Perfect Example

The other night S. and I were tucked in getting ready to get some sleep, we routinely discuss our days, plans etc. together at this time and a 'bug' of some kind caught our attention as it moved from place to place on the ceiling of our room, with both of us catching up with it at the same time. I was considering the many ramifications of how I was going to get the bug off of the ceiling without squashing it into the stipple and making a black mark (considering cup w. playing card, water spray etc.) when S. hucks a slipper up at the ceiling, scaring bug away. I thought that this might be a perfect example of the differences between 5 and 7, or at least the differences between us :)

Evan

My Sesame St. Character

You Are Bert

Extremely serious and a little eccentric, people find you loveable - even if you don't love them! You are usually feeling: Logical - you rarely let your emotions rule you You are famous for: Being smart, a total neat freak, and maybe just a little evil How you life your life: With passion, even if your odd passions (like bottle caps and pigeons) are baffling to others

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

Artist who should paint me...

Who Should Paint You: Gustav Klimt

Sensual and gorgeous, you would inspire an enchanting portrait.. With just enough classic appeal to be hung in any museum!

What Artist Should Paint Your Portrait?

Morning Quiet

It's 6:30 am and I'm just up and still groggy. S is out at her morning exercises (4:15 buzzer!) and Kiddo hasn't woken up yet (he had a bad night, woke up crying a couple of times.

I'm checking my email and various news sites that I watch, the TV and Radio's are off and even the cat is quiet. My day is about to become quite noisy and busy so this time is some of my best time of the day - the only sound I have to listen to is my typing.

oops - Kiddo's awake time to start the day...

Ev

Just about there.

 
Finally Finally - This is all that remains of the brick path outside - about 2 meters - that and a few cuts on one corner.

After that we can set our minds to getting ready for sod - trouble is that it's been 30+ for several days now with no rain. Putting sod down now would be silly.

Oh well, Just About There!!!

Ev 

IE 7 Review

Thought I’d post some notes on the IE 7 Beta that I’ve been using at home on my desktop machine recently.

IE has always been a little behind the curve compared to other browsers, their power has always been in the fact that it’s ‘EVERYWHERE’. Now they are trying to catch up. IE 7 adds tabbed browsing, a cleaner user interface and improved security.
They get some things right, the improved security seems to be better at catching pop ups etc. than before and in general the tabbed browsing works as it should. They do have major problems (so far) with the rendering engine, page scales are off and it doesn’t handle outlook web access or MSDN Help text pages properly yet. It’s worth trying out but I really hope there will be a 3rd beta before the release version. If you want to try it out hit http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.mspx

Take Care,

Ev

Summers Finally Here

Summer’s Finally Here Yeaa!

We’re finally making some progress in and around the house; our roses are in front of the house. S and I have finally selected a mailbox that we both like, though I have to mount it outside yet. For those reading that don’t live in Canada many places (especially in new developments) have central mail boxes so a box on hour house really isn’t required in order to receive your mail. Our composters turned out some really good black gold to work into the garden and it’s warmed up enough to seed the front flower gardens and put the herbs outside for some sun.
K will be a year old soon and is creating a fantastic mess in the house, as expected, overall a good month.

Evan

Volunteers

Volunteers

<rant>

S and I volunteer with our church, youth organizations and others.  As a matter of fact, we organize some of our home setup around that work – we have a home office not to work at home from our jobs but to support our volunteer work this is a large portion of our lives. We’re both very busy but would miss this work if we couldn’t do it.

That makes working with other volunteers difficult some times, we’re both dedicated to the organizations that we work with but I find it frustrating sometimes working with others in our organizations. I hear complaints that communication in a volunteer organization isn’t working but then they aren’t attending the meetings that are being held.

Sigh…

One other observation, much of the communications that we do between volunteers is by email and I have run into people that ‘just don’t have email’ which is ok, but I’ve also run into people that don’t have email and throw that back at you as a challenge. They’re almost proud of it…?  Now, readers that aren’t in Canada should understand that 70%+ of Canadians have access to email either at home or at work and that percentage continues to grow every year.

I wonder if people that are not on email understand – I can send an email to five people at once, rather than making five phone calls over the course of two days, leaving messages, getting call backs etc. With services like GMail with its excellent conversation tracking it’s even easy to track multiple conversations over several days.

Double Sigh…

Ev

</rant>

Podcasting

Podcasting – I’m hooked

I’ve gotten into podcasting – well listening to them anyway. I’m currently working on a client site where I don’t have internet access. Normally when I’m at the office I log onto one of a couple of streaming music sites (yahoo music and Pandora being most common) and listen to the music they send me.

However, at this site I don’t have internet connectivity and I was getting a little twitchy with nothing to listen to so I downloaded ITunes from Apple and went hunting for podcasts. Now, for those of you who might not know…a podcast is a serialized audio, or potentially video, program. These can be done by Hank and Earl in their basement using a $10 microphone or by very serious internet casters like Todd Maffin who works for the CBC. He has a personal podcast called todbits.com that I really enjoy and is done to professional radio broadcast standard.

One of the interesting things is this fantastic variety – people of all skills and interests make podcasts, I would say it’s a little like the shareware or freeware software interest groups – people who are programming just for the fun of it and hope that people enjoy their work. Now, there are a few corporations that are jumping on the podcast bandwagon, CBC is apparently getting ready to move into Podcasting in a bigger way (they already podcast Quirks and Quarks) and several popular TV programs have producer/director podcasts that support the series.

If you’re interested, first download the free ITunes software then use the podcast directory in ITunes to go hunting for what interests you. Also, check out iloveradio.org for a good site, run by Todd Maffin as well, that provides a good selection as well. The ITunes application will download a list of all of the available episodes and the most recent one as well, you can select additional episodes off of the list to be downloaded to your hard drive. One thing to note, I have just a few podcasts and my catalog is up to 600mb – even though I have ITunes set to keep only the three most recent episodes for each podcasts.  

Enjoy!

Peacekeepers or not?

Sigh - It is past time that Canadians - as a people - give up the comfortable notion that we are a 'Nation of Peacekeepers' that was untrue before and is not true now. In fact I believe that this belief was fostered by various political parties as justification for reduced military spending. We cannot return to the blue beret days of previous times, sorry folks that time is gone. We need a fully equipped fighting force that will meet aggression with brutal violence and friendship with an open hand and ready comfort and support. Our armed forces cannot be a half effort. I've stated my support for this mission on Globe and Mail boards previously and I reiterate it again. Young men and women from Canada have died and will no doubt continue to die in this conflict but in the end - a decade or more from now. We just might have a safe, sane, stable country in Afghanistan and it will be because Canada and other countries did what was required. If we expect to have an international voice then we must have a real international presence and for good or ill that means we must have a military force capable of being active around the world.

Posted as comment to Globe and Mail 31 Mar 06

Afghan man faces death for turning to Christianity

Posted in response to 'Afghan man faces death for turning to Christianity'
by TIM ALBONE Globe and Mail website - 21 Mar 06

Are we looking for an excuse to come home, because every time I turn around it seems like we are...I felt that we needed to go in and 'take steps' against the Taliban prior to 9/11 and I still feel that that was the right decision. This is an educational and cultural problem, it is not and won't be a 'quick fix'! Canada is a small minority in the world, our culture is very mixed, with a tradition (maybe survival skill) of tolerance, for different languages, races, religions and lifestyles. It's taken us 50+ years to get to the point of allowing same sex marriage - that would have been just as unthinkable at the beginning of our parents lives as the Afghan judge thinks this is now. I think that Mr. Murphy (above) is correct, Afghanistan is very much in a different 'time' than we are. They need to grow, to become part of the rest of the world - their own way. It will probably be the children of the children in school right now who really finish that process. Maybe there will still be a Canadian presence there then, maybe not, but if we can be of help I would hope we would be - it's up to the Afghanis, all of them, as a people, to say 'thanks, you can go home now, we've got it from here...'

Male vs. Female in Parliament

Yesterday was international women's day and once again I kept hearing (in a couple of radio pieces) that women should make up half of the members of the House. The general argument given supporting this position is that the house should be representative of the people of Canada so it should be 50% (or 52% if you are being accurate) female. This would appear to be very reasonable, and in fact I can't really argue with the sentiment.

I can, however, lay out a position against the particular argument, that the house should be representative of all of the people it represents. The problem with the argument becomes apparent if you take it a few steps further - if 52% of Canada is female then the house should be 52% female. If (for example) 20% of the Canadian population is Native Canadian then the house should be 20% Native Canadian. That would be 20% of the males and 20% of the females we just added. This also seems reasonable and I'm sure the natives would be happier and better off if it were true. Now, what happens to the 10% of homosexual males in Canada? Do you take the 50% of the house that are male and then designate x number of seats to be occupied by gay men? What happens to the 10% who are black, the 10% who are Asian, the 30% under the age of 30 the 40% over the age of 50, the % who are disabled etc.

At some point in that chain you may have said to yourself that I was just being silly or even ridiculous, and in fact I am. This is a logical argument, I have taken what is on it's face is reasonable and extended it, rationally, to a ridiculous conclusion. The Latin term is Reductio ad absurdum. What this means is that if the argument results in something absurd when taken to it's reasonable conclusion then the entire argument, all of it, is absurd. So, while I don't disagree with what was intentioned - they need to find a better way of justifying it, what they're saying just doesn't work.

I'm open to someone pointing out where I'm wrong on this, but frankly I don't think I am.

Sigh...

Want to be an Ambassador?

Microsoft has opened the Microsoft Home Ambassadors program - Find out more at:

P.S. Canadians Only for this one!

Deserter or Conscientious Objector - Article Comment

Interesting Globe and Mail Article by Terry Weber 8 Feb 06

My Comment:
Does a soldier have a choice about who they are going to fight or not? That's the fundamental question. It doesn't matter what the details of this particular conflict are. Do they have a choice? The traditional answer is no. Details of it being a 'just war' or not don't really play into this I'm afraid. A civilian can have that discussion and so can civilian governments, soldiers can't. As a matter of fact that's the point, the military is directed by civilians, they make decisions about right and wrong for the army. The Americans as a people can 'decide' the war is wrong at the ballot box at the next election. This soldier needs to be sent home to face courts martial. As much as we might sympathise with him over fear of being killed and the collosally stupid waste of life this conflict is. In the end he's a soldier in the army of an ally, unlawfully absent from his unit. Being a soldier is about fighting who you are told to fight, when you are told to fight, where you are told to fight and when necessary giving up your life at the direction of others. If you can't deal with that truth don't volunteer.

Are we in a Crusade?

I'm beginning to think that the American conflict in Iraq is a 'Crusade'. Now, it's not being officially called that by any government but I'm beginning to think that that's what we're involved in. For a background on what a Crusade is see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusade .

It seems like much of what has been going on is similar, misinformation is used to rally assistance to an 'aggrieved' party and to have others join in on attacking someone else - particularly Arab / Muslim peoples for the betterment of all of the aggrieved parties friends.

Now, you might be tempted to say that a Crusade requires a religious component, and I'm beginning to think that for President Bush - it does. The 'evil ones' are the terrorists, they are everywhere and anywhere, they don't believe in 'freedom' or 'democracy' and they should, the world would be a better place if they all believed etc.

At the time of the crusades the Pope was the focus of much power in Europe, today it's the American King, and if you don't do what he wants he'll excommunicate you - throw you out of the community of nations, mark you as a rogue nation etc.

Now, I'm no peace nick- I think Canada's involvement in Afghanistan is important, horrible things were being done there in the name of religion, and I hope that the difference between Afghanistan and Iraq is religion - we're not there to change the Afgani people (though some of that will happen) our primary mission is to bring peace. In Iraq and the rest of the middle east - the Americans are engaged in wholesale 'nation building' to bring their 'religion' to the ignorant undemocratic peoples of the middle east.

My big concern is that the crusades lasted from the 11th to the 13th centuries, 200+ years...

They're back!!!

Finally CBC is back on the air - yea! As odd as it seams my fall has been disrupted, for the last few weeks I have gotten up in the morning to lousy radio and I feel disconnected in the mornings. I can't hear Terry on the radio, find out what's going on in the city and in the world and going to work means a constant switch back and forth trying to find something to listen to. Most of the radio in the city is written to be too fluffy light like Q94 and BOB or serious over non-issues like CJOB. They can't find a balance of fun but not stupid like CBC can.

I will be interesting to hear if anything has changed - they were out for a long time and there is bound to be some bad blood between management and staff. When I was a young my father was out of work with CBC for some weeks. It hurt us financially quite badly. I've come to the conclusion that there is very little to be really gained by either strikes or lockouts, both sides loose.

Evan

CBC Lockout...Letter to the Editor

Maybe CBC isn't worth its cost, MP says

BILL CURRY Globe and Mail, 8 September 2005

A few years ago I had a pin on my winter jacket- a small 'I (heart) CBC'. I had loads of people approach me and mention it and the most common statement was 'You mean CBC Radio right?' which I had to concede was exactly what I meant. I just couldn’t find a 'I Love CBC Radio' Pin.

CBC Radio is by far the best radio on the air - terrific morning wake up program that is intelligent and fun. Not written so the announcers sound vapid or degrading, the women announcers written as badly stereotyped. The annoying thing is it doesn't matter what channel you're on they’re all the same!

My wife and I are missing our fun afternoons on The Roundup with Tetsuro and getting up with Terry in Winnipeg. Excellent journalism on 'As it Happens', stories by Stuart on Sundays after church from the Vinyl Cafe. These are people we know and love hearing every day. We time our morning by who's on when - sports at 25 past the hour, news on the half. And all of that with NO commercials!

I don't much care about CBC TV; they don't carry much I like really. They might be better off moving to a commercial free, membership based model. Or include them in basic cable - I already pay for a couple of useless channels that I can't get rid of so it's not much different.

Its past time for CBC management to FIX THIS, find a compromise, make it happen - unlock the doors and get CBC back on the air. If you stay off too long, if the tide turns, and politicians can get more public credit for killing the CBC than keeping it alive as a station of BBC re-runs you're finished.

Missing My Radio in Winnipeg
Evan

New arrival!!! Part 2

Ok,

We were in our own room and setting in, S. was able to use the shower,tub etc. Several times over the next hours and that helped - she didn't want to thow up when in there.

By 6pm S. was exhausted, dehydrated just 'tired of this' and the Dr. Suggested some drugs - we weren't exactly clear it seems on what they would do - they knocked her flat - she slept for 3 hours (I did too actually, in the pull out chair for an hour and a half). By 9 pm we were awake again S. was much farther along and had over a liter of fluid on-board (I had snuck out and found my first real meal in 17 hours as well)

It took 4 hours more but by 12:40 NB was here! Yea - the only thing that was a real surprise was that the umbilical cord broke! (Yes they can break) The cord was around NB's neck - a not unusual situation - and the Dr usually flips it over the head and all is OK - worst case he can clamp it and cut it quick and he was all set for that. Well he pulled on it two or three times and it broke, right close to the belly button. It goes off like a gunshot (it's under high pressure apparently) - blood flashes everywhere, across the Dr., me, S., the room etc. The Dr. had to pinch off what was left as a stub and then clamp off the cord. (He was so embarrassed the next day) After all of that it came out well

Now here's an intriguing series of co-incidences (or not) - I had been moving around the hospital a bit, once to go and get a coke / vending machine stuff and the 2nd time to go and get dinner. Who do I meet each time, but friends - the first one an older gentlemen from our home parish who I like and respect very much who recognized me, encouraged me, shook my hand and sent me back to my laboring wife. The 2nd time a close friend of S. and mine who would be becoming an Anglican deacon two days after NB was born and who will be his godmother. This very logical 5 is going to take both of these as a vote of confidence and 'extra support when needed' in answer to a few prayers!

Living 5 life the the fullest!

New arrival!!!

Wow it's hard to believe that a month has gone buy already and I'm back to work (I took 3 weeks off plus my company gives 3 days automatically. )

Little info on how things went:
We woke up at about 1:30 in the morning with S. Having a contraction - they were about 10-15 minutes apart and we figured we'd have time for a cup of tea and finding out what was on late-night TV.

By 2:00 we were at 2 minutes apart - that was a little quick - we called the Dr. and he said to go into the hospital - we had an interesting run in (including coming up to the railway crossing at 2:45 in the morning with the gates coming down...it was like a bad movie - especially since it was only an engine (no cars) my guess was they wanted coffee at the Tim Hortons next to the tracks. Thankfully they saw us and did whatever they needed to do to get the gates up.

We got to triage and were assessed and not getting very far - S. Was having serial contractions now one on top of the other. Thankfully we had a couple of great nurses helping us, as well we took part in a study that gave us one-on-one access to a nurse for two hours much better. By 6am we were making progress nicely and could stay in the hospital - (if you haven't progressed much they send you home) we get to do the 2nd part of the study in a week (a paper follow-up questionnaire) and see how things went. I've requested a copy of the study when it's published - hey they offered.

Now here's an interesting observation; S. and I thought we were pretty relaxed, comfortable with what was coming - I had read and studied lots and was prepared for a long run myself. Relaxation during labour is very very subtle, while emotionally calm it turns out that physically calm is something else - we had to learn what that meant all over again. The big part of what the nurses helped us with was to learn to relax into the contraction, it's not easy or intuitive. Word of advice - be prepared to ditch what doesn't work, the idea of a 'cleansing breath' at the beginning of the contraction didn't work for us at all, though it had ben emphasized during the classes.

The only thing that was really an ongoing annoyance was nausea - S. was sick every time she did anything but sit in bed, walking, birth ball,standing etc. all made her throw up - no morning sickness during the entire pregnancy and now this.

So we sat around - and by 11am were moved to the LDRP (labor, Delivery, Recover, Postpartum) ward. Neat facility we got our own room, with our own bathroom, nice TV, bed and lots of space.

More to come...

B-8 and Holding...

Waiting isn't my strong suit - I can usually occupy my time with something else but waiting for New Being to appear is getting a little much. S. is in occasional pain and frequent discomfort - that I can do little about, other than massage and cups of tea. The nursery is ready, with all the furniture put together. I've even pre-washed all of the clothing that we had for him (and yes it's a him) and organized the various 'bins' that we have on the shelves.

Now we're just on-hold waiting to go ahead. Sorry no pearls of wisdom, no great predictions just a hope that this process will 'get on with it already'. (due warning - a bored Evan is a dangerous Evan - who knows what project I might become interested in - furnace cleaning - roof fixing (in the rain etc. )

B-8 and counting, guidance is internal...

Ev