Hand-Written Update June 28-09

My Next Phone?

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=287

Movie I want to See: 9

Movie I want to See: Zombieland

Exclusive: Noah Wyle + Steve Spielberg + Aliens = Big fat hit?

Exclusive: Noah Wyle + Steve Spielberg + Aliens = Big fat hit?

Shared via AddThis

Beat the traffic: take the flying car

Beat the traffic: take the flying car

Shared via AddThis

Futurama News

Link from an Entertainment Weekly article:

Holy Bender Bending Rodríguez! (Click for Link)

Six years after getting axed by Fox, Futurama is being resurrected on Comedy Central.
A spokesperson for 20th Century Fox Television confirms that the cable net has ordered 26 new episodes of Matt Groening and David X. Cohen's late, great animated series to air beginning in 2010. The studio cites Futurama's "blockbuster" performance on DVD and in reruns on Comedy Central as the reason for its rebirth.
Hmmm... sound familiar?

"When we brought back Family Guy several years ago, everyone said that it was a once in a lifetime thing -- that canceled series stay canceled and cannot be revived," 20th Century Fox TV Chairmen Gary Newman and Dana Walden said in a joint statement. "But Futurama was another series that fans simply demanded we bring back, and we couldn’t have been happier when Matt and David agreed that there were many more stories yet to tell."
Adds Groening: "We’re thrilled Futurama is coming back. We now have only 25,766 episodes to make before we catch up with Bender and Fry in the year 3000."
I have a hunch Groening isn't the only one doing a happy dance. (That's your cue to start filling up the comments section.)

Futurama is one of the funniest comedies on TV. This is good news for anyone who appreciates well-written TV. We can watch Futurama episodes over and over again and still laugh, a lot.

B.

Peggy and her friend Thomas June 2009

Super Girl and Action Girl Explore our Local "Pit" June 2009

End of a Playhouse

As any of you who ever visited our house know, the log playhouse in our backyard came with the house and was a pretty distinctive feature of our yard.  No more, faithful readers...  Playhouse no more...

Here's what it looked like:

Does it look like it was leaning to you?  Here’s a different angle:

Maybe this will help:

With my father-in-law’s help, chainsaw, maul, and pick up truck, we tore down what had become a potential  hazard and eyesore.  Once the supporting poles started to rot, the whole structure has been doomed.  The truth be told, the three hours of quality time with a 15 pound maul was the healthiest morning I’ve had in a while.  :-)

 

There’s only another truckload of debris left.  While doing real work, its not cool to stand there with a camera.  It gets in the way of the 15 pound maul.  That said, I snapped a new pic with my new (crappy) phone:

 

Good bye old friend.

B.

Technorati Tags: Change Play house playhouse chainsaw maul

Tiananmen Square Memories

An event twenty years ago tomorrow shaped my view of the world. The ill-named People’s Liberation Army massacred an indeterminate number of student protesters.

I’ll skip the long-winded reflections about why they were protesting and the change that they so desperately wanted to see. What sticks with me is that people my age or a little older believed in some of the same things I did and they were slaughtered for it. Their government chose to protect itself rather than them. This has been the single biggest reason I think as much as I do about the role of government in a society. It’s either for itself or for the betterment of its citizens. The rule of law helps, but it’s really one or the other when you get down to the essence of society.

Incidentally, June 1989 was also the month I graduated from high school. This event, live in my living room, added to my whole coming of age experience. It didn’t ruin the month, but it was a sobering aspect of the whole time for many of us.

B.

The Bravest Thing I've Ever Watched

Twenty Years Ago...

Last Tiananmen 'hooligan' freed [from the BBC]

Last Tiananmen 'hooligan' freed

China has reportedly freed the last activist still jailed for "hooliganism" relating to the Tiananmen Square democracy movement of 1989. Liu Zhihua was freed in January, but news of his release has only now been confirmed, according to the Dui Hua Foundation, a US-based pressure group.

Mr Liu had been jailed for life for leading a strike at a factory.
His reported release comes two weeks before the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen protests.
The events on June 1989 are still considered a highly sensitive topic by China's Communist authorities, and the anniversary is unlikely to be publicly marked in mainland China.
Inciting crowds Mr Liu was one of several workers who were given long jail sentences for organising industrial strikes.

According to Dui Hua, he was accused of inciting crowds with anti-government speeches.
The strikes were linked to weeks of student-led pro-democracy protests in the spring of 1989.
Six weeks into the protests, tanks and troops were sent in. Hundreds - possibly thousands - of people are believed to have been killed, but the government has never allowed for a full accounting of the events.
Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/8057624.stmPublished: 2009/05/19 12:57:29 GMT© BBC MMIX

How do you draw a monkey when you're five (on a Magna Doodle)?

Pre-Kindergarten Class Homework May 2009

There is a mascot in Super Girl's pre-kindergarten\kindergarten class. "Mister Bear" comes with a bag containing a blanket, his toothbrush, a pillow, and his teddy bear. The assignment that comes with him involves doing stuff with him and writing in "his" journal about his evening.

This is Super Girl's latest Mr. Bear story. It reads as follows.

"I pulled Mr. Bear in the wagon. I pushed Mr. Bear in my baby swing."

Not bad for five (and no meddling parental help).

B.

Terminator/John Connor(s)

For the record, I am a huge Terminator series fan and am really pumped about Terminator 4 opening in a week's time.

Here's a link to an article:

These are the John-Connors I Know I Know from filmchatblog.blogspot.com

When I found this article, I had been writing something similar. This article is better than I would have written.

I would actually go so far as to put the Terminator franchise in the top seven science fiction film/tv dynasties of all time, along with , in no order, Star Wars, Battelstar Galactica 2003-09 version), Star Trek, Babylon 5, Firefly, and Lost. The idea of a holocaust that all humanity faces at the hands of our own creation has teeth and resonance. The Stalingrad-like view of the Earth after "Judgement Day" is one of the bleakest future visions ever put to screen.

John Connor is the center of the series. He is flawed and fallible, preordained and ultimately victorious. If you've never seen any of the Terminator films or the TV series, John Connor is the leader of the human global armed resistance to the Skynet computer system that triggers a nuclear war and then enslaves the survivors, with a view to eventually exterminating them. Remind anyone of a certain world war?

John (with humanity) is eventually victorious, sometime after 2029. In response, Skynet sends a number or "Terminators" or killer robot/cyborgs back to kill him, at least four different stages of his life. More than any other series, these movies and TV programs have presented time travel in a way that says "yeah, they traveled back in time- get over it and enjoy the story."

For me, the best single aspect through the entire series has been the urgency, the pressure, and the burden that John and other characters feel in face of the realization that their actions may cause either humanity or Skynet to succeed. That's a lot to live with for anyone. I'll avoid the usual Christ parallels for Connor's character, except to point out the parallel to Jesus' "wholly divine/wholly human" dichotomy to John Connor's state of simultaneously being at pre-ordained to be the leader of the resistance and able to mess things up.

Three movies and a season and a half of television have actually lead to a number of different timelines for how John goes into the future, when the nuclear war/robot attack occurs, and other important details. I was one of only three fans I know for the now cancelled TV series (Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles). The writing was solid and the urgent burden I explored above was very present.

I'm almost finished re-watching the movies and will write about that when I finish. Terminator: Salvation opens on May 21st and I can't wait.

The above picture is an image from Wikipedia of the different "ages and stages" of John Connor.

B.

Bike and Scooter Ride April 2009

Sleep Over Adventures This Weekend

I am a fair-to-middlin' sleepover facilitator... I mean grapes AND marshmallows- who else would have thought of that as a movie snack? Good for five year olds, good for Moms and Dads.

On a less positive side, we were up at 6:25 on a Saturday... Its better than the last one our eight year old had, they were "up" (to stay, they claimed at 2:30AM).

B.

R2D2 Soap Out of Package

R2D2 Soap 1

Found in my parent's basement... I have a few boxes of weird old stuff still in my parent's basement, fifteen years after I last lived there. A recent discovery in one of those boxes was this Star Wars soap. R2D2 is made of hard plastic, BUT you have to use the soap to get him to play with... Tricky! B.

Last weekend's scorecard

Last weekend's scorecard:

• Playdates: 1
• Trips to the beach: 1
• Birthday Parties: 3
• Family Outings to Supper: 1
• Low-Key lunchtime dates for parents: 1

All in all, a very busy but successful weekend. This is why I can never find time to write!

B.

Excellent Photo Essay on Afghanistan

Here's a photo essay of Afghanistan that I stumbled upon. Its really interesting.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/04/recent_scenes_from_afghanistan.html

B.

Is this for Real?

Is this an April Fool's Day prank? I think it might be, but I'm not sure. Even if its not, it may not be the kind of business you want to invest in during the worst economy since the 1930s.

Would be a fun ride, though... Loud, very loud I imagine...

B.

In My InBox This Morning

I suspect this may have something to do with the date:

Super Girl's airplane

Super Girl's airplane
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

Action Girl's Snowstorm

Action Girl's Snowstom
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

Missed Opportunity: "Will Canada Arrest George W Bush For Torture?"

I guess it didn't happen, but it gives a fella hope...

Also Next After Galactica: Caprica

Next After BSG: "The Plan"

BSG Finale Thoughts

Okay, after a day of indecision, I've decided to watch the BSG finale, despite being in the midst of five year-old sleep-over chaos.

B.

11:12PM Wow... that is not how I thought the war would end on BSG...

11:57PM Okay its over, allllllll ooooooooover. Bizarre but tasty!

B.

Lost: Season 5 Ep. 9 "Namaste"

Okay is it just me or is Sawyer twice the leader Jack ever was? Maybe he needed those three years to come into his own (or fully develop a conscience). I like the whole Juliette and Sawyer in domestic bliss vibe, but fear that his misguided feelings for Kate will screw it up.

B.

UN Battlestar Galactica Conference

With BSG's last episode airing this Friday, I'm not the only one that thinks its been one of the best written, most thought-provoking shows in television history.

B.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=30217&Cr=television&Cr1=

http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/03/galactica-un.html

Best Part of March Break?

Well, the best thing is time with family... The SECOND best thing is: TWONNIE MATINEES!!!


We're going to see the Tale of Desperaux this pm. A dollar an hour? Seriously, people... :-)

Chronology of an Eight Year-Old Sleep Over

3:15 PM

First friend arrives with Super Girl.  They have both been at birthday party.

4:30 PM

Second friend arrives.  Trio appears to be getting along well, despite the fact that nature abhors trios.  Playing and singing of most songs from Mamma Mia ensues

5:00 PM

The girls have a "spray fight" with a bottle of Febreeze air freshener.  They use the whole bottle.  I start to have an asthmatic reaction which peaks at about 4:30 the next morning despite over-dosing on my Ventolin inhaler.

5:30PM

Supper- hamburger wraps.  More singing.

6:30PM

Movie starts- Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (the girls' choice).  Snacks and the ritualized wearing of extra underwear on their heads ensue.  Fumes are bad but don't seem to bother anyone else.

7:45PM

Orange pop and vanilla ice cream floats are a hit.

9:00PM

A bed time of sorts.  Air mattress and flip out kids' chesterfield are used in a dizzying array of all possible combinations of girls pillows and blankets.  The girls settle on The Beatles' Abbey Road.  Deep down I am bursting with pride at this classy choice even as my lungs feel like they may burst.

9:15PM

The first of many, many, many "Now its time to quiet down and go to sleep" speeches.  The girls are VERY well-behaved, but very wound-up...

10:30PM

Girls are finally asleep.  I am more choked up than ever.  Not bad...

1:25AM

My breathing has calmed enough that sleep is a good and possible idea.

1:26AM

Super Girl (age 5) is awake and says she thinks that she is going to be sick.  Happily she is not but she does have a fever (and has had one on and off most of the evening).

3:45AM

The girls are awake and noisy.  Happy, but noisy.  I go downstairs and lay down the law about how they are not to be up before 6:00AM.  They don't settle for a while and I end up on the downstairs love seat for the better part of an hour.

7:30AM

Sound of cartoons come from downstairs.  We don't know this for a while, but one girl called her parents at 7AM to announce that she had made it through the night.  Over breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes, the girls claim to never gone back sleep since 3:30AM.  After breakfast, the girls pick Star Wars III as their movie of choice, followed by craft time and pick up by their respective moms.

 

Phew,

B.

E-Bay Item of the Week

Wanna be a real Snowbird?

Updatey Post

As you may have noticed, I haven't been a very faithful writer lately.  This is due to several reasons.

 

1. I've just been very busy at home and at work.
2. I've been in a very funny headspace lately.  Basically, I'm having trouble letting things go at work.  This is far from being a terminal condition, but things seem to be getting to me more than they have in a long while.  Its that and and the fact that I'm really, really tired of my work.  All of that is tied to some lingering feelings I have over the job I lost a year ago- yeah I know I need to let that go.
3. Also, I guess I'm not sure what I should write about.

All of that self-obsessed musing aside, life is good.   Its great, actually.  The four of us are happy and healthy and I'm still fascinated by how the girls are growing every day.  Grade two and kindergarten are going well and the girls have solid wonderful friends.   And, soon it will be spring!  I've tried, but I'm still not a winter person.

All for now,

B.

E-Bay Item of the Week: Big-Ass Zombie-Smashing Truck

Okay, here is what I want to be driving when the Zombies rise. (I see them as a distinct species/national identity, so therefore I will insist, for now, on capitalizing "the Zombies" when I feel like it).  Its big and a little rusty, but worthy of my last stand to gather up the world's remaining supplies of canned food.

 

Here it is:

 

Big Old Land Cruiser on E-Bay

 

 

On a "more" serious note, I read recently that the world basically has an 80-day supply of food.  In the event of a world-wide event that causes food production to cease, past that point there isn't enough food to go around.  How fragile it all is...

 

B.

Birthday Cake Jan. 2009

Birthday Cake Jan. 2009
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

Only Sponge Bob would do for Action Girl's 8th Birthday Party!

We had it at the pool and it was a wet and wonderful success. She has a wonderful group of not-so-little-anymore friends.

B.

Big Enough For...

This weekend was a great reminder of just how quickly our daughters are growing. Indoor amusement park rides are now something they go on entirely without parents.
We had a little overnight get away with Action Girl's (now age 8!) best friend and her parents and little brother (who is only an little younger than our Super Girl).

The whole "going on rides alone" thing may sound like a small point, but its not. It’s a very big deal, What's more its an even bigger sign of things to come.
B.

Zombies? Told ya so!!! Get Ready, People!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Unexpected Daddy Day of Galactic Proportions

Pretty well everyone I know close to my age has kids or is close to friends or just as commonly doesn't but is close to relatives or friends who do.

If you're in the later group (or neither), let me introduce to the exciting world of "family leave" days. Or, "my kid is sick and I can't go to work days."

Rules/The Finer Points of Family Leave:

1) An eight year old child cannot, no matter how smart and charming she is, stay home alone when sick. Don't laugh- it does come to mind every time.

2) Kids throwing up is bad. It is much better than fever. Throwing up while they have a fever is worse still. Worst of all is trying to figure out IF your child has a fever. If she does, somehow this makes you a bad parent. No, that's not rational- it just does.

3) The secret to manging a successful sick day appears to lie in balancing TV and sleep.

4) Call work. If nothing else, this will make you look very conscientious.

5) Somehow sick days can be wonderful day of daddy-daughter bonding. Caring for someone you love can never be anything but great even when its unexpected.

6) Having your eight year old pick Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace as her sick day movie choice rocks. It really is a great kids movie.

B.

My Random Wikipedia Quote of the Night:

"Bolik and ZIB Bolik (Болик) ran away just days before her flight in September 1951. A replacement named ZIB (a Russian acronym for "Substitute for Missing Bolik", "Замена исчезнувшему Болику" Zamena ischeznuvshemu Boliku), who was an untrained street dog found running around the barracks, was quickly located and made a successful flight. [edit]Otvazhnaya and Snezhinka Otvazhnaya (Отважная, "Brave One") made a flight on July 2, 1959 along with a rabbit named Marfusha (Марфуша, "Little Martha") and another dog named Snezhinka (Снежинка, "Snowflake"). She went on to make 5 other flights between 1959 and 1960."

I offer this to you because couldn't we all stand to know a whole lot more about "Soviet Space Dogs?"

B.

Remeber this? Its back.

I bought this blast from the past at Zellers last Staurday night. It wasn't in a case full of different flavours like I remember when I was a kid, but a few different flavours were availible.

Anyone else remember the cases of Pop Shop Pop?

B.

IMG_0699

IMG_0699
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

IMG_0701

IMG_0701
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

IMG_0702

IMG_0702
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

Now

Now
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

Christmas Pics 5 (Finally!)

IMG_0663
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

This was Action Girl's main Santa Present. Her name is Jenna and she is a Maple Lea Girl.

B.

Christmas Pics 4 (Finally!)

IMG_0669
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

Here's proof he came...

The carrot was for Rudolph...

B.

Christmas Pics 3 (Finally!)

IMG_0681
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

As does this one...

B.

Christmas Pics 2 (Finally!)

IMG_0680
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

This picture speaks for itself.

B.

Christmas Pics 1 (Finally!)

IMG_0597
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

This was as high as Peggy could climb in the tree.

B.

Battlestar Galactica 4.5 Webisodes 4-7 "The Face of the Enemy, Part 4-7"

Okay, back to business. So far seven "webisodes" have been released as new Battlestar Galactica content, the first since last spring. Here are my links to the first three episodes. The last 10 episodes begin to air this month. These are a prequel of sorts to those episodes.

Webisode #1
Webisode #2
Webisode #3

And, here are the next four.

#4

#5

#6

#7

New Blog I'm Following: Dawn and Joe's Excellent Adventure

My friend Dawn and her husband Joe have a new blog. Their adventure is not off to a great start, but they will prevail.

http://dawnandjoesexcellentadventure.blogspot.com/

B.

Snow...

51 cm of snow at once is a lot of snow... That's all I have to say about that. B.

All Ready!

Phew... Presents are out and wrapped... Cookies and milk, out for Santa. Kids asleep.

Merry Christmas to all of you out there. May your Christmas be as magical as mine!

B.

BSG 4.5 Webisode 3 "The Face of the Enemy, Part 3"

BSG 4.5 Webisode 2 "The Face of the Enemy, Part 2"

Storm Day!

Yahoooooooooooo.... I have a storm day!!!!!!! No work today (but lots to do). I don't think this happened at all last year.

:-)

B.

New Battlestar Galactica Content! -- BSG 4.5 Webisode 001

Oh blessed day- this intially missed my attention but NEW Battelstar Galactica content has been released prior to the show's return in Januray.

Battlestar Galactica Season 4.5 Webisode 001 - The Face of the Enemy

Decision Made

For the past few weeks, I've been trying to sort out a very difficult decision: whether or not to switch jobs. Yes, its the kind of decision people make every day. We make them and then we live with them.

Basically, I was faced with staying in my present position or moving back to a different job in our system, doing very different work. I had this job from January 2007-March 2008 (but was unable to get it permanently due to a really crappy, half-arsed interview I did- never assume you have a job "in the bag," kids).

The issues for me seemed to come down to the prospects of returning to a more glamorous job with slightly less pay as the bottom guy on the org chart. Or, I could continue where I am (and have been since 2001) given progressively more specialization, responsibility and leadership.

I'm staying put. I feel pretty good about this decision. After thinking about it until my head hurt and getting no where but a continuous set of flip flips back and forth, I had to go with my gut. I'm pushing forty and I need to continue on my path to be an expert in what I'm doing. I have a an utterly unique position in the province. No one else does exactly what I do and I'm doing new things all the time. I'm in a good spot to grow into a position of leadership in my team and my other option was to return to a place that had already rejected me. It was gratifying doing a decent interview this time- makes up for the humiliation I caused myself last time. But, I'm off (for now) to be an expert.

B.

Blogger's family confirms his arrest

Here's a broadly similar story from Iran...

Blogger's family confirms his arrest
The Globe and Mail Dec. 9, 2008

B.

Or this one...

Another flying car, even better than the first....

What I really want for Christmas

There's no way I've been this good , but:

"Get Your Own Vintage Flying Car for $3.5 Million" from Wired.com.

Unabahsed Cuba Bashing

At different points in my life I've been close to people who were prepared to excuse away Cuban repression because Cuba:

1) Has reasonably good health care and education systems,
2) Is anti-American,
3) Is an affordable place to have to sun-cation in (if you're from the True North Strong and Free, not the True South Stronger but not so free), or
4) Was co-founded by Comrade Che.

As much as I disagree with 45 years of the American embargo, lets remember that even post-Castro, Cuba is a still in a state of Stalinist repression. If people have no ability to criticize their government, they have no ability to be protected from it. If they have no ability to be protected from it, it can do anything it wants to them. That's wrong.

Here's a story to remind us all that Cuba is far from a free or open society.

Read this article from the Globe and Mail "Cuba says blogger ran afoul of the law".

B.

News stories

Here'a a couple of interesting ones:

"Firm makes one billionth mouse."

"Solar Taxi goes round the world"

What I'm Watching... (Dec. 1, 2008)

Here's what I'm watching lately:
1) How I Met Your Mother: Still one of the funniest things on TV.
2) Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. I know a few of you may think less of me for really liking this show, but this is one of the best dramas of the last few years. Its better than the three Terminator movies. Its a family drama about a family that's trying to stop the world from ending.
3) Season Two of Heroes: Yeah, I know- I'm waaaay behind and season two is not all that great, but I want to get caught up and watch season three.
4) House: It still rocks.
5) Bones: Its our new "watch it together" show. B.

New Car, Eight Months Later

New Car, Eight Months Later
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

So far, our Corolla has over 16,000 kms on it and no problems.

Its averaging 7.5 L/100 km or 37.66 miles to the gallon Imperial or 31.362 miles to the gallon U.S.

About 99.9% of the time I ecstatic that we bought a car and not the Mazda 5 "Microvan" that we also test drove. I'm always happy that we paid just a little bit extra and bought the LE trim with keyless entry, keyless ignition, wood trim, cruise control, and automatic climate control.

I think we'll get a brand new car every ten years, "whether we need it or not" :-)

B.

Busy Week Past

This week has flown by in some kind of confusing flash... It wasn't a bad week just a busy one.

I have a big decision to make (I think) about work. A while back I took a temporary position in a job and held it for about 15 months. I had decided to stay permanently and then under-performed in the job interview because I thought I had it "in the bag." You can guess what happened.

Now, six months later I've interviewed for that job again after six months spent back on the job I've held since 2001. Its been a happy time, but frustrating with respect to some things in the organization with which I disagree strongly. At the same time, I probably have more future opportunity where I am, organizational warts and all. If I'm offered the second job, I'm not sure what I should/will do.

Decisions, decisions...

B.

Possible Outcomes of Madagascar 2

I recently saw Madagascar 2. I was pleased it was as funny and witty as the first (although some jokes are now fully over). Here's where I think things are going from here:

1) Mellman and Gloria struggle through years of a "physically" uncertain but ultimately happy relationship.

2) Giving in to the real reason for the tension between them, Marty and Alex struggle through years of a "physically" uncertain but ultimately happy relationship.

3) King Jullian thrives in Africa and Lemurs become the dominant species on the continent (through a weird Jullian-Penguin-Chimp Alliance). Stranded New Yorkers thrive and in time become number 2.

4) There will be a Madagascar 3...

B.

Two Clans of Seven Year-Old Girls

Ordinarily I'm not one for categories with people. Individual differences always trump any groupings inn which we humans attempt to fit ourselves. Aside from gender, they all break down in the end.

That said, there are two categories of seven year-old girls. As a parent I have not come to this conclusion easily or without thought. Enough equivocation. The tow types are 1) Hannah Montana Fans, and 2) Sponge Bob Square Pants Fans.1) Hannah Montana Fans: Much more than being fans of Ms. Cyrus and her work, they are much more likely to have pierced ears, makeup, and large blond wigs. High black boots and matching clothes are common. They assume that everyone likes Hannah Montana just as much as they do, to the point of giving Hannah Montana wigs to other little girls as birthday presents (irrespective of which of the two types the recipient may be).2) Sponge Bob Fans: Much less likely to hold on to a con-temporized little girl look: clothes don't match as much, fewer pierced ears, far, far fewer dresses and skirts. They wear pretty brown and blues.

As you might have guessed, we have a Sponge Bob fan. She is happy and well-adjusted and doesn't like Hannah Montana, whom she thinks is silly. She likes the Beatles, the White Stripes, and once came to breakfast signing Paradise City by Guns 'n Roses.

Culture is a funny thing.

B.

Another Sign of Obama's Landslide

I think when the Repbulicans who support a Democcratic candidtae are this organized, he just can't lose:

Web Site for "Republicans for Obama"

Shades of Grey: The Beach in Late September 2008 Pic 2

Shades of Grey: The Beach in Late September 2008
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

Shades of Grey: The Beach in Late Sept. 2008

Shades of Grey: The Beach in Late Sepetmber 2008
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

I usually don't think about grey being a beautiful colour until you see
a scene like this. Its hard to count how many different greys there are
in this picture.

B.

How You Draw Your Mom When You're Seven Oct. 2008

How You Draw Your Mom When You're Seven Oct. 2008
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

How you draw a Rainbow when you're Four Oct. 2008

How you draw a Rainbow when you're Four Oct. 2008
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

October Twighlight in the Country (Oct. 19-08)

October Twighlight in the Country (Oct. 19-08)
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

October Twighlight in the Country (Oct. 19-08)

October Twighlight in the Country (Oct. 19-08)
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

October Twighlight in the Country (Oct. 19-08)

October Twighlight in the Country (Oct. 19-08)
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

October Twighlight in the Country (Oct. 19-08)

October Twighlight in the Country (Oct. 19-08)
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

Why Obama (Almost) Can't Lose...

What I have retained from my undergrad and graduate stats courses is this: if you take a big enough look at the numbers, they very seldom lie.

Opinion polls are at best abstratct exercises in answering only the question of what people will answer when a pollster asks them a question. BUT- if you look at an aggrearate of results, time over time greater truth can be apparent.

The presidential polls in the U.S. show that Barack Obama has a near lock on the race. You can't possibly lose if poll, after poll says you have a lead and you are going to win. Barring the greatest of scandals and falls from grace he has this race locked. Look for yourself:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_2008_United_States_presidential_election#Two-way_contest:_Barack_Obama_vs_John_McCain

Federal Election Results Ruminations

Federal Election Returns

VOTER TURN OUT:

Canada (2008) - 58%

Afghanistan - 83.7%

We're ranked 88th among voter participation. Yay us...

So... Another Minority Means What?

Here's a very neat article from the Globe and Mail. I don't think I agree with Jefferey Simpson about Quebec, but its good to see someone realizing that we're never going back to the way things were.

Why Canadian politics will never be the same

JEFFREY SIMPSON

From Thursday's Globe and Mail

October 8, 2008 at 10:39 PM EDT

Canada's party politics is fractured. The days of two strong national parties are over, certainly temporarily, perhaps forever.

The rise of the Greens and the apparent permanence of the Bloc Québécois reflect the splintering of politics on linguistic or single-issue lines, something dreaded by those who saw national parties as indispensable links in a pluralistic, geographically huge, linguistically split country...

Rest of the article here.

Interesting Article about Sarah Palin

This article on Salon.com provides an interesting perspective on Sarah Palin's Alaska-ness or her role as an an Alaskan-American.

Personally, I think two things:

1. Its obvious that this information brings into question her qualification to run as a VP or at least would be damaging if it was better known, but
2. On the other hand, maybe someone who may not see herself as an American first running on the presidential ticket for one of the main two parties is a sign of progress for the U.S. In a country so committed to seeing itself in such monolithic terms. diversity of opinion, background, and identity couldn't hurt.

I shudder at any prospect of a McCain/Palin victory, but maybe there's a positive side to her candidacy other than just gender.

B.

The Federal Election Sumarized

Okay- I think I have the federal election figured out. Here goes:

The Liberals may want my rifle,

The Tories may want my part of the social safety net,

The NDP may want me to pay more taxes,

The Greens may want my smog, and

The Bloc may not want anything from me.

B.

Super Girl's Terry Fox Run 2008

Thanks you all very much for your support of Super Girl. She was able to raise $184.33 for her kindergarten's "Little Fox" run.

Thanks!!

Bruce

Hurricane Kyle - Part 3

Happily, things didn't amount to much.

Super Girl's (age 4.5) sleep over Friday night was more eventful than Kyle. It went very well, though. I don't say this frequently enough but- they are so cute at that age.

B.

Hurricane Kyle Watch - Part 2

12:44 AM More rain, a little wind- am going to bed.

B.

Hurricane Kyle Watch - Part 1

Its 10:12 PM and the heavy rain has just started. To my reckoning, there's nothing else in the yard that will hurt if it blows around.

Here are the things I've done:

1) Bath tub full of water,
2) Candles, oil lamps, flashlight at the ready,
3) work done on down spout drains (involved gratuitous trips to Home Depot),
4) BBQ bungeed to the deck,
5) garbage cans bungeed to the side of the deck, and
6) cat inside.

So far so good.

B.

PS- I fully expect water in the basement, but I'm a little bit of a pessimist on the subject.

Coolest plane ever...

One of my few life long interests has been aviation (albeit most often as a casual observer). I would like to through off about thirty years of (relatively) refined composure and say simply that I WANT ONE OF THESE NOW! RIGHT NOW. I AM THIS COOL AND I DESERVE ONE. THIS IS THE AWSEOMEST PLANE IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. I WANT ONE.

If you think I'm making this up, read the story at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7634927.stm

Its are and I want one.

Christmas and my birthday are coming,

B.

First Pre-K Homework for Super Girl

This is what your homework is like when you're four. She has it for a week and we try to read it a couple of times an evening.

September Falling

This has already been a great month. Action Girl (now 7 3/4) is off to Grade Two and says she loves it. Super Girl (age 4 3/4) is in Pre-Kindergarten and is very much a member of the Kindergarten Class at her daycare.

Skating is three days a week for Action Girl and will start in October for Super Girl (when it also goes down to two days a week for her big sister). Our new addition, Peggy, is a gentle but energetic cat. We're enjoying her a lot.

My work has been especially challenging and frustrating but things are okay. Super Mom is off to a running start with her work and says she has a great class again this year.

The remnants of Hurricane Hannah soaked a little bit of our basement but we are not yet ready to give up on the house yet. (I'm kidding- we still owe on the mortgage....). With two national elections underway, I am concerned I may just just explode.... But I'll do my best to manage. Its my SuperBowl...

The Canadian election should be interesting. Its had to imagine that the Liberals can close the gap with the Tories, but stranger things have have happened. The issue around the Green Party and the leader's debate has been interesting- the pressure is certainly on for Elizabeth May to wow people with her performance in the debate.

I may write more about this later, but I guess I feel like a little bit of a political orphan. No party membership yet and my process seems to be about deciding with whom I agree with the most and disagree with the least, or least seriously.

Hmmmm,

B.