What happened on Monday February 18th?

Okay here I am Forty-five years old and happy (drugged but happy .. joking). Yesterday was my birthday, and I really don't feel a day over twenty-five.

Aren't we supposed to feel older and more mature as we grow up? I always thought I would, but every day I am surprised that I have 3 kids between 15 and 8. That I've been married to the same beautiful woman for 20 years. That I have been working for almost twenty three years (spread that over about 7 companies). Here I am supposedly getting old and I just don't feel that way. (hey the other night at TaiKwonDo I was doing ninja rolls and summersaults .. I paid for it the next day). So I guess what I saying is all that myth about adults getting older and wiser is just crap (shhh!!! don't let the secret out)

Here it is the first official Family Day in Ontario and I am at work. Or at least I am supposed to be working. What are you doing?

Here is a couple of original tracks and cover versions for you to listen to. Which version do you like better?

John Lee Hooker - Boom Boom Boom (download .mp3)
The Animals - Boom Boom Boom(live)(download .mp3)
Howlin' Wolf - Killing Floor (download .mp3)
Jimi Hendrix - Killing Floor(live Monterey Pop)(download .mp3)

If you like the music go out and buy some.

I just finished reading White Night by Jim Butcher. If you want a great read with a lot of adventure, humour and just all around fun, pick up any of Jim's Dresden file books. Now I read a fair bit, but lately I've been looking into what and how I read. School books and Non Fiction, I can't get into, in fact I can't pay attention to a single page long enough to get any information out of it. (though for some reason I can read biographies) I read what I call movie books. If I can get into a book deep enough I begin to see the action and characters as if they are on a screen and I'm watching a movie.
Anyway .. take some time a pick up a Dresden book, if you have read any before I would suggest #1 "Storm Front"

What happened on Monday February 11th?

I haven't made a personal post in a fair while (I probably have lost most of my regular friends), mainly because I'm not willing to admit things to myself. Kind of a bold statement don't ya think!

What's going on is I have been suffering from depression for about the last 10 months or so. I hadn't done anything about it until recently because I felt I was being a wimp and just causing myself to be down. Due to how I've been handling the depression I've been flying off the handle quickly, yelling a lot, this has made me a real asshole to my family and just a jerk to live with. I finally felt I had to do something about it when I was getting suicidal thoughts. Not that I would ever do it, just that I would think how much better Wife and kids would be without me.

I went to the doctor a few weeks ago, he has put me on a antidepressant called Cipralex. I find the affects to be interesting. My emotions/reactions aren't as explosive .. I'm thinking before I get upset or worked up and I can make a more intelligent decision about what my reaction needs to be. For the most part it's kind of nice. There are down side's to this, I get a slight nausea feeling an hour or two after I take the pill. Late in the day around two or three pm I get incredibly tired and this may sound weird but I have to remind myself which part of my progressive lenses that I need to look out of. I've also come to realize that I handle my emotions differently then people around me.

We have been talking to a family councillor the last few months, on how to handle raising a teenager with ADD-I. Part of is that I have come to realise that I am also ADD (I have to get myself tested, but like I said other things have to come first -- BILLS!!!), and I don't know how to explain this but I get a rush from extreme emotions. These pills make me feel mostly dead emotionally (though it has been explained to me that I am feeling and thinking about things the way everyone else does - damn you guys are emotionally dead), things that would normally set me off in a emotional high I am now thinking about and realise that I don't have to overreact, where before I would have gone through the roof. I was or better put I do enjoy the extreme rush of the emotional reaction. Though I now realize that this is not good for me, my family and my married life.

I have had a couple of anxiety attacks since starting to take the pills, mainly while I'm out shopping with Wife, I think these originate when I'm conflicting between what she wants me to do and the fact that it goes against what I want. My only problem is that I get testy and snappy when this happens and I get upset at her. I don't want to do this, so I have to work on this. I know that I will need to talk to someone about this, I have plans to it's just right now I have to many other things that I need to get done.

Things are going well for Eldest, he is on a new ADD med and is succeeding at school. In fact today we have been informed that in two of the classes that he has been struggling in, he was able to get a 85% in the last two tests as opposed to 45% to 55% that he was getting. He is happy and says he likes the difference between (as he says) the focused world and the unfocused world.

Middle is being a thirteen year old, the attitude is incredible, but for the most part she is a wonderful human being who puts up with being a middle child trapped between a brother who is getting a ton of attention and a little sister who demands attention. Life can be unfair, but we are trying to be fair with her. She hates being a goalie, but she plays so well, its a shame but I think this year will be her last year in hockey.

Youngest is youngest, demanding attention, seeking confirmation that she is the centre of attention. She wants to be a famous singer when she grows up, but just try to get her to practice.

Well that is it from me, I've come clean with myself and now back to music and pictures of plants.

Enjoy Muddy Waters,download
Mannish Boy.mp3

What happened on Friday February 1st?

17 days till I'm half way to 90, 14 days to the day of Love. Not a lot to post about, or anything that I'm willing to write about for now. Enjoy the music

From Rent, download the mp3 of " Seasons of Love" {Buy}

What happened on Friday January 25th?

Where's the mouse, Rascal likes to attack the curser.

Feast One Hundred & Seventy Seven , for Friday, January 25th, 2008

Appetizer
How many times per day do you usually laugh?
Not sure right now, I guess a couple of times. I know today I've laughed at least 3 times so far. Maybe soon I will laugh more.

Soup
What do your sunglasses look like?
They are clipons that go onto my Progressive lenses, yea I'm getting old!

Salad
You win a free trip to anywhere on your continent, but you have to travel by train. Where do you go?
I want to go fishing on the very tip of the Baja Peninsula at Cabo San Lucas . I don't know if you can get there by train but I sure hope you can.

Main Course
Name one thing you consider a great quality about living in your town/city.
The people for the most part are still nice to each other.

Dessert
If the sky could be another color, what color do you think would look best?
A shade of pale green would be nice.

From Boing Boing Jan 21/08

Canadian Privacy Commissioner rejects DRM: don't give spyware legal protection!

Posted by Cory Doctorow, January 20, 2008 10:04 PM permalink

Jennifer Stoddart, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, has published an open letter to Industry Minister Jim Prentice, who has been working behind the scenes to resurrect his disaster of a copyright bill, which will import the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act to Canada. The DMCA has been a total failure, resulting in nearly 30,000 lawsuits against music fans, massive anti-competitive effects, and despite all that, no discernable decrease in unauthorised copying.
At issue in Stoddart's letter is the idea of protecting "Digital Rights Management" anti-copying and use-control systems in law. These systems frequently spy on users and then "phone home" with detailed information about your activities. The Privacy Commissioner is understandably alarmed at the prospect of changing Canadian law to make it illegal to tamper with this spyware:
If DRM technologies only controlled copying and use of content, our Office would have few concerns. However, DRM technologies can also collect detailed personal information from users, who often do no more than access the content on a computer. This information is transmitted back to the copyright owner or content provider, without the consent or knowledge of the user. Although the means exist to circumvent these technologies and thus prevent the collection of this information, previous proposals to amend the Copyright Act contained anti-circumvention provisions.
Technologies that report back to a company about the use of a product reveal a great deal about an individual’s tastes and preferences. Indeed, such information can be extremely personal. Technologies that automatically collect personal information about individuals without their knowledge or consent violate the fair information principles that are central to PIPEDA and most other privacy legislation. That this occurs when individuals are engaged in a private activity in their homes or other places where they have a high expectation of privacy exacerbates the intrusiveness of the collection.

Link (via Ars Technica)

What happened on Tuesday January 1st?

This is my neighbours house, they do it to raise money for sick kids hospital, can you believe we even have tour buses come to our street!

Welcome to 2008, Happy New Year ... may it be the best for all of you and your loved ones. Keep well in the coming year and I wish you all that you can handle. Stay well!!
Hore Frost, on Boxing Day 2007 (that Dec 26th to you guys south of the border)

What happened on Saturday December 22nd?

Just wanted to say we miss you Joe!

letsgetarocking - 101'ers [download]the mp3
White Riot Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros (with Mick Jones).[download]the mp3
1977 - the Clash [download] the mp3

(download and listen, if you like go buy the albums and support the artists.)

What happened on Thursday December 20th?

Just in case I don't get to do a Xmas post. Merry Christmas.

I have done almost no shopping, I still need to find stuff for Wife. I was supposed to go out at lunch to get gift for Eldest .. argh!!! Youngests health card expired .. I had to go replace that! Eldest has drum lessons tonight. Then I get to go shopping.

Everyone is well, both Eldest and Youngest had recitals in the last two weeks. Both were scared but performed to there best. Eldest plays drums, so he played along to Another Brick in the Wall by Pink Floyd .. Youngest plays the piano, she played Cuckoo, and a Christmas song. Middle is going through a faze of not liking her parents right no, with ATTITUDE .. Argh, lord love a duck give me patients.

Have fun, enjoy the snow and the gifts.

What happened on Thursday December 13th?

We forget how safe we are here in Canada .. 70 years ago today the Japanese took over Nanking.

Here we are entering the Christmas season, Canada is at war (though we don't really think about it unless you know someone who is or has served in Afghanistan). We are safe here, and have been safe for a very long time. We (not our government) have to be aware of history and current events so that we can make sound decisions about the future of our country and its interaction with the world.

What happened on Saturday December 8th?

Ever since I began blogging I have done a December 8th post. Not because of Pearl Habour (though this is a event that changed the course of western democracy, allowing the creation of the super power to the south of Canada, but because of the death of a single man. Stupid right, how could one person (who is not a member of your family) be important enough to write about every year.

The morning of Dec 9th 1980 was a normal school day for me, I woke to the radio (Q107) and the announcer saying the John Lennon was dead, shot as he entered the building he lived in. Sounds odd, but the world stopped, and I walked around in a daze for the rest of the day. Here I was 17, and I was upset by the death of some guy I had never met. A great uncle had died that summer, I wasn't as upset about his death as I was by Lennon's. Why? I liked his music, I had grown up with it. Though we never had Beatles albums in my parents house (or at least until I had brougth home my copy of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band a few summers before), when a Beatles song came on the radio (which is always on) the volume would go up. Mom was only 26 when she had me, I always thought that she really wanted to be a Beatles fan, but would never admit it.

John Lennon was a really good musician, a great lyricst, a member of a band that changed . But why did it upset me. I think it was the realization that everything was not hunky dory, that you could go out your door and not return. That just because something beautiful existed didn't mean that it couldn't be destroied. That the dreams you have might not come true and you do have to except reality.

Anyway here are a couple of John Lennon songs for you to remember him by. As I said about Norvel, celebrate his life. Buy his albums, share his ideas and dreams. They just might make the world a better place.


*The Beatles - Help! - Help!.mp3
*John Lennon - John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band-Working Class Hero.mp3
*John Lennon - Live in New York City -Instant Karma.mp3

What happened on Thursday December 5th?

December is beginning to be a very shitty month for me. My heroes are dying. On Saturday it will be 27 years since John Lennon was shot outside the Dakota in New York. It has been almost 5 years since Joe Strummer passed away from a heart attack.

Now, one of my favorite painters has died from Parkinson's Disease. Norvel Morriseau is dead. His work is vibrant, colourful and powerful. I felt the link to the earth in what he painted. He introduced the world to what is called the "Woodlands Style" of work. In my opinion, he tried to show people Canada as it is in our hearts not in our eyes. I was a "wannabe" because of his work. I wanted to be a artist, I tried my hand at paintings in the woodlands style, I loved how the work would flow from my hands, expressing my feelings without having to speak. I wanted to be a native Canadian. I wanted to study art because of Norvel. I want to thank him for over 30 years worth of dreams. I know his life wasn't easy, I know that he didn't make life easy for some of the people around him, but I hope they remember him for his love and not his mistakes. Take a few minutes to read about the life of Norvel, take a couple of hours to see his work. Go to a local gallery, here in the GTA you can head up to Klienburg to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection and spend a few hours viewing not only Norvel's work, but also the work of some other exceptional Canadian artists.

Enjoy his work, and celebrate a life.

What happened on Thursday November 30th?

Youngest was born 8 years ago today. Every day has been a joy. Her fire and will drive us to distraction, but the love she gives is overwhelming. She is a Diva who is always on stage, always preforming...even when she does not have a audience.

Happy birthday little girl.

We have bought the kids concert tickets as a enticement to excel at school. Youngest and Middle have a chance to go to Avirl Lavigne in April, and Eldest might get to see The Foo Fighters in march.

Remember to go buy CD's or pay for your downloads.

Enjoy The Stranglers "European Female". Download the MP3

What happened on Thursday November 22nd?

Navona Square Rome, Fountain of the Rivers by Bernini

Food Meme
From Electronic Cerebrectomy who got it from Byzantium's Shores,

1. How do you like your eggs?
Scrambled with Mozzarella Cheese and Sopressata

2. How do you take your coffee/tea?
Coffee half spoon sugar and small amount of 1% milk (enough to make it a burnt carmel colour), Tea should only be drunk straight, hot and strong. (not a strong as my mother likes it, after one of her cups of tea it feels like you scraped a layer of enamel off you teeth.

3. Favorite breakfast food?
Peanut Butter and Jam on fresh bread toasted, but normally I have yogurt and granola.

4. Peanut butter - smooth or crunchy?
For me smooth in the morning and crunchy at night. (addendum 11/23/07 4:30 PM --I have been asked to explain this one. I will only eat smooth peanut butter in the morning with my breakfast, and in the evening I like to have crunchy peanut butter with banana as a evening snack - or at least I used to before I started to watch my weight)

5. What kind of dressing on your salad?
Olive Oil and balsamic vinegar

6. Coke or Pepsi?
Neither, I have not had a pop in over 10 years.

7. You’re feeling lazy, what do you make?
Scarmbled eggs.

8. You’re feeling really lazy. What kind of pizza do you order?
Pepperoni and cheese from the local pizzeria .. but they also make the best baked panzarotto, and then I put homemade tomato sauce on it.

9. You feel like cooking. What do you make?
Roast beef, baked potatoes, beets and broccoli

10. Do any foods bring back good memories?
Panzarotti's (we used to eat them all the time in college watching hockey games and drinking beer), scotish short bread cookies (my grandmothers house at Christmas time), and

11. Do any foods bring back bad memories?
Cabbage, Brussel sprouts or shrimp .. don't stand within five feet of me. Yech!

12. Do any foods remind you of someone?
Dim Sum .. a girlfriend that I didn't want to lose.

13. Is there a food you refuse to eat?
Squid.

14. What was your favorite food as a child?
Christmas Pudding or Christmas/Fruit Cake .. I still love them .. or even Grilled Cheese sandwiches with ketchup.

15. Is there a food that you hated as a child but now like?
Mushrooms and Liver, As a kid I would not eat mushrooms if my life depended on it. years ago my future mother-in-law fried wild mushrooms up with garlic cloves, I have loved mushrooms ever since. (I still can't eat cream of mushroom soup though). As for liver, my mother would cook it until it was dead. One night out dinner with Wife, I felt like having something different and ordered Liver and Onions. It was awesome. I never knew liver could taste that good.

16. Is there a food that you liked as a child but now hate?No

17. Favorite fruit and vegetable:
Fruit: Pink Lady Apples, Vegetables: Boiled Beets

18. Favorite junk food:
Toasted Corn

19. Favorite between meal snack:
I really try to avoid this snacks and have fruit .. but I really like to have crackers and cheese.

20. Do you have any weird food habits?
I will only eat one thing off my plate at a time.

21. You’re on a diet. What food(s) do you fill up on?
Fruit (I'm trying write this and eat a grapefruit right now!)

22. You’re off your diet. Now what would you like?
BBQ Ribs

23. How spicy do you order Indian/Thai?
North American really hot .. but not Thai hot.

24. Can I get you a drink?
Water. If I'm not driving, maybe a beer.

25. Red wine or white?
Red.

26. Favorite dessert?
Apple Brown Betty .

What happened on Firday November 9th?

Damn I am going to see this movie.

This is just about to much to watch .. watch it.

http://view.break.com/211329 - Watch more free videos

What happened on Wednesday October 31st?

Happy Halloween everyone. Enjoy the screaming goblins and ghosts. Try not to leer at and underaged vampiras. We had a lot of fun tonight, Middle disappeard, Eldest realized Halloween is just for kids and youngest had a great time with her mom. Would you believe people were taking pictures of my pumpkins, weird.

Three doors down (not the band) the had a haunted house, late teens/early twenty males scaring the life out of any teenage girl, was funny to watch these girls running down the street screaming.

Last night wife and I stayed up getting everything ready for All Hallow's Eve .. Wife doing youngests costume. She is going out as a Dark Fairy .. Wife did a incredible job on the costume, just her frustraion level maxed out with all of us. Middle is going out with her girl friends, she's 13 don't ya know and wants nothing to do with her old man, Eldest says he is going up to his cousins to go Trick or Treating .. I'm supposed to drive him (I don't know, don't you think 15 is to old to be going out?)

I've done up four pumpkins .. a dragon, a spider, a upside down bat and a traditional Jack O'Lantern .. carving pumpkins is my Halloween, this is what gets me excited about the day. I love to see the kids eyes when they see the pumpkins.

Any way, I've joined a group over at Facebook, 1,000,000 Strong For Rick Mercer, which made me think of Rick's outing with the Toronto Rock. Low and behold, someone has posted it on Facebook.
Enjoy!, this is classic Mercer.