Euphemistically Convivial

BBC Big Read

2008-07-07T17:45:00.002-04:00

1.The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling (tried but didn't like it)
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis

10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald

44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding

71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley

88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez (tried but it was terribly slow...thanks Trevor!)
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie

American Idol: Why would they kick out the only interesting performer?

2008-04-24T12:35:00.003-04:00

So...looks like there is another person for the Supergroup I wanna start. Dilana, Jordis and now Carly Smithson!

American Idol...you suck!

Free Blanket Man

2008-01-21T21:25:00.000-05:00

I will be starting civil disobedience actions until they free Blanket Man! Who's with me??

Free Blanket Man!!

Spelling Hallowe'en

2007-10-27T07:17:00.000-04:00

I asked the webmaster of a great Canadian dictionary site how to spell Halloween/Hallowe'en and whether one was more Canadian. This was his response:

From: Dave VE7CNV
Date: Oct 27, 2007 4:40 AM
Subject: Re: Spelling Hallowe'en
To: Brian Double

Hello,

Thanks for visiting my web site, for telling me how you found it,
and for telling me your location.
I seem to remember spelling it as Hallowe'en too. I found,
however, that Halloween is used in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. and
Hallowe'en is a variant also used in all three countries. The ratio
of Halloween to Hallowe'en use is about 11:1 in Canada, 1432:1 in the
U.S., and 39:1 in the U.K. Therefore, neither spelling is more
Canadian than the other.
As the eve of All Saints' Day, the original was All Hallow Even
(where Even meant evening). The contraction, Hallowe'en, uses an
apostrophe in place of the letter, v, just as with o'er/over, for
example. A further contraction removes the apostrophe to form
Halloween.
Have a happy one, whichever way you end up spelling it.

Dave (VE7CNV)

My site: http://www.luther.ca/~dave7cnv/
"Time, where did you go? Why did you leave me here alone?"
- Chantal Kreviazuk's "Time"
M+14

I found this guy entertaining

2007-09-12T23:49:00.001-04:00

Democracy

2007-08-28T18:26:00.000-04:00

"I think that there should be laws that allow people to vote at puberty, and you should certainly take voting away at menopause. No one over the age of 50 should be allowed to vote. Why should they bother? The reason they vote is because they have no trust in kids, no trust in the seed bearers. If they really trusted the process, they would gladly give up the right to vote." - Timothy Leary, Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out.

This is awesome!

2007-08-08T22:01:00.000-04:00

My Date with Tom Green

I remember hearing about these guys when they duct taped themselves to the post....its great to see how it worked out.

Not officially retired...

2007-08-04T10:25:00.000-04:00

Facebook has got me....no more time to blog.

Who am I?

2007-07-09T19:45:00.000-04:00

Click through to find out!
More info

My ears are still bleeding…but in a good way!

2007-07-09T11:03:00.000-04:00

The White Stripes are awesome! Screaming guitar riffs are still ringing through my ears. What a show!

We arrived at Bluesfest in the afternoon, prepared for the pouring rain that they were announcing. The 80% certainty that we were going to have thunderstorms never materialized and I was left feeling silly having brought a backpack full of rain gear/supplies. Instead we got superb weather for an outdoor concert…not too hot not too cold.

The first band we saw, fightfightfight, was great except for one small problem….the singer couldn’t sing. The music was fun, the band was exciting…but the lead singer was off key. We laughed when she stopped to change her guitar because “you wouldn’t want me to play this song with an out of tune guitar, right?”….too bad she couldn’t switch in an in-tune voice.

Next was Ukrainia….who were great. They play traditional Ukrainian music hyped up with electric guitars. The crowd really got into it and there was some fun dancing going on! The stage show was good too. The singer was hilarious…or at least the drummer's Ukrainian to English translation what the singer was saying was hilarious.

We had five stages to choose from but we stayed the whole afternoon watching shows at the River stage. It was a smaller stage that had more of the indie bands. Ukrainia was followed by Shout Out Out Out Out. They are a Techno band with two full drumkits. The music was lots of fun to bop your body and bob your head to. I must be getting old though because we actually left the crowd to escape the haze of marijuana and get some fresh air. On the way in we were checked for glass bottles…but apparently dope is okay because there was plenty a joint being smoked!

With two hours before The White Stripes hit the stage, we set ourselves up at the main stage to get a good spot. In the hours that followed, we were joined by about 35,000 of our closest friends! From the second they hit the stage to the encore 2 hours later Jack White was a ball of energy! They dressed entirely in red, the stage was dressed in red…and their music was on fire! Jack and his “big sister” Meg* didn’t stop to speak between songs…it was just song after song of powerful drums and wailing guitar riffs. It was awesome. It is amazing the amount sound that can come from two performers. The crowd joined in while Meg sang “In the cold, cold night” in the encore…the only time she spoke all performance...and she did awesome. She has a great voice and the fact that she is mysteriously silent most of the time makes her all the more alluring. Overall rating for the show…AWESOME!

*She’s actually his ex-wife…but they have a weird thing that they pretend to be siblings.

Pics from the last couple o' days

2007-07-05T22:17:00.000-04:00

Speaka the Francophile

2007-06-30T09:11:00.000-04:00

I'm quite proud of myself. Yesterday I got re-tested to see if I've kept up my levels in speaking French and....I actually went up a level. The government ranking system is all crazy and A is the least bilingual and E is fully bilingual. I achieved a C. Considering there is also no D, I did pretty awesome!

Je vous prie d'agréer l'expression de mes sentiments les plus distingués.

Speaka

America's Got Talent

2007-06-19T21:26:00.000-04:00

I think David Hasslehoff is drunk on TV.

Poetry Picnic with Popcicles

2007-06-19T07:28:00.000-04:00

Elvis Perkins with Dearland

2007-06-14T22:06:00.000-04:00

This group rocks! I saw 'em on David Letterman last night and they were wicked. Elvis Perkins started out on the stage alone singing with his guitar. As additional instruments were added to the song the musician joined Perkins on stage. First a bass player. This was followed by the drummer. Next, a harmonium. And finally a trumpet. It was a really fun stage show.

Here's the song they played:
While you were sleeping

Here's the clip:

More from West Fest

2007-06-09T21:29:00.000-04:00

Jason Collet

West Fest

2007-06-09T18:17:00.000-04:00

Just do it...shoe print!

Elaborate costume!

Junkyard Symphony

Hangin' out with da boyz

2007-06-09T08:10:00.000-04:00

Frog rodeo!

Baseball on the baseball diamond

Big rock small boys

Two turkey eggs compared to a "large" brown hen egg. I had the big one for breakfast and it had twin yokes and it was yummy!

Diefenbunker

2007-06-09T08:02:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday was Doors Open Ottawa, where a bunch of buildings that are unsually inaccessible become accessible and buildings that usually cost money are free. We decided to take advantage and check out the Diefenbunker...an underground complex built during the Cold War to protect select Canadians during a nuclear attack. Unfortunately only the top floor was free...but was neat nonetheless. The kids enjoyed it for a while but became a bit bored part way through. "But you are deep underground!" is only interesting for so long.

They had some military jeeps set-up outside.

The boys fell asleep on the way home. Julia didn't enjoy that part!

BearBrook Part II

2007-06-02T14:14:00.001-04:00

BearBrook Farm Part 1

2007-06-02T14:06:00.000-04:00

Proposed Titles

2007-05-21T18:41:00.000-04:00

Sexy street person

I am a Ninja!

Little Boy on Big Mountain

Small Town MacDonalds (Stinkyville (Thurso), Quebec)

May Long Weekend 2007

2007-05-21T15:31:00.000-04:00

We had great weekend!

On Friday, we had a family movie night...Freedom Writers...not totally a family movie but good nonetheless (basically Dangerous Minds Two).

On Saturday morning, the kids and I went fishing with my dad. We caught a bunch of sunfish, perch and one very small large mouth bass. Lots o' fun. When we returned we celebrated Eth's sixth birthday! He is growing up quickly! At 2pm we watched as the Sens played their way into the Stanley cup final!!! Go Sens Go! Between periods we drove to friends and stayed for burgers...yum.

Sunday morning we drove up to my inlaws' trailer...and spent a wet but enjoyable day and evening.

Today is Monday and we are just chillin'. Talie leaves for a work trip tomorrow...her first ever. Should be fun for her. I get to hang with the kids alone 'til Friday afternoon. Should be fun for me!

Here are some pics...not necessarily from the weekend...but from the past little while.

Te Mutunga - Ranei Te Take

2007-05-13T10:11:00.000-04:00

My tattoo is finally finished and I am so pleased! I added some script, in Maori, to signify our New Zealand adventure. It all fits together with the Ouroboros since it translates to "The End or Rather the Beginning". The text comes from the last line of the kiwi novel, The Bone People.

Sudden Oak Death

2007-05-07T11:35:00.000-04:00

My job is to protect Canada from pests like this...I'm kinda like a superhero in that way.

At the Beach

2007-05-05T21:06:00.000-04:00

The kids and I had a picnic at the beach today. It was nice to play in the sun, though the wind was a bit cool.

Jockvale's Secret Treasures

2007-05-05T10:03:00.000-04:00

On Thursday night we went to an awesome talent show at Julia's school. It was a pirate theme and the set was beautiful. The MC, a girl in grade 4, did such an excellent job...she was very dramatic and funny. There was singing, dancing, acting, some great gymnastics, piano playing and intermittent short skits by the Pirates....and although they were all good, the star of the show was Julia and her group who performed a song called Louise which she learned in NZ. It was so cute! She did such a great job.

Ron Mueck - Anatomically Correct

2007-04-29T08:38:00.000-04:00

Yesterday morning I snuck away from the family for a couple of hours and went downtown to the National Gallery of Canada to see the Ron Mueck exhibit. He is a "hyperrealist sculptor"...his sculptures of people are amazingly detailed...right down to the last body hair, freckle, vein, and mole. His works are usually not to scale - I saw a newborn baby still covered in birth fluids the size of a room and a fragile little old lady sleeping under a thin blanket who was only a couple of feet tall. I was a bit embarrassed to get so close to these naked figures and even though I knew they were fake, I kept expecting to see them take a breath. It was weird to be observing a naked lady who had just given birth to a little baby who was still attached to its mother by the umbilical cord.

I really enjoyed the video at the end of the exhibit which showed how he makes these huge or miniature sculptures....quite the process.

Our new patio set

2007-04-24T07:17:00.000-04:00

Now...this is spring!!

2007-04-24T07:13:00.000-04:00

maranatha

2007-04-23T22:31:00.000-04:00

This evening I went to my first of six Christian Meditation classes. It was...interesting. The "Ma Ra Na Tha" is the mantra, it is Aramaic for "Come, Lord". After a discussion and a lesson, we sat upright in our chairs, very still and silently recited Ma Ra Na Tha, rhythmically, repeatedly, for twenty minutes. Every time the mind wandered we were supposed to return to our mantra. I haven't been to church in a while so this was an interesting opportunity to look a bit into my spiritual side. I'm not very good at quieting my mind...but who knows what'll happen with practice.

This is spring?

2007-04-16T12:38:00.000-04:00

Snakes - live and tattooed

2007-04-15T08:13:00.000-04:00

I was really hoping to have my tattoo completed yesterday, but one more session is required for touch ups. Greg, who doesn't always have a maniacal grin, added shading for the scales and white "to make it pop". The next session will be adding a bit more white and doing final touch ups. I've already sat about 5.5 hours of tattooing...another half hour to go and I'm done.

The tattoo looks pretty messy right now...part is fully healed and part is fully not. It should be all healed up in a couple of weeks.

Five hundredth post

2007-04-14T08:03:00.000-04:00

Wow...I write a lot! This is my five hundredth post!

I'm super excited because this afternoon I'm getting tattooing done...hopefully finishing my tattoo! I'm preparing mentally for the pain...which apparently is worse for me than others in the populous.

Easter Sunday

2007-04-08T14:30:00.000-04:00

Four Generations of Doubles

Easter Saturday

2007-04-08T09:37:00.000-04:00

The Knitter and the Crocheter

Four Generations

Not for kids...especially those who can read

2007-04-07T08:15:00.001-04:00

But pretty funny!

Jack "Frost" Pine and the Giant Carrot

2007-04-06T12:20:00.000-04:00

Spring, Art and April Fool's Funny Food

2007-04-04T20:44:00.000-04:00

Last weekend the weather was great so we went on a bike ride to the bank. Tomorrow it is supposed to snow!

I took Monday off to volunteer with Julia's class on a fieldtrip to the National Gallery. I had a great time. We learned about Inuit art, heard some interesting stories and Julia made a pottery polar bear. We heard the story of the grandmother who killed a bear with a mitten, we learned how Sedna populated the ocean with fish, seals and whales using parts of her fingers, and we heard about how shaman would turn into animals.
That evening Talie and I made a topsy turvy dinner. We had cupcakes and milkshakes for dinner and fishsticks with ketchup and coleslaw for dessert.

Actually the cupcakes were made from meatloaf with mashed potato icing and red pepper sprinkles, the milkshakes were cauliflower soup, the fishsticks were deep-fried pineapple, the ketchup was raspberry sauce, and the coleslaw was apples and yogurt. Fun to make but next time I'll save that much work for a weekend...a bit too time consuming for a weekday.

"Best of..."

2007-03-31T12:31:00.000-04:00

Best of...

Click on the picture

Western Canada Adventure

2007-03-31T11:05:00.000-04:00

This week I was on eight planes in six days - Ottawa-Toronto, Toronto-Vancouver, Vancouver-Penticton, drove to Oliver, drove back to Penticton, Penticton-Vancouver, Vancouver-Winnipeg, Winnipeg-London, Drove to Hamilton, and then Hamilton-Ottawa. Very tiring experience but I learned a lot about how different regional offices implement the policy that I was auditing against.

The worst part of the trip was the delayed flight out of Vancouver meaning we didn't get to Winnipeg until 3am...and we were supposed to start auditing five hours later. Luckily we were able to delay until eleven...but I was still exhausted for the rest of the trip. I think my favourite part was beautiful landscapes in Penticton and Oliver, British Columbia

In Oliver we had lunch at a tea house called Cantaloupe Annie's. It was a cute shop with a neat story. There use to be a train which carried tree fruit from Oliver to Penticton, which also carried cantaloupe...so they nicknamed it Cantaloupe Annie. Rumour has it that the farmers would set their watches according to the time the train passed.

I tried to go to see a museum in Winnipeg but unfortunately it was closed when I arrived. I was amazed by the number of homeless people in a place with such a cold winter...I guess you don't decide where you become homeless.

We flew through London and Hamilton so I didn't get any chance for sight seeing. This sign tickled my funny bone...not sure exactly why.

Passengers, picnic, peace protest, pre-confederation people, parliament, pratfall

2007-03-17T23:11:00.000-04:00

Eth and I took the bus downtown today.

After a picnic in the Rideau Centre, we went and joined a Peace Protest.

We evaluated Colonel By's work.

We spied on the Government.

And we made a video.

Violence begets Violence

2007-03-16T22:34:00.000-04:00

A History of Violence is a bloody violent movie!

Facebook - "I'm that 13 year old geek again!"

2007-03-14T08:04:00.000-04:00

So...I was playing on facebook last night. Its neat because you run into old friends. What I don't like and found last night was that those same insecurities I felt in Junior High and High School come back. I recognize these names of people from when I was in Jr and Sr High...but what if they don't know me. They were in the cool crowd 15 plus years ago and it won't surprise anyone to know that I was not. Do they remember me? Would they be interested in what I'm doing in my life? I even started to think about what would happen if I ran into the kids (well...they wouldn't be kids now) who were the bullies. Would they still be bullies now?

Normally, I don't really feel those same insecurities at this current stage in my life and haven't since University. There aren't really "cliques" in University or at work....and even if there were I have sufficient confidence now that I wouldn't really care.

Weird and wonderful, world wide web.

Cards n' Cornsnake

2007-03-12T20:51:00.000-04:00

I absolutely love watching the kids play cards. It makes me so happy when they play well together...and cards too!

Today, Raistlin ate his first fuzzy, the second size of feeder mice - about 4.5 centimeters. It was awesome. I dangled the mouse in front of his face and to my surprise Raistlin struck out, coiled him up and constricted until the mouse stopped moving. This, of course, didn't take long because the mouse was dead to begin with. In a few moments the mouse was swallowed whole. It must've been quite the meal because he couldn't even close his mouth.

Feasting with Friends

2007-03-11T08:20:00.000-04:00

We spent the weekend hosting dinner parties. Our camera doesn't take pictures indoors because it no longer has a flash. So...no pictures from our weekend. Instead here's something cute.

Have a look at my DNA

2007-03-07T22:53:00.000-05:00

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Snow, gas and Dave Anthony

2007-03-04T12:28:00.000-05:00

Friday morning I woke up to what sounded to me like pouring rain on our roof. Given the subzero temperatures, I was worried that the van and roads would be iced over. I was happy to discover that it was ice pellets not rain that was falling, which turned to snow on our drive into work. The snow kept falling all day until by evening there was twenty centimeters of new snow...youpee.

Saturday morning while Talie walked Tui in the dog park at Bruce pit, I took the kids sledding. The kids had fun but the hill was a bit slow due to the sticky snow so we didn't stay long. Actually that reminds me. Our GT Racers got stolen. It sucked but I figured it was our fault because we left them plainly visible in the front yard. About a week later....we found them on the front lawn! My best guess is that some teens "borrowed" it and when they were done sledding they returned it. All kinda weird.

I think we are going to have to start walking more. Some gas stations are out of gas and those that have gas are really expensive:

Last night we went out to North Gower for an East Coast Kitchen Party. We had a great time. We saw friends we hadn't seen for ages. And...we saw Dave Anthony. Talie and I were quite surprised when we learned that he was going to entertain us. Every Thursday, when we were still teenagers, our whole group of friends used to go downtown to Double Decker pub and drink plenty of beer and watch Dave Anthony play. He was great then...and he is awesome now. He plays Celtic/East Coast music with a lot of audience participation. Great fun!

This morning we had an interesting experience. Talie and I slept in until 10am! 10am! "How?", you may ask. "Well, my parents babysat the kids all night", I'd answer. "What wonderful parents I have", I might add.

Lions and Tigers and Bears...oh my!

2007-02-26T18:39:00.000-05:00

There are certainly advantages to having a PD day with an artistic babysitter.

Saturday Afternoon at the Rink

2007-02-25T12:09:00.000-05:00

Winterlude!

2007-02-18T14:35:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, Eth was feeling better so we went to Winterlude. Julia had gone earlier with Grandma and friends. Eth, Noah, Talie and I met them there. By the end of the day we had skated 4.4km up the canal and walked 4.4km back. It was a beautiful, sunny day...though a wee bit cold on the walk back. The ice sculptures were pretty cool.

Last night was Julia's turn to be sick...and this morning was Talie and I's turn. No fun. I was just describing my symptoms to Talie...which included sore leg muscles. Flu? Nope...the result of skating and walking a total of 9km...yup!

I've taken up snow sculpting...almost looks like Noah, eh?

This may be my last post for a while because Tui bit into the power cord. I have only 1h15 left until the laptop dies.

Smile

2007-02-17T09:21:00.001-05:00

Eth had a 24-hour stomach bug yesterday so I stayed home to watch him. He was doing much better in the afternoon so I think that I had too much time on my hands. I prepared a snack...

Bad Kitty

2007-02-16T08:22:00.000-05:00

Catwoman robs a bank.

Not a Valentines Day Movie

2007-02-15T20:43:00.000-05:00

We watched The Break-Up on Valentines Day. What a horrible movie! It was funny at times but I was really ambivalent about whether they should stay together or not. It was worse for me cuz I thought I was going to be watching a sappy Valentines "chick flick"...certainly not the case.

Bruce Pit

2007-02-14T18:58:00.000-05:00

On the weekend we went sledding and dog walking at Bruce Pit. The kids and dogs (Tui and my dog-in-law Sasha) had a great time.

Inuit Celebration

2007-02-10T15:54:00.000-05:00

Today we went to an Inuit Celebration. It was really neat to watch the drumming and throat singing. We got to eat some interesting stuff too - frozen raw caribou, raw salmon, dried caribou, bannock, and a caribou stew. There was also a fashion show of some awesome amauti...the ones with the big hood that'll hold a child.

Here's a video of some throat singers we saw. They were great but the video is pretty poor. They have their own website with some great mp3 recordings of their songs.

Talie and the kids made some cool crafts too.

My Eastern Canada Adventure

2007-02-10T08:07:00.000-05:00

Click on the lighthouse for an album of pictures.

My trip to Eastern Canada

This past week I was in Fredericton, Truro, Halifax, Montreal, St-Hyancinthe, and then Quebec City. I was conducting an audit of a CFIA program. It was really interesting to learn about how things are done throughout Eastern Canada. I am really looking forward to the next leg of the audit in Kelowna, Winnipeg, London and then finally Hamilton.

While in Halifax we were lucky enough to have the opportunity to visit Peggy's Cove which is absolutely beautiful though on that day it was also absolutely approaching absolute zero.

In Quebec, it was Carnival but I didn't really have the opportunity to take part. In the lobby of our hotel I was waiting for my colleagues to check in. I looked up and caught the eye of a gentleman walking by...and I thought...'Hey I know that guy', so I said 'hi' and he smiled and nodded. I thought about his face and determined that I had just said hi to Lucien Bouchard. My determination was confirmed when I noticed his limp and cane, which was as a result of his bout with Necrotizing Fasciitis.

Wicked Graphic Arts

2007-02-04T11:42:00.000-05:00

My "brother-in-law to be" is just about to graduate but he is already an amazing graphic artist. Check out his stuff here.

I'm particularly partial to the last one, with the font, and the crazy music. His Self-Promo is amazing too...and really, really funny!

The quicktime based ones don't work well on my computer but I think that's only a problem with my computer.

Art and the Zoo

2007-02-03T18:12:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, I went out by myself to the National Art Gallery. I had a great time. I bused down, allowing me time to read...and then read while eating at a pub. I'm reading Cloudstreet which I got as a going away gift from an Australian friend in New Zealand. Great book so far. Then I went to the gallery...really neat stuff. When I arrived there were speeches going on because of a new exhibit opening. It was funny to be around all these stuffy fancy artsy types...while I was all scruffy looking. The exhibit was a Haida artist, Robert Davidson, and it was awesome and free, even betta'. The display had hundred-year-old traditional Haida art mixed with Davidson's work which bends the "laws" of the Haida art form. This one was really neat in person...the photograph below...not as neat.

We, actually only Talie cuz I'm away on a business trip, are dog-sitting this week and when we were picking up the dog we saw some great reptiles. They have quite the collection...

Weekend in Review

2007-01-28T20:40:00.000-05:00

We had a great weekend!

We saw crazy cool cold blooded animals at our friends' son's birthday party. I got to hold a seven foot albino Burmese python, a tarantula and an absolutely beautiful king snake named Elvis, get it, Elvis the King. We saw a cane toad, named Mr. Pee Pee, that peed everywhere (apparently a defence mechanism), a turtle native to Ontario, and a cool Caiman.

We also took advantage of the sunny cold weather and headed for the Rideau Canal with the same friends. Loads of fun...and a good workout too. I really, really gotta get my skates sharpened though.

Non-Profit Organizations

2007-01-24T20:50:00.000-05:00

In Canada there are 82956 registered charities, 1655 of them in Ottawa. If you want to contribute to the betterment of humankind, is it better to volunteer or donate to one of these charities OR create a new non-profit organization that addresses an unmet niche need?

Lonely End of the Rink

2007-01-22T19:02:00.000-05:00

Right after work we took the kids to the rink again to play around. This time we brought our hockey sticks and a ball. When we arrived we had half the rink, while the bigger kids from the neighbourhood played hockey on the other half. Unfortunately, as we played around, the hockey net was encroaching further and further onto our half...pushing us into the rough ice at the end...until eventually we had no where left to skate. Still...we had a good time. Noah can now slide a few steps before falling....a huge improvement from yesterday where he was trying to master standing. Eth is doing excellent, as is Julia.What's the rule about outdoor rinks? There was certainly enough of them to play hockey on the whole rink...but it didn't leave any room for the younger kids. Should the rink stay divided in half so that the half a dozen little guys get a place to play while the dozen bigger guys are squished into the other? Next time we are going to try eating really early and getting there when the hockey players are having their supper.

Skating at the Park

2007-01-21T14:06:00.000-05:00

While Eth was out with Grandma, after breakfast and before watching Back to the Future, we went skating at the local outdoor rink. Since its been such a warm winter the rink was a little bumpy...well actually a lot bumpy...but fun anyway.

Julia's doing great at skating. Noah can stand up...for a few seconds at a time.

National Gallery of Canada

2007-01-21T13:35:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, we went with friends to the National Gallery of Canada for Artissimo. The kids made some neat art and we quickly, very quickly as the kids' patience was running thin,walked through the contemporary art wing. I love the Gallery...and could spend hours there.

The roof is awesome!

C-c-c-cold

2007-01-20T12:41:00.000-05:00

Maybe I've grown soft by living in NZ but today is chilly cold (-15 C with windchill -28 C)
Getting ready to go out takes many layers...and you can still only stay out for a little while.

I started a new blog

2007-01-20T09:28:00.000-05:00

I probably won't ever get around to updating it...so don't bother checking. Just thought you might wanna know.

http://whatsoninottawa.blogspot.com/

Wha?

2007-01-16T17:35:00.000-05:00

Black Dahlia...Weirdest! Movie! Ever!

Living the good life

2007-01-15T18:40:00.000-05:00

We had a great weekend. On Friday we had friends over to have a few drinks, play cards and chat...pretty much my favourite thing to do on a Friday night. On Saturday in the day, I went for a walk in the forest with the boys and then played hockey with the neighbourhood children on the driveway. The kids are getting so big...I think they might be giants -

Saturday night Talie and I went out on a date to a fancy restaurant, Social, and ate some great food. A friend of mine had given us a gift certificate and my parents had contributed to a night out, as well as offering to babysit. We ate slowly...a luxury we don't normally have. We even stayed for dessert...actually I had a dessert beer...cherry flavoured...lots of fun. Afterwards we went for a couple or few drinks at a pub and watched some fun Celtic music.

Sunday was spent relaxing, though we did make it out to brunch...another thing I love to do.

We are finally starting winter here in Ottawa...we got a big dump of snow that'll continue through tomorrow. It looks so beautiful.

Today, I was in training...tomorrow too...so it is nice and relaxing.

This is the life!

Googlefight

2007-01-11T22:56:00.000-05:00

What a great tool for determining supremacy between competing ideologies. Who needs wars when it can all be virtually decided? World peace is only one click away!

I like Beer

2007-01-10T06:20:00.000-05:00

Two months...no beer.

It was an experience...not one I'd like to repeat. I proved to myself that I could do it. After all that, I didn't find any huge mental or physical changes...though perhaps my liver is thanking me for the vacation.

Last night we went out to a restaurant and had a few beers to mark the occasion.

Someone Call the Plumber Wikileaks is Leaking

2007-01-09T07:57:00.000-05:00

So...this morning another bit of Wikileak leader email banter was leaked onto the internet and it turns out I'm not much of a cybersleuth. The guy who runs www.iq.org is not who I guessed. The real wizard behind the curtain is Julian Assange. He co-authored a book on Political Hacktivism called Underground.

Wikileaks - Revealing the Wizards behind the Curtain

2007-01-08T21:17:00.000-05:00

So...on the radio this morning I heard about this neat site called Wikileaks which is being set up. The purpose of it is to provide a website on which regular people can post leaked government documents anonymously. It is based on the same open concept as Wikipedia, which I love, but has the added benefit of anonymity. The goal of the project is to promote open governance by exposing corruption and unethical behaviour. A pretty honourable intention...and perhaps, if X-Files has taught me anything, pretty courageous. The Truth is Out There but the Man is out to protect it.

Today, while looking into this website I stumbled across something even more interesting...the next chapter in this story. The secret discussions by the organizers of Wikileaks have been leaked onto the internet!

It seems that one of those closely involved in the project became angry about the fundraising efforts ($5 million by July) and decided the best way to get back at them was to expose the organizers of Wikileaks.

They provide sufficient information to identify some of the conspiracy crackers. One of them runs a website which currently has his picture up on it. I think he could be this guy. Check the two pics...do you think they are the same person? Maybe with a bit more hair...but perhaps I'm grasping at straws....I'm a bit new at this conspiracy stuff.

It is interesting to read the draft versions of the Analysis of a Leaked Document that they provide on their News page. The author of the analysis uses a pseudonym of Bourbaki in the drafts...but this is changed in the final version to Harpoon.

You Tube Fun

2007-01-05T16:59:00.000-05:00

I love the crazy things that people put on YouTube. I've only watched the first episode but College Saga is pretty entertaining.

Being civilized and Rocket powered

2007-01-05T09:29:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday I took the kids to the Museum of Civilization. While checking out their web site in the morning, I noticed that Beauty and the Beast was playing at the IMAX theatre so we hurried to the Museum to watch it. I had forewarned the kids that it'd be a big screen but, even so, Eth and Julia both said "Whoa...that's huge!" when they actually saw it...cuz the screen is massive. With only one bathroom trip during the movie, I think it was a very successful activity...though an expensive one.

Actually the whole trip was quite expensive and the museum is so huge that you can't see it all in one trip...or even two. If it was cheaper (or free like in NZ) we could take our time and check out all the nooks and crannies because we could afford to return again and again. At the price we paid, I felt we had to do as much as we could in the one day....and kids and rushing don't mix well.

They enjoyed the Children's museum a lot and got their passports filled with all the activities that were going on. Eth and Julia unloaded cargo off a ship. Noah danced in clogs. Julia played customs officer. Eth did a shadow play. The kids found a secret passage through the pyramids. I dressed as a Bedouin. Eth got snapped at by crab claws in the fish market. We went for a ride on a Pakistani bus and Eth and Noah went on a motorcycle.

Although it was fun, I think that the museum should spend more money on supporting current culture rather than preserving cultural artifacts. In Te Papa, NZ's National Museum, there was always something going on...sword fighting, breakdancing, stunt show, singing, Kapa haka, etc. At the museum of civilization we saw lots of cool Aboriginal artifacts, including some amazing masks, but no live anything. While walking through the longhouse you can hear music of the First Nations but it is all taped music...I kept hoping that around the corner there would be a live performance...always disappointed to find it was a movie or tape. The children's museum is great cuz its all kid friendly, interactive displays...but I think they'd get even more from live performances of culture.

A bit ago my friend Andrew came to visit us and brought the kids a gift...a rocket. Yesterday at my parents we decided to give it a go. Eth and I put it together and then the gang went out to the football field behind my old high school to shoot it off.

It is a vinegar/baking powder powered rocket. Here I am loading the fuel..

Unfortunately, in all the excitement we didn't get a pic of it taking off...but it did and it was awesome! It didn't quite make the 300 feet that was marked on the box but with a few modifications to the rocket and to our fuel mixture process I think this is quite an attainable goal.

I also got the privilege of a couple of hours to myself....my parents watched the kids. I took the bus downtown and read, had lunch while reading, and then took the bus home while reading. I have a great book...The Bone People...and it was awesome to have some time to read it.

Last week of no drinkin'

2007-01-02T12:12:00.000-05:00

So I made it through my Birthday, Christmas and New Years...not long now 'til I can have a gloriously delicious beer.

Canada and its winter sports

2007-01-02T11:50:00.000-05:00

As I understand it, in New Zealand there are only two skating rinks in the whole country, one in Christchurch and one in Auckland. We never made it to either of these rinks so we hadn't been skating in a year.

Canada has tons of rinks that are fully booked in every community in the country...plus all the local outdoor rinks that open up in the winter. Today we went to the local indoor rink for a skate.

The kids did great and I believe had a great time.

Sledding (safely!) and Fort building

2007-01-01T20:01:00.000-05:00

Reflecting on returning to Canada

2006-12-28T11:53:00.000-05:00

...sometimes I feel like Buffy when they bring her back from death.

Fame and Fortune

2006-12-21T08:05:00.000-05:00

I'm trying not to let the fame get to my head. When do I get the groupies?

Blogger: The Next Generation

2006-12-13T22:30:00.000-05:00

I was super happy about getting the opportunity to change to the new blogger beta...but now I've lost all my personalizations. I'm not too happy about that. Lots o' work to do....but not right now. Time for beddie by.

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2006-12-13T22:07:00.000-05:00

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More teeth

2006-12-13T06:59:00.000-05:00

Eth lost another tooth. He looks awesome with a cavernous gap in his smile. Reminds me of a Little Rascal character for some reason. We know what Eth'll be asking from Santa "All I want for Christmas is my three front teeth". I'll put up a photo as soon as I can get them off my camera. A month or so ago, Noah took scissors to the transfer cable.

I'm more than half way through my non-drinking insanity. Its been okay but when I'm at a party/get together it'd be nice to have a drink in my hand like everyone else.

Path to Work

2006-12-08T17:17:00.000-05:00

Ch-Ch-Ch-Chilly Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Eth's Teeth

2006-12-08T16:53:00.000-05:00

A couple nights ago, Ethan lost his first tooth.

The next night he lost another.

Facebook

2006-12-07T07:29:00.000-05:00

I joined facebook. Someone at work told me about it...not sure what I think so far. Kinda a mix between MSN and a blog.

Sunday with da boys

2006-12-04T18:13:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, while Talie and Julia went shopping in the mall with her mom and friend, the boys and I went for a walk along Jack Pine Trail. It was absolutely beautiful because it had snowed all morning and was still snowing when we arrived. The air was crisp but not cold, the sun was shining and the sky was bright blue. We saw squirrels, chipmunks and plenty of birds. We tried to stay quiet enough to spot a deer, since we saw their footprints, but of course, that is quite impossible with two energetic boys and their energetic dad. We saw a beaver lodge in Stony Swamp (the source of the Winterscape in the picture in the post below).

The boys loved rolling around in the snow, pratfalls and real falls on the ice, and having birds come down to sit on their hands, actually I was pretty impressed with that last part too. Eth was amazingly patient and a few birds landed to see if he had any food, which we didn't. Noah was a little less able to stay still so he only got one to land on his hand while he was paying attention to something else....that gave him quite the fright.

Due to the freezing rain on Friday, there were trees down everywhere. We had to walk over or under or around a bunch which had landed on the paths.

It's great being able to take off for a drive to the woods. I think I'm gonna like havin' a license.

Winterscape

2006-12-04T18:03:00.000-05:00

Jack Pine Trail/Stony Swamp

2006-12-04T10:39:00.000-05:00

Just to pique your interest....more details/pics to come.

Eaten alive by flesh eating tattoo

2006-12-02T12:24:00.000-05:00

I keep up with news from New Zealand and the Pacific Islands through a great news site www.stuff.co.nz. I found this story amazingly interesting and amazingly scary. Three men are in hospital after getting infected by necrotising fasciitis from unsafe tattoo practices. I don't think I'll get any tattoos done in Samoa (which btw is supposed to be pronouced emphasizing the first syllable...not the second as it is pronouced in Canada).

Gotta change my title pic

2006-12-01T17:43:00.000-05:00

Today Ottawa had its first real winter snow/freezing rain/rain/ice pellet/dog/cat/small horse storm. Its crazy...the school buses were cancelled...Talie got to leave work early (so did I cuz she's my ride)...and people were watching out the window in horror as the world froze up. What is even crazier is that we will be living in this new reality for the next five months!

It was awesome running today...I got to blaze a trail through the snowy paths. I'm going to keep running all winter. I've been talking to people and, as long as you take the proper precautions, it is totally doable.

Workin' Gal!

2006-11-27T18:17:00.000-05:00

That's me!! I've succeeded in getting a job at the CFIA through an agency. I won't be working with Brian. I'll be a block away. I can't wait to start. I actually don't know too much about the position. I'll find out more in the morning. I start Wednesday morning--I can't believe it!

Yay for me!

Talie

Success!!

2006-11-23T13:27:00.000-05:00

Even though I didn't have a clue about how to park "overnight, facing uphill", I successfully tricked them into thinking I knew how to drive...I got my licence! I'm a big boy now.

Opening the Cage

2006-11-21T09:40:00.000-05:00

"I have nothing to say and am saying it and that is poetry"
- John Cage

"I have to say poetry and that is nothing and I am saying it
I am and I have poetry to say and that is nothing saying it
I am nothing and I have poetry to say and that is saying it
I that am saying poetry have nothing and it is I and to say
And I say that I am to have poetry and saying it is nothing
I am poetry and nothing and saying it is to say that I have
To have nothing is poetry and I am saying that and I say it
Poetry is saying I have nothing and I am to say that and it
Saying nothing I am poetry and I have to say that and it is
It is and I am and I have poetry saying say that to nothing
It is saying poetry to nothing and I say I have and am that
Poetry is saying I have it and I am nothing and to say that
And that nothing is poetry I am saying and I have to say it
Saying poetry is nothing and to that I say I am and have it"
- Edwin Morgan

Bedtime for Bonzo

2006-11-20T20:44:00.000-05:00

We put the kids down for bed at 7:30pm. Julia and Noah fell asleep as soon as their heads hit their pillows. Ethan, though, kept on sneaking downstairs and being sent back up. He had finally stopped coming down just after eight. We figured he'd gone to sleep. We figured wrong. We just caught him...cleaning Julia's room?!? He had already tidied and made the bed in his room, our room and had moved into Julia's to clean....all while his siblings slept. Funny little guy will do anything to keep from going to bed.

Buffet at the Branch

2006-11-20T17:53:00.000-05:00

On Sunday we went to The Branch, our friends' restaurant, for a late lunch with our friends. The food was amazing...especially the cheese & turnip soup and the burrito lasagna! The atmosphere was fantabulous...with its beautiful high ornate ceiling. They've opened it up in Kemptville, the fastest growing region in Eastern Ontario and I'm sure it'll do well.

Apparently they had a great party there on Saturday night 'til around 3 am. They had a band and the place was hoppin'. We are hoping to get the kids babysat and go out to visit sometime, just Talie and I.

Week on the Schedule

2006-11-18T08:58:00.000-05:00

I think this whole Talie working thing is gonna work out just fine.

We prepare lunches and clothes the night before so that the morning getting ready ritual is as easy as possible with three crazy kids.

We have a great sitter who takes the kids just before seven, when Talie and I leave for work. Talie and I drive to the bus station together and take the same bus, which gives us some much appreciated adult time together. I get off the bus first and walk the rest of the way to work. Talie actually gets downtown to her office before I make it to work.

I leave work at 4pm and pick the kids up just before five at the sitters. We walk through her backyard, along the path beside the train tracks and arrive at home in no time. I get the kids outta their outdoor gear and start on supper. Supper is on the table when Talie arrives at 6pm. We eat dinner together, do homework, watch some TV and then the kids go to bed. Talie and I prepare clothes and lunches (Talie gets clothes because I'm hopeless at fashion and I do lunches)....and we are ready for another day!

The Dog Flower

2006-11-12T13:53:00.000-05:00

We grow some funny flowers in Canada. They come out all hairy to keep warm in our cold winters!

Beginning something new

2006-11-12T10:31:00.000-05:00

On Friday morning, at a quarter to seven, Talie and I dropped the kids off at a childcare, drove to the Park and Ride and took the bus together....because...last week Talie decided she'd go back to full-time work outside the home.

She had applied for a bunch of jobs, including putting her resume in with an employment agency. The agency called her up and asked her to come in for a meeting. They met her and tested her skills. She must've really impressed them because they hired her on to work as a receptionist for them! It's a really busy place...she can field 100 calls a day, plus the people she helps in person! This job is for 2 weeks and they are trying to find her a more permanent job placement. There is a really exciting prospect...but I don't wanna jinx it...so that's all I'll say for now.

Her friendliness and her ability to learn skills quickly makes her quite the valuable commodity...the fact that she's fluently bilingual certainly helps too in Ottawa.

Pretty exciting times!

The Friendly Giant

2006-11-12T10:27:00.000-05:00

Eth is goin' through a growth spurt...he is eating more than me...and that's a lot! He had three helpings of supper last night and the night before and wolfed down his food this morning at breakfast. I wonder if he'll take after my eight foot tall brother (well, he's not eight foot but he's pretty darn tall!).

Rite of Passage

2006-11-11T08:23:00.000-05:00

I got my driving learner's permit when I turned 18, primarily as ID to get into the bars in Hull, Quebec, which has a lower drinking age than Ontario. I held that permit for five years until it ran out. I took the written test again and received another 5-year learner's permit in December 2001. During that time I took driver's lessons and learnt to drive but didn't do it often. In December this year, my learner's permit runs out for a second time but this time I'm gonna do something about it.

On November 23, also my birthday, I'm going to take the driver's test to get a real licence which'll allow me to drive alone. If I'm successful I'll complete a rite of passage 13 years late, and totally out of order. Actually I have a history of doing things out of order - I got married, then had children, then graduated university, then had my first full-time job, then bought a house, and then went on my "take a year off before university overseas experience".

Wish me luck! I'm comfortable with driving...my parking still need some work.