Recently Xavier has discovered the world of manners, which is great because he says "thank you" "sorry mommy/daddy" at the appropriate times and "please" if he really wants something. It's surprising that at 3he has such a good grasp of it, but unfortunately on the other side of it he takes us to task whenever we don't follow the rules.
According to him if you do anything wrong you have to say sorry (now, this doesn't have to be towards anyone, just anything, even dropping a spoon). You also have to say thank you if he does anything for you. He's like a tyrant in this, "Say sorry Daddy" is something I hear like... as soon as I get home. I'm going to be saying that when I get home tonight as I left the stroller in the trunk and they needed to go out on the bus today.
"Awesome" has come into his vocabulary recently, which is pretty cute and for some reason he seems to only use it with me. Yesterday we played the "sloop your pasta" game, everytime either of us slurped our pasta, the other would have to say "Awesome!" and clap. It was pretty entertaining, although after awhile we both tired of it. Once again though he's mr. bossy telling me "Say awesome, Daddy!"... "Clap, Daddy!". I'm a sucker for the cuteness so I fall in line.
We have to watch this kid or soon he'll be running the family instead of us.
Hey, so I finally fixed my feedburner feed, it was pointing to the .RDF file instead of .xml, so there was no formatting whatsoever. Bloody eyesore is what it was.
Now it has formatting, and links, and images (I think) Oh my! SO if you could, subscribe to it (link on the left), so I can see the funky goodness that is... syndication.
Oh, and I added a link to my Frappr! map on the left, put a pin up there, raise your hands in the air like you don't (blank).
Something I've noticed in the past few months, I don't know whether this is because of cheap accomodations/airfare, the age I'm at, or a subliminal urge brought on by worldly trends and developments, but a lot of the people I know have or are have planned out a trip to somewhere outside of the country. The destinations vary from tropical getaways to far away countries like China or Thailand.
I've been thinking that I will have to plan a similar flight soon, my purpose would be different and planned: to witness world wonders that will not be in the state that they currently are in say 10 years. One of these places is the sinking city of Venice, I've heard the square is only above water for a handful of days a year, if they can't create a solution that will be a worldwide loss of history. I would have liked to visit New Orleans, there's another place that will never be the same.
They're saying now that in the next 100 years we're going to see substantial rising of the oceans because of accelerated melting of the polar caps. If the recent weather is anything to go on, I don't want to see what we're going to be hit with in 2050. I'm no scientist, but I"m thinking constant hurricanes/cyclones somewhere in the world, tidal waves, increased earthquake activity, disappearing islands and land shifts. With the increase in temperatures there will also be an increase in sickness, pestilence and bug infestations, resulting partially from a lack of extreme cold weather which seems to kill off many of the disease carrying pests. I also predict an increase in winds and a decrease in arrid land, in northern Alberta alone I've noticed there are few days that the wind doesn't blow, and when it does it's usually pretty brisk. When I was a kid there was more moisture, less warm days, more snow and less wind.
I hate being negative, but I think we're going to have to start adapting to this place while trying to change our behavior, as we've gone past the point of no return. There will never be a time like there was, the weather will get wilder and more unpredictable, the seas will rise and our environment will change, that's a given. The amount of ground-level ozone and CO2 that we've generated is out there and there is no way of bringing it back, and the leaps and bounds that science has achieved in alternative fuel and combustion engines over the past few years is too little too late. If they would have started back when science found out about global warming maybe we would be in a situation where we could postpone the impending changes.
Humankind has some work ahead and some changes to do but what are we doing? Killing each other, squabbling over land, fighting over who's g*d is the real g*d, vainly trying to eek out ever last drop of our addiction (oil) out of the planet, even though the reliance on it is partially what's killing us, imposing our beliefs and morals on other people, judging, convicting, and sentencing ourselves to death.
So the digs hit 10,000 visitors last night, I'm on towards a new era just like the last era!
Appropriately it was someone searching for "Jenny turpish slapped me" that moved me into the 5 digits. There also has been a lot of traffic lately of people looking for blogpatrol information, it seems they disappeared again there for a bit, as they seem apt to do.
Comments and regular visitors has slowed to a trickle, as I think has happened on many blogs out there. I see that Jen Lars has packed up shop, she'll be missed by the lecherous old men that hung out hoping to one day see a picture of her. Perhaps people are experiencing the same thing I have in the past while: information overload. You can't read blogs and news all day and expect to have your sinapses fire properly after awhile. I used to go home in a constant state of Duhhhh.. Now I read in moderation and my "Duh" has turned in to "Uhmmm... oh yeah!"
This rambling post brought to you by the letters S, U, D, A, F, E and D.
Is my chest supposed to make that rattling sound as I breath out ?
Feh
Damn tasty flem coming out when I cough though.
We've had what may be called a cascade effect in our household. About 2 weeks ago Xavier came home from his Grandmas with a cold, she blamed it on school, but this was like 5 days after he had been to preschool. SO of course Amber got the bug, and then Griffin got it and then I ingraciously recieved the present of sinus pain, coughing, headaches, runny nose, all of the wonders that go along with a super cold. I haven't been hit this hard or sick for a good year, so I think it's a nasty new strain that's out.
Wednesday I started feeling the effects, and Griffin and Amber were feeling bad so I took the day off and took them to doctors appts. Griffin was ok, they said it's a virus, but Amber was worse because it was enhanced by asthma so her wheezing and odd voice patterns concerned them, almost to the point of hospitalization. I went back to work on Thursday thinking I was dealing with the cold, but Friday it hit hard and plus the fact everyone else (except Xavier, of course he was clearing up by now) was hacking coughing and crying, I stayed home.
Between friday night and Saturday afternoon we received 22 cm (8 1/2 inches) of snow, completely clogging the streets and making the highways hazardous to drive on. Saturday I couldn't even focus enough to turn on my computer, so shovelling was out of the question. Sunday I shovelled at least the back out so I could get to my car, Xavier had a great time playing with his new shovel and throwing the ball for the dog. He fell down quite a few times, got snow in his face, he's getting better about not freaking about it, so it's getting more fun taking him out.
Last night Griffin couldn't be put in his bed because the congestion in his nose and his cough would wake him up and he would cry. Amber took him out in the living room and stayed there all night with him getting very little sleep, so this morning she kicked me out of bed early so she could attempt to get some sleep. The doctor said that Griffin's problems are compounded because he's teething, so the drool and the cold are combining into a not very happy baby. I feel terrible for him, and Amber but what can you do? You have to wait it out and keep his head elevated, and she has to double her asthma medication.
I'm at about 80%, just have some shit in my lungs that won't leave and my ears are plugged from my sinuses. Now I can only hope this goes away before my gig this friday in Calgary, there really is nothing worse than playing trumpet with a headcold.
Oh hey, I'm only 86 away from reaching my 10,000th visitor!
If I had a prize I'd give it to whoever that vistor happens to be.
You can have some warm fuzzies... yeah... here... a handful of warm fuzzies.
Ok, that doesn't sound too pleasant, forget that
I eat tonnes of food and never gain weight. I eat bad things and never gain weight. I sit around all day and never gain weight. I have a high metabolism and always have, I think I've been at the same weight since I was 21. You may hate me for this, but there are things you may not know.
If I don't eat at certain intervals I lose it, I mean really lose it. I get shaky, I have problems thinking and talking plus I get agitated. If this continues I get more than agitated, I will say things I don't mean, tiny little miniscule things will make me want to kill something. If it's pushed far enough the only thing that would satisfy me would be ripping my own skin off or the entire universe imploding into itself. Death everywhere, death. I'm not kidding. I have had crazy urges to drive sharp knives into my hand when I haven't eaten and something is pissing me off. I would never harm someone else, so usually the hate gets deflected inwards.
If I eat, then all of this will subside within say 10 or 15 minutes. The next 30 minutes or so are spent apologizing to my family for something I did or said. This happened to me the other night when we didn't eat until 8. Xavier brought me back to reality by saying "I don't like you". I was startled, "Why?" I said, he said "You're mad", then I had to explain that "No, I'm not mad, Daddy just gets grumpy when he hasn't eaten for awhile. He doesn't mean it, he just get's grumpy". I realized at that point maybe we should try eating earlier, to avoid the wrath. I keep it under wraps as best I can but apparently sometimes not good enough.
Now I have to go eat something so I can proofread this before posting it.
My friend Darren wrote about the fact that only 150 people have sent in comments to Klein's Third-way (doesn't that resemble Third Reich?) framework plans. He had a great response to it, and so I decided to send my own, I would encourage other Albertans to do the same.
Here's where you can comment on it.
And here are my comments on it:
In Alberta, the poor or lower income people are already being forced to pay for Premiums when they cannot afford it. The proposed "Third-Way" would just increase the gap between the health of the "haves" and the "have-nots". The folks who CAN will gladly pay today for a hip replacement, while the old lady in a seniors home living on a fixed income will have to remain in pain. Having a way for the rich to avoid the queue will be yet another way for them to feel superior and have a higher quality of life.If you are an Albertan who makes almost poverty wages you are still required to pay your FULL AHC subsidies even if you can't afford it. The punishment for not being able to pay is ruination of your credit record. How is this "Third Way" going to help someone who can't even afford to pay $100 a month for their family's health care premiums?
On another note: I believe the lack of response and comments on this issue is based largely on a growing negative attitude in the publics perception. People don't believe what politicians say, they also don't believe that promises will be fulfilled or that politicians have the publics best interests in mind. Incorrect statements from the Premier such as "Our power plants are running on Clean Coal" and exaggerations of health care statistics do not increase our confidence in his leadership abilities, or his promises.
Perhaps instead of bringing in a system more based on the US system of private health care, we should be trying to fix the problems caused by Mr. Kleins ridiculously large health care cuts at the start of his career as Premier. Perhaps incentives to bring back doctors who leave, or helping out our universities so that tuition costs are less hazardous to the economical future of the students attending.
My visitor total will some day in the not so distant future hit the 5 digits! And only after what... {checking back in posts} a little over 3 and a half years!
The real question is who will be my 10,000th visitor? And will they pee their pants in glee the moment that realization hits them?
Yeah, I didn't think so.
Damn you jaded negative attitude, get back! Back I say!
I happened across my sitemeter stats for today, and grabbed a cool screenshot of the folks who visited this little place over the last while, specifically from North America.
Every once in awhile it hits me that anyone in the world can read this, places I've never been to, some never heard of. These are usually times I'm drunk, or my jaded IT snobbism isn't at full power.
For all those who read this:
Welcome!
Ok, so apparently my new car has finally been put on the Toyota Canada website finally.
I have low goals this is what I want and this is what I will pay for it.
Now it's just the waiting game, I have to wait until the fall before we can afford it.
So I'm joining in with a Meme that Paul created, it's basically a "what would you do if..." and pretty much deals with etiquette and your conscious. I edited some of the colour words just because I'm a wuss.
1. You’re f#$%ing with your iPod and slam your car into some other poor bastard’s in the parking lot of the liquor store. No one sees you and the owner of the other car is nowhere in sight. What do you do?Depends, if it's a little tiny mark I'm outta there, but if I did anything noticeable I'd leave a contact note.
a. Leave a note with your contact info
b. Leave a note with your bosses contact info
c. F#$%ing flee
2. You’re a guest in someone’s home for a dinner party. You excuse yourself to the restroom during dinner and have an episode of explosive diarrhea. Before you leave the bathroom you:I don't believe in that flowery stuff, I think it actually attaches itself to the stench molecules and creates a flowery stink that stays around much longer than your fecal odor
a. Spray that can of flowery stuff that doesn’t fool anyone
b. Just leave the room smelling like a chemical fire
3. You’re sitting at a traffic light thinking about your sad, mundane life. You witness a minor traffic accident where no one is injured but plenty of damage is sustained to both vehicles. You clearly saw who was at fault. When the light turns green, you:This depends on how late I am for work, and how many other people seem to be stopping and helping. If I'm late and no-one is stopping I would, but if there was even one person pulling over... vamoose!
a. Pull over to give a statement when the cops come
b. Report the accident on your cell phone
c. Just drive the f$%# away
4. You and several friends stop to pick up another friend on the way to a party. Your friend comes out wearing something that makes them look ridiculous, like a transvestite or you can clearly see a naughty bit sticking out somewhere. Do you:I would probably enjoy the humor/partial nudity for a bit and then tell them fairly soon, if there was an opening in conversation
a. Tell them right away, even though they may be embarrassed
b. Wait to see if someone else says something
c. Point it out to everyone at the party
5. You’re sitting in the conference room awaiting the start of a meeting. Six people are in attendance. Just as the handouts are coming around you hear audible flatulence, loud enough to be heard by everyone and certainly unmistakable. Do you:I would probably make a joke, get looked at like I'm a complete ass, and reinforce my status as goofy putz in the company.
a. Lower your eyes and say nothing
b. Laugh or make a joke
c. Say, “Who the f$#% was that?â€
6. You are on your way to the store. Your wife/husband/other asks you to get them something. Due to your own inability to either listen or think about anyone but yourself, you forget. When you come home, you:This happens at least once a week and I usually say I forgot, because truthfully enough ... I do!
a. Tell them you forgot
b. Lie and tell them you couldn’t find it/any
6.5 When they ask you, “Did you ask someone who works there?†You:She also asks this regularly and for some reason I never DO think of that...
a. Say, “No, I never thought of that.â€
b. Lie and say, “Yeah, they said they were all out.â€