The house is full of nine year-old girls... They are loudly playing games in the basement. Action Girl turns 10 on Monday! I cannot imagine a nicer bunch of girls... That said given the amount of screaming, I believe it may be a long night.

6:15PM They're eating now... The joke of the hour is to say "Do you like pepperoni?" with a Jamaican accent...

chapters.indigo.ca: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter: Seth Grahame-smith: Books

What I'm reading:

chapters.indigo.ca: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter: Seth Grahame-smith: Books

- A Re-Launch of Sorts -

Now that we've moved and are getting very settled I should finally have some time to write. We moved on December 28 and 29 and are now fairly settled in our new-to-us, bigger, urban, house.



For the record, its a 2000 sq. ft. spilt level, which at 38 years is actually older but 800 sq. ft. bigger than our previous house. Its been unoccupied for about two years, some of which time the then-owners used to renovate to "flip" it. We are up a bathroom, having only one before and both of the girls' bedrooms are bigger than before. They are both downstairs, we (and the spare bedroom) are upstairs. Instead of an en-suite bathroom, we have a "cheater" with a door from our bedroom that opens to the bathroom which also has a door to the hall.

I'm really proud of how well the four of us (plus the cat) have dealt with the move. It should prove to be a rich source of many more entries in this blog.

B.

A VERY ZOMBIE HOLIDAY (Instructional video)

When did basic human values become un-Chinese? - The Globe and Mail

When did basic human values become un-Chinese? - The Globe and Mail

Are gadgets ruining our kids' brains? - The Globe and Mail

Are gadgets ruining our kids' brains? - The Globe and Mail

A product for our times: caffeinated popcorn - Healthzone.ca

I may have to get some of this:

A product for our times: caffeinated popcorn - Healthzone.ca

Repost: John Daley, My Great-Great Uncle, R.I.P.

Private John Daley, Kings County, Prince Edward Island
Born March 23, 1891 Died in combat Nov. 6, 1918, age 27 years.

John Daley was my maternal grandmother's uncle. He was killed five days before the end of the Great War. The army he fought as part of was ending the period known as "Canada's Hundred Days," a period during which it was at the forefront of some of the most decisive, important victories of the war. He's buried along with 881 other Commonwealth soldiers in the Valenciennes (St. Roch) Communal Cemetery in Northern France, close to the Belgian frontier.

He was killed 2-3 days after the Canadian Corps took the area from the German Army, who had held the area from the war's early days. Uncle John' s unit is listed is listed as the Nova Scotia Highlanders (or the 85th Battalion) although they may have been attached to the Manitoba Regiment at the time of his death. Many young men from Eastern Prince Edward Island had gone to Nova Scotia to enlist.

The tragedy in his death itself, in his death at 27, and in his death in the war's last days are obvious. Other suffering caused by his death is not so obvious. In 1917, his brother Abram drowned after falling from a vessel in the Northumberland Strait, leaving his widow and two daughters. They were my grandmother and her older sister (who had been blind from birth). The family's understanding has always been (in my life time) that John would have supported them after the war and they would have been spared the poverty that they had faced. In the end, my grandmother and her sister had full, happy lives. This was despite the poverty they faced as children- poverty they overcame but with some price. Specifically, the costs of school for the blind for my great aunt, meant less money for education and medical (dental) care for my grandmother. The math was that simple. These were not life-threatening deficits, but certainly life-shaping.

Save for the effect of a single shell or bullet in the cold November of 1918, I believe John Daley would have helped as he could.

B.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission Link for John Daley:

http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=577383

Canadian Department of Veteran's Affairs Link for John Daley:

http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=collections/virtualmem/Detail&casualty=577383

Guest Post: The Blobs from Outer Space

By Action Girl (age 9):

Psychology and Social Work: the venn diagram

This is a venn diagram I wrote for a recent presentation I made to a group of undergraduate psychology students. The focus of my presentation was on social work as a career option. Any and all feedback is appreciated.

B.

Super Girl's (age 6.5) Jack O' Lantern 2010

Action Girl's (age 9.5) Jack O' Lantern 2010

CBC News - Technology & Science - Habitable planet discovery likely in 2011

Well now... This is interesting.

CBC News - Technology & Science - Habitable planet discovery likely in 2011

CBC News - Canada - Battle over future of Fokker D.VII divides Knowlton, Que.

As some of you know, World War I & II aircraft are a real passion for me. The Fokker D. VII mentioned below was the best German fighter of the First World War and a whole generation of allied fighters were needed to counter it. It was the only aircraft mentioned by name in the Versailles Treaty.

Anyway, here's a very interesting story from the CBC about the only D. VII in the world in its orginal condition.

CBC News - Canada - Battle over future of Fokker D.VII divides Knowlton, Que.

B.

Sucess but no time

The first week of school went well. We are very busy but settling in to a hectic regualr schedule. Work is up for both us and both girls are back at the rink at Can Skate/Figure Skating.

I am at work, and have no time to write now. This is in part because we have a private showing of our house tonight at 5:30 and an open house for our place on Sunday.

B.

BBC News - Zombies take over Baltimore University curriculum

I may have to head back to school:

BBC News - Zombies take over Baltimore University curriculum

The White Stripes - We're Going To Be Friends

This is the last night that we have a pre-schooler sleeping in our house. Brave, sweet Super Girl makes her way into Grade One tomorrow.

Here is my all-time favourite "back to school" song. A simple song for a more innocent time.

The Simpsons - Union Strike Song and Classical Gas

Happy Labour Day 2010
One of my favourite Simpsons moments.
B.

iPod Nano (6th Generation) | Gear Patrol

Its almost out- and I want one!!
B.


iPod Nano (6th Generation) | Gear Patrol