos of her in her state of crying out for help state. Had they linked to specific pictures or articles associated with the reference, I may have left it.

Live and learn. The moderation shouldn't be a problem since I have yet to receive any other comments for my entries. :)

Britney Spears is the anti-christ!

Britney Spears claims to be the anti-christ.

I really feel sorry for her. I guess some people would say that she deserves everything that happens to her, but I don't.

Don' get me wrong. I can't stand her music. But I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

Looking back through time

I was messing around with Picasa and the online albums earlier. After Picasa had finished cataloging all my photos, I couldn't help but look through them.

The pictures of my kids from three or four years ago made me a little teary eyed. I could remember all those moments when I took the photos too. They grow up so damned fast. Too fast.

Where does the time go?

Anyway, I posted some pictures on the right of the main page here. Not pictures of my kids -- pictures that I took while learning some of the features on my camera. I love the super macro.

Saturday, March 3, 2007

Kraft Dinner?

It appears that my most popular blog entry was the one about Perfect Kraft Dinner. Most visitors arrive here after doing a search on Google for "Kraft Dinner". Interesting.

Customer Service

I used to work in tech support. I used to manage a team in tech support. I can relate to this. Oh boy, can I relate to this.

Friday, March 2, 2007

Weather not so bad

The drive in to work wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. It was a slow, but it was steady. No stop'n'go driving. I actually ended up arriving 10-20 minutes earlier than I thought I would. I was the only one on my team here for about 15 minutes. There wasn't much snow on the ground, it was mostly ice pellets. No freezing rain, though.

The school buses were not running today, but we sent our kids to school anyway. :) My son usually walks to school. He was not happy about having to go on a "snow day". But he was off sick twice this week, so we figured it would make a good catch-up day for him. My daughter happens to like school, so my wife borrowed her sister's car and drove her and her niece to school this morning. The unfortunate part about that is that they'll both need to be picked up later today, and the weather is supposed to get worse, with an accumulation of 15cms of snow.

Thursday, March 1, 2007

Weather Warning

We're expecting a big dump of snow tonight.

HEAVY SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW BEGINNING THIS EVENING.

15-20cms when all is said and done. Along with ice pellets and freezing rain.

For the last week or so, all the snow has been melting. It wasn't a lot to begin with though. We've got patches of grass showing on our tiny front lawn, and the entire flower bed is snow-free.

Should be a fun drive in to work tomorrow morning, if it actually happens.